22/ 22 and the Time War - Revision history

Psuvillager: Grammar, links, questioned Chronepsis' involvement

2025-07-01T20:30:35Z

Grammar, links, questioned Chronepsis' involvement

Spiderjjr45: The LinkTitles extension automatically added links to existing pages (https://github.com/bovender/LinkTitles).

2025-05-12T05:08:09Z

The LinkTitles extension automatically added links to existing pages (https://github.com/bovender/LinkTitles).

Psuvillager: Changed headers, finished 'Technically Complying', fleshed out 'In the Before Times'

2025-03-07T03:21:56Z

Changed headers, finished 'Technically Complying', fleshed out 'In the Before Times'

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:21, 7 March 2025
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	</div>		</div>

	<span><h2 style="display: inline; border: none; margin: none;">~~Colin Effortlessly Saves~~ ~~[[Zugs]] McFlair~~</h2>, in which 22 reads minds and Colin ~~inadvertently protects the~~ ~~[[timeline]]~~</span>		<span><h2 style="display: inline; border: none; margin: none;">Technically Complying</h2>, in which 22 receives explicit instructions, reads minds, and smuggles Colin through time</span>

	<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="min-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-bottom: solid 1px lightgrey;">		<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="min-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-bottom: solid 1px lightgrey;">
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	<p margin-bottom: 1.5em; style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-color: grey"><strong>TLDR:</strong> <small>22 and Colin learned that their captor was going to send 22 into the past to ensure that Zugs McFlair was never born. It was possible for Colin to escape by joining 22 on their forced journey, and moreover, this was the only way he could conceive to avoid sacrificing his friend Atnas. Colin's plan and his willingness to be shut down during the trip to the past would serve to inadvertently protect the timeline and the life of Zugs.</small></p>		<p margin-bottom: 1.5em; style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-color: grey"><strong>TLDR:</strong> <small>22 and Colin learned that their captor was going to send 22 into the past to ensure that Zugs McFlair was never born. It was possible for Colin to escape by joining 22 on their forced journey, and moreover, this was the only way he could conceive to avoid sacrificing his friend Atnas. Colin's plan and his willingness to be shut down during the trip to the past would serve to inadvertently protect the timeline and the life of Zugs.</small></p>

	<h3 style="margin: 0">Nůžky's Plot</h3>		<h3 style="margin: 0">Nůžky's Plot Is Revealed</h3>
	By the time their captor returned, Colin had successfully modified 22's telepathy unit to grant limited mind-reading capabilities, and 22 used this new ability to examine the gnome's thoughts while Colin asked questions that surreptitiously prompted her to think of specific bits of useful information.		By the time their captor returned, Colin had successfully modified 22's telepathy unit to grant limited mind-reading capabilities, and 22 used this new ability to examine the gnome's thoughts while Colin asked questions that surreptitiously prompted her to think of specific bits of useful information.

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	Despite 22's haste, these issues would all be resolved, some through sheer luck and others through centuries of patience.		Despite 22's haste, these issues would all be resolved, some through sheer luck and others through centuries of patience.

			- - - - -

		⚫	Minutes later, still in mouse form, 22 arrived at the spring as instructed, to find the scarred and tattooed [[Caligna]] with a synthetic companion whom 22 would later learn was the [[protoforged]] [[7]]. The equipment that lay on the ground near the pair included two backpacks, and 22 scurried quickly into the nearer one and nestled carefully into a layer of clothing to wait. It must have been hours later that the strange chanting began as the pack was hoisted off the ground. After another minute, a flash of purple ushered in a brief silence that was soon broken by conversational voices as Caligna presumably began helping 7 get oriented to their new surroundings one thousand years in the past.

