The Game We Immortals Play

Note on Italics: Text in italics are inner monologues, most of the time it will be perfectly clear whose thoughts they are but just in case I will be color coding them. The color code so far: Mors, Twilight

Chapter 3
The Paths We Tread

Warnings: None

As Twilight finished her description of events, Mors noted the various reactions of the ponies and dragon. Rarity looked like she had been close to fainting