	</div>		</div>

	<span><h2 style="display: inline; border: none; margin: none;">In the Before Times</h2></span>		<span><h2 style="display: inline; border: none; margin: none;">In the Before Times</h2>, in which the [[PR\|the PR era]] dawns, a gorilla kidnaps a baby, and Atnas' eventual rescue by [[the Tempest Brothers Expeditionary Company]] is set in motion.</span>

	<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="min-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-bottom: solid 1px lightgrey;">		<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="min-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-bottom: solid 1px lightgrey;">

			<H3>The Mission Comes First</H3>
⚫	~~Still~~ in mouse form, 22 arrived at the spring as instructed, to find the scarred and tattooed [[Caligna]] with a synthetic companion whom 22 would later learn was the [[protoforged]] [[7]]. The equipment that lay on the ground near the pair included two backpacks, and 22 scurried quickly into the nearer one and nestled carefully into a layer of clothing to wait...
			Getting away from the travelers unnoticed proved no more difficult than stowing away with them had, but once 22 was alone with Colin, they were taken aback to find that reinserting his data core had no effect. After several repeated attempts, they shifted their focus to making some simple repairs to compensate for the failure. When these proved similarly fruitless, they resorted to cannibalizing some of their own hardware to effect a more thorough repair.

			Still unable to revive Colin, 22 considered traveling directly to the extraction point they had specified in their message to Bones and from there back to the future, but they felt a growing compulsion to proceed to Osugbo to revise the [[timeline]] as instructed. They wanted to learn more about Caligna and 7's purpose here, and possibly to enlist their aid in ensuring Atnas' rescue in 795 PR -- since 22 themself would not be exhumed in 795 until just-too-late to reach Breme in time to save the artificer. But for now, they were able to do little more than to visited the extraction point long enough to bury Colin in case they didn't make it back from [[Osugbo]].
	<span style="color: grey">TODO: 22 follows 7, escapes their thrall trying to revive Colin, realizes that saving Atnas means going the long way round (but in reality [[Snow]] or 7 could help), meets Snow, and researches Nůžky</span>

	</div>
			<H3>The Device</H3>
			22 had learned from their brief time studying Nůžky's thoughts that their current mission was supposed to be a soft solution to the anomaly known as Zugs McFlair, intended to obviate his existence by replacing many offensive timelines (with similar-but-Zugless ones) rather than by simply pruning the time tree and leaving it at that. This was possible because the Eyes of Chronepsis possessed a device they use to open a portal from any non-conforming Quelmar to "the Hungry Void," thereby destroying the aberrant timeline in a matter of days -- and presumably eventually destroying all the planes adjacent to that version of Quelmar if the gnome's belief about the magnitude of the Void's "hunger" was correct. 22's ultimate goal would be to disable this process, saving untold millions and their entire worlds from destruction.

			<H3>Julian McFlair</H3>
			Although 22 tried to keep records of their trip to [[Osugbo]], these went missing before they could be of use. Suffice it to say, they
			* found the [[Champerty]] village where Julian McFlair would be born two centuries later,
			* waited as instructed in a shallow "observatory" below the dirt for a year with no dragon sightings,
			* identified Julian's parents and awaited his birth
			* traumatized the family by assuming gorilla form by taking the child by night,
			* traveled to Pteris to leave Julian McFlair at a temple of Pelor far from his wife of record

			22 would later learn to their relieved astonishment that this had all somehow failed to make any significant difference -- that a Zugs McFlair would sill be born in the revised timeline, one whose recorded history (as of 795, when 22 returned) would be effectively identical to the one 22 had heard about before the mission. This would give them more to research when the time came.

			<H3>The Clockwork Dragon Gang</H3>
			Before this, however, 22 tracked down Caligna and 7 and subsequently met Snow, who was eventually able both to restore Colin to consciousness and to contravene to the injurious modifications Colin had been forced to make to 22. They spent several more decades in the early PR era, working with the others on the Clockwork Dragon project, during which time Colin came to entrust Caligna with the responsibility for Atnas' rescue, and the mage expressed to 22 a willingness to oppose Nůžky (and perhaps even to use time travel to revisit the Zugs problem once they had all returned to the 8th century.)

			22 eventually buried themself and conserved power to wait out the centuries until Scope exhumed them and they got the good news not only that Atnas was safe and well but also that Zugs McFlair appeared somehow no to have been affected by 22's shameful actions.

	[[Category:Wicked Wilds]]		[[Category:Wicked Wilds]]

Spiderjjr45: The LinkTitles extension automatically added links to existing pages (https://github.com/bovender/LinkTitles).

2024-08-17T05:54:48Z

The LinkTitles extension automatically added links to existing pages (https://github.com/bovender/LinkTitles).

Show changes

Spiderjjr45: added Category:Wicked Wilds using HotCat

2024-02-11T06:25:12Z

added Category:Wicked Wilds using HotCat

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:25, 11 February 2024
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	<span style="color: grey">TODO: 22 follows 7, escapes their thrall trying to revive Colin, realizes that saving Atnas means going the long way round (but in reality Snow or 7 could help), meets Snow, and researches Nůžky</span>		<span style="color: grey">TODO: 22 follows 7, escapes their thrall trying to revive Colin, realizes that saving Atnas means going the long way round (but in reality Snow or 7 could help), meets Snow, and researches Nůžky</span>
	</div>		</div>

			[[Category:Wicked Wilds]]

Spiderjjr45: Text replacement - "^" to "{{Worldbuilders}} "

2024-01-10T02:11:36Z

Text replacement - "^" to "{{Worldbuilders}} "

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:11, 10 January 2024
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	<span><h2 style="display: inline; border: none; margin: none;">Nůžky Appears</h2>, in which 22 learns a terrible lesson and helps an enemy to kill a friend</span>		{{Worldbuilders}} <span><h2 style="display: inline; border: none; margin: none;">Nůžky Appears</h2>, in which 22 learns a terrible lesson and helps an enemy to kill a friend</span>

	<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="min-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-bottom: solid 1px lightgrey;">		<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="min-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-bottom: solid 1px lightgrey;">

Psuvillager: Updated 'Quick Thinking' and started 'In the Before Times'

2023-10-27T16:33:19Z

Updated 'Quick Thinking' and started 'In the Before Times'

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:33, 27 October 2023
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	<p margin-bottom: 1.5em; style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-color: grey"><strong>TLDR:</strong> <small>22 and Colin learned that their captor was going to send 22 into the past to ensure that Zugs McFlair was never born. It was possible for Colin to escape by joining 22 on their forced journey, and moreover, this was the only way he could conceive to avoid sacrificing his friend Atnas.</small></p>		<p margin-bottom: 1.5em; style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-color: grey"><strong>TLDR:</strong> <small>22 and Colin learned that their captor was going to send 22 into the past to ensure that Zugs McFlair was never born. It was possible for Colin to escape by joining 22 on their forced journey, and moreover, this was the only way he could conceive to avoid sacrificing his friend Atnas. Colin's plan and his willingness to be shut down during the trip to the past would serve to inadvertently protect the timeline and the life of Zugs.</small></p>

	<h3 style="margin: 0">Nůžky's Plot</h3>		<h3 style="margin: 0">Nůžky's Plot</h3>
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	:Phase 1		:Phase 1
	::*Take the form of a tiny creature, go ~~directly~~ to the nearby ~~spring~~, and wait unseen until the changeling [[Caligna]] appears.		::*Take the form of a tiny creature, proceed without delay to the spring beyond the nearby hamlet, and wait unseen until the changeling [[Caligna]] appears.
	::*Hide promptly in the changeling's travel gear without attracting his notice or that of his companions.		::*Hide promptly in the changeling's travel gear without attracting his notice or that of his companions.
	::*Wait discretely until he has travelled in time, and abscond.		::*Wait discretely until he has travelled in time, and abscond.
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	"Thermal exhaust port," 22 intoned.		"Thermal exhaust port," 22 intoned.

	<h3>~~Setting~~ ~~up a Shortcut~~</h3>		<h3>Quick Thinking</h3>
			Outside their former prison lay a trail which led to a hamlet perhaps half a mile distant; and beyond the hamlet, 22 knew they would find a spring and their vehicle to the past: a changeling called Caligna. Seeing others on this trail, 22 devised a plan that would allow them to return to the present without needing to go the long way round.
	<span style="color: grey">TODO: 22 sends messages to Bones and makes the jump</span>

			Reaching out telepathically to a human walking the opposite direction, 22 imparted the following.

			<blockquote>
			"Don't fear, I'm a friend. My mind is in the mouse that is passing you on the road. Please follow briefly. I need help and can reward you.
			Please go to The Sky Net and tell the warforged Bones that they must must dig at a particular location, today if possible, that they must pay you handsomely to tell them where, and that this course of action is very important to 22, who also says, 'Tacciath was the most courageous'.
			When they accept this proposal, tell them to dig at the northwest corner of the ruined church. Please repeat this plan back to me if you are willing to help."
			</blockquote>
			One at a time, 22 imparted similar messages to three amenable passers by. Two others ignored the request to follow the mouse, and one fled the voice that spoke in her head.

			Some elements of this hastily fashioned plan were ill-conceived.
			* Although Bones would know that the message was really from 22 (and they would probably give even the late-arriving messengers some small reward for their efforts), if three messengers proved to be too few, 22 could find themself in the distant future.
			* Worse yet, if 22 succeeded in their mission to change the past by kidnapping the young Julian McFlair, they would necessarily find themself in a different timeline from the one they had left -- and any such timeline would most probably be one where no extraction request specifying the northwest corner of the ruined church was ever sent.
			* Finally, if 22 agreed to leave Colin free to make changes to the past, Colin would likely have some non-trivial ideas about how to "improve" the present, but if 22 somehow forced Colin to accompany them back to the present, it would already be too late to save Atnas from being turned to mud and stranded in some undiscoverable demiplane for eternity.

			Despite 22's haste, these issues would all be resolved, some through sheer luck and others through centuries of patience.

	</div>		</div>
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			Still in mouse form, 22 arrived at the spring as instructed, to find the scarred and tattooed [[Caligna]] with a synthetic companion whom 22 would later learn was the [[protoforged]] [[7]]. The equipment that lay on the ground near the pair included two backpacks, and 22 scurried quickly into the nearer one and nestled carefully into a layer of clothing to wait...
⚫	<span style="color: grey">TODO: 22 follows 7, escapes their thrall trying to revive Colin ~~(so Zugs is spared by Colin's having volunteered to be shut down)~~, realizes that saving Atnas means going the long way round (but in reality Snow or 7 could help), meets Snow, and researches Nůžky</span>

		⚫	<span style="color: grey">TODO: 22 follows 7, escapes their thrall trying to revive Colin, realizes that saving Atnas means going the long way round (but in reality Snow or 7 could help), meets Snow, and researches Nůžky</span>
	</div>		</div>

Psuvillager: Links

2023-08-20T14:47:56Z

Links

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:47, 20 August 2023
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	<h3 style="margin: 0">First Impressions</h3>		<h3 style="margin: 0">First Impressions</h3>
	After several hours, a warforged entered the room followed by the gnome, ~~who~~ was holding a device like the one that had felled Scope. ~~She~~ instructed 22 to allow this stranger to make adjustments to them and to await her return. Then~~, like any good villain,~~ she left her captives alone.		After several hours, a [[Colin Pendergras\|warforged]] entered the room followed by the gnome. She was holding a device like the one that had felled Scope and instructed 22 to allow this stranger to make adjustments to them and to await her return. Then she left her captives alone.

	22 remained silent while the warforged tinkered with their insides, the Bluestone again compelling their compliance. The warforged made occasional comments to themself, appearing by turns surprised, annoyed, and impressed by what they found. Suddenly, they grew excited, and their interest in the task at hand seemed to double.		22 remained silent while the warforged tinkered with their insides, the Bluestone again compelling their compliance. The warforged made occasional comments to themself, appearing by turns surprised, annoyed, and impressed by what they found. Suddenly, they grew excited, and their interest in the task at hand seemed to double.
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	Unfortunately the distance to Breme left them with too little time to rescue Atnas before the gnome's deadline, and after some discussion, Colin resigned himself to a more desperate plan: acquiring the time he needed by to escaping into the past with 22.		Unfortunately the distance to Breme left them with too little time to rescue Atnas before the gnome's deadline, and after some discussion, Colin resigned himself to a more desperate plan: acquiring the time he needed by to escaping into the past with 22.

	Having learned that 22 had often [[22#~~The Rise of the Machines~~\|smuggled]] contraband by simply picking it up and incorporating into the form of some common and inconspicuous beast, he told 22 that they should to use this technique to ensconce Colin himself in a form small enough to carry him beyond the reach of the gnome before she realized he was gone. 22 objected that they would not be able to merge a conscious person into their animal form, and when they insisted on this over his objections, Colin reluctantly revised his strategy to include 22 first removing his data core, thus rendering him inert for transport.		Having learned that 22 had often [[22#Then_They_Came_for_the_Synthetics\|smuggled]] contraband by simply picking it up and incorporating into the form of some common and inconspicuous beast, he told 22 that they should to use this technique to ensconce Colin himself in a form small enough to carry him beyond the reach of the gnome before she realized he was gone. 22 objected that they would not be able to merge a conscious person into their animal form, and when they insisted on this over his objections, Colin reluctantly revised his strategy to include 22 first removing his data core, thus rendering him inert for transport.

	Once they had used the gnome's method of traveling back in time, 22 would restore Colin, he would reverse the modification that bound 22 to the gnome's instructions, Zugs McFlair would be born on schedule, and Colin would be at his leisure to think of a way to keep Atnas safe ...and perhaps a way to keep himself out of Wyvern Mountain.		Once they had used the gnome's method of traveling back in time, 22 would restore Colin, he would reverse the modification that bound 22 to the gnome's instructions, Zugs McFlair would be born on schedule, and Colin would be at his leisure to think of a way to keep Atnas safe ...and perhaps a way to keep himself out of Wyvern Mountain.

Psuvillager: /* Meeting Their Maker */ Uncollapsed section to make subsection work as link target

2023-07-22T13:31:32Z

Meeting Their Maker: Uncollapsed section to make subsection work as link target

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:31, 22 July 2023
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	<span><h2 style="display: inline; border: none; margin: none;">Meeting Their Maker</h2>, in which 22 discovers that a stranger is actually their oldest acquaintance, whose fate is entangled with their own</span>		<span><h2 style="display: inline; border: none; margin: none;">Meeting Their Maker</h2>, in which 22 discovers that a stranger is actually their oldest acquaintance, whose fate is entangled with their own</span>

	<div class="mw-collapsible ~~mw-collapsed~~" style="min-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-bottom: solid 1px lightgrey;">		<div class="mw-collapsible" style="min-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-bottom: solid 1px lightgrey;">

	<p margin-bottom: 1.5em; style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-color: grey"><strong>TLDR:</strong> <small>22 failed at first to recognize Colin Pendergras, who had also been captured and was being compelled to modify 22 to be subject to long-term commands. Colin discovered 22's sapience and telepathic ability and planned to use the latter to get information from their captor.</small></p>		<p margin-bottom: 1.5em; style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-color: grey"><strong>TLDR:</strong> <small>22 failed at first to recognize Colin Pendergras, who had also been captured and was being compelled to modify 22 to be subject to long-term commands. Colin discovered 22's sapience and telepathic ability and planned to use the latter to get information from their captor.</small></p>

Spiderjjr45: 3 revisions imported

2023-07-19T04:19:23Z

3 revisions imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 04:19, 19 July 2023
(No difference)

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:30, 1 July 2025
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	After several hours, a [[Colin Pendergras\|warforged]] entered the room followed by the gnome. She was holding a device like the one that had felled Scope and instructed 22 to allow this stranger to make adjustments to them and to await her return. Then she left her captives alone.		After several hours, a [[Colin Pendergras\|warforged]] entered the room followed by the gnome. She was holding a device like the one that had felled Scope and instructed 22 to allow this stranger to make adjustments to them and to await her return. Then she left her captives alone.

	22 remained [[silent]] while the warforged tinkered with their insides, the Bluestone again compelling their compliance. The warforged made occasional comments to themself, appearing by turns surprised, annoyed, and impressed by what they found. Suddenly, they grew excited, and their interest in the task at hand seemed to double.		22 remained silent while the warforged tinkered with their insides, the Bluestone again compelling their compliance. The warforged made occasional comments to themself, appearing by turns surprised, annoyed, and impressed by what they found. Suddenly, they grew excited, and their interest in the task at hand seemed to double.

	"What am I thinking?" the warforged asked a few minutes later, and they seemed to wait for a response.		"What am I thinking?" the warforged asked a few minutes later, and they seemed to wait for a response.
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	<H3>The Device</H3>		<H3>The Device</H3>
	22 had learned from their brief time studying Nůžky's thoughts that their current mission was supposed to be a soft solution to the anomaly known as Zugs McFlair, intended to obviate his existence by replacing many offensive timelines (with similar-but-Zugless ones) rather than by simply pruning the time tree and leaving it at that. This was possible because the Eyes of [[Chronepsis]] possessed a device they use to open a portal from any non-conforming [[Quelmar]] to "the Hungry Void," thereby destroying the aberrant timeline in a matter of days -- and presumably eventually destroying all the planes adjacent to that version of Quelmar if the gnome's belief about the magnitude of the Void's "hunger" was correct. 22's ultimate goal would be to disable this process, saving untold millions and their entire worlds from destruction.		22 had learned from their brief time studying Nůžky's thoughts that their current mission was supposed to be a soft solution to the anomaly known as Zugs McFlair, intended to obviate his existence by replacing many offensive timelines (with similar-but-Zugless ones) rather than by simply pruning the time tree and leaving it at that. This was possible because the Eyes of [[Chronepsis]] possessed a device they use to open a portal from any non-conforming [[Quelmar]] to "the Hungry Void," thereby destroying the aberrant timeline in a matter of days -- and presumably eventually destroying all the planes adjacent to that version of Quelmar if the gnome's belief about the magnitude of the Void's "hunger" was correct. 22's ultimate goal would be to disable this process, saving untold millions and their entire worlds from destruction. A secondary goal would be to fathom Chronepsis' allowance of the genocidal plan (or the even stranger possibility that rogue Eyes were engaging in it without her approval.)

	<H3>Julian McFlair</H3>		<H3>Julian McFlair</H3>
	Although 22 tried to keep records of their trip to [[Osugbo]], these went missing before they could be of use. Suffice it to say, they		Although 22 tried to keep records of their trip to [[Osugbo]], these went missing before they could be of use. Suffice it to say, they
	* found the [[Champerty]] village where Julian McFlair would be born two centuries later,		* found the [[Champerty]] village where Julian McFlair would be born two centuries later,
	* waited as instructed in a shallow "observatory" below the dirt ~~for~~ a year with no [[dragon]] sightings,		* waited as instructed in a shallow "observatory" below the dirt until a year passed with no [[dragon]] sightings,
	* identified Julian's parents and awaited his birth		* identified Julian's parents and awaited his birth
	* traumatized the family by assuming gorilla form by ~~taking~~ the child by night,		* traumatized the family by assuming gorilla form and abducting the child by night,
	* traveled to [[Pteris]] to leave Julian McFlair at a temple of [[Pelor]] far from his wife of record		* traveled to [[Pteris]] to leave the young Julian McFlair at a temple of [[Pelor]], far from his wife of record

	22 would later learn to their relieved astonishment that this had all somehow failed to make any significant difference -- that a Zugs McFlair would sill be born in the revised timeline, one whose recorded history (as of 795, when 22 returned) would be effectively identical to the one 22 had heard about before the mission. This would give them more to research when the time came.		22 would later learn to their relieved astonishment that this had all somehow failed to make any significant difference -- that a Zugs McFlair would sill be born in the revised timeline, one whose recorded history (as of 795, when 22 returned) would be effectively identical to the one 22 had heard about before the mission. This would give them more to research when the time came.

	<H3>The [[Clockwork Dragon]] Gang</H3>		<H3>The [[Clockwork Dragon]] Gang</H3>
	Before this, however, 22 tracked down Caligna and 7 and subsequently met Snow, who was eventually able both to restore Colin to consciousness and to contravene to the injurious modifications Colin had been forced to make to 22. They spent several more decades in the early PR era, working with the others on the Clockwork Dragon project, during which time Colin came to entrust Caligna with the responsibility for Atnas' rescue, and the mage expressed to 22 a willingness to oppose Nůžky (and perhaps even to use time travel to revisit the Zugs problem once they had all returned to the 8th century.)		Before this, however, 22 tracked down Caligna and 7 and subsequently met [[Snow]], who was eventually able both to restore Colin to consciousness and to contravene the injurious modifications Colin had been forced to make to 22. They spent several more decades in the early PR era, working with the others on the Clockwork Dragon project, during which time Colin came to entrust Caligna with the responsibility for Atnas' rescue, and the mage expressed to 22 a willingness to oppose Nůžky (and perhaps even to use time travel to revisit "the Zugs problem" once they had all returned to the 8th century PR.)

	22 eventually buried themself and conserved power to wait out the centuries until Scope exhumed them and they got the good news not only that Atnas was safe and well but also that Zugs McFlair appeared somehow no to have been ~~affected~~ by 22's shameful actions.		22 eventually buried themself and conserved power to wait out the centuries until Scope exhumed them and they got the good news not only that Atnas was safe and well but also that Zugs McFlair appeared somehow to have been unaffected by 22's shameful actions.

	[[Category:Wicked Wilds]]		[[Category:Wicked Wilds]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:08, 12 May 2025
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	<p margin-bottom: 1.5em; style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-color: grey"><strong>TLDR:</strong> <small>22 and Colin learned that their captor was going to send 22 into the past to ensure that Zugs McFlair was never born. It was possible for Colin to escape by joining 22 on their forced journey, and moreover, this was the only way he could conceive to avoid sacrificing his friend Atnas. Colin's plan and his willingness to be shut down during the trip to the past would serve to inadvertently protect the timeline and the life of Zugs.</small></p>		<p margin-bottom: 1.5em; style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-color: grey"><strong>TLDR:</strong> <small>22 and Colin learned that their captor was going to send 22 into the past to ensure that [[Zugs]] McFlair was never born. It was possible for Colin to escape by joining 22 on their forced journey, and moreover, this was the only way he could conceive to avoid sacrificing his friend Atnas. Colin's plan and his willingness to be shut down during the trip to the past would serve to inadvertently protect the timeline and the life of Zugs.</small></p>

	<h3 style="margin: 0">Nůžky's Plot Is Revealed</h3>		<h3 style="margin: 0">Nůžky's Plot Is Revealed</h3>
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	<H3>The Device</H3>		<H3>The Device</H3>
	22 had learned from their brief time studying Nůžky's thoughts that their current mission was supposed to be a soft solution to the anomaly known as Zugs McFlair, intended to obviate his existence by replacing many offensive timelines (with similar-but-Zugless ones) rather than by simply pruning the time tree and leaving it at that. This was possible because the Eyes of Chronepsis possessed a device they use to open a portal from any non-conforming Quelmar to "the Hungry Void," thereby destroying the aberrant timeline in a matter of days -- and presumably eventually destroying all the planes adjacent to that version of Quelmar if the gnome's belief about the magnitude of the Void's "hunger" was correct. 22's ultimate goal would be to disable this process, saving untold millions and their entire worlds from destruction.		22 had learned from their brief time studying Nůžky's thoughts that their current mission was supposed to be a soft solution to the anomaly known as Zugs McFlair, intended to obviate his existence by replacing many offensive timelines (with similar-but-Zugless ones) rather than by simply pruning the time tree and leaving it at that. This was possible because the Eyes of [[Chronepsis]] possessed a device they use to open a portal from any non-conforming [[Quelmar]] to "the Hungry Void," thereby destroying the aberrant timeline in a matter of days -- and presumably eventually destroying all the planes adjacent to that version of Quelmar if the gnome's belief about the magnitude of the Void's "hunger" was correct. 22's ultimate goal would be to disable this process, saving untold millions and their entire worlds from destruction.

	<H3>Julian McFlair</H3>		<H3>Julian McFlair</H3>
	Although 22 tried to keep records of their trip to [[Osugbo]], these went missing before they could be of use. Suffice it to say, they		Although 22 tried to keep records of their trip to [[Osugbo]], these went missing before they could be of use. Suffice it to say, they
	* found the [[Champerty]] village where Julian McFlair would be born two centuries later,		* found the [[Champerty]] village where Julian McFlair would be born two centuries later,
	* waited as instructed in a shallow "observatory" below the dirt for a year with no dragon sightings,		* waited as instructed in a shallow "observatory" below the dirt for a year with no [[dragon]] sightings,
	* identified Julian's parents and awaited his birth		* identified Julian's parents and awaited his birth
	* traumatized the family by assuming gorilla form by taking the child by night,		* traumatized the family by assuming gorilla form by taking the child by night,
	* traveled to Pteris to leave Julian McFlair at a temple of Pelor far from his wife of record		* traveled to [[Pteris]] to leave Julian McFlair at a temple of [[Pelor]] far from his wife of record

	22 would later learn to their relieved astonishment that this had all somehow failed to make any significant difference -- that a Zugs McFlair would sill be born in the revised timeline, one whose recorded history (as of 795, when 22 returned) would be effectively identical to the one 22 had heard about before the mission. This would give them more to research when the time came.		22 would later learn to their relieved astonishment that this had all somehow failed to make any significant difference -- that a Zugs McFlair would sill be born in the revised timeline, one whose recorded history (as of 795, when 22 returned) would be effectively identical to the one 22 had heard about before the mission. This would give them more to research when the time came.

	<H3>The Clockwork Dragon Gang</H3>		<H3>The [[Clockwork Dragon]] Gang</H3>
	Before this, however, 22 tracked down Caligna and 7 and subsequently met Snow, who was eventually able both to restore Colin to consciousness and to contravene to the injurious modifications Colin had been forced to make to 22. They spent several more decades in the early PR era, working with the others on the Clockwork Dragon project, during which time Colin came to entrust Caligna with the responsibility for Atnas' rescue, and the mage expressed to 22 a willingness to oppose Nůžky (and perhaps even to use time travel to revisit the Zugs problem once they had all returned to the 8th century.)		Before this, however, 22 tracked down Caligna and 7 and subsequently met Snow, who was eventually able both to restore Colin to consciousness and to contravene to the injurious modifications Colin had been forced to make to 22. They spent several more decades in the early PR era, working with the others on the Clockwork Dragon project, during which time Colin came to entrust Caligna with the responsibility for Atnas' rescue, and the mage expressed to 22 a willingness to oppose Nůžky (and perhaps even to use time travel to revisit the Zugs problem once they had all returned to the 8th century.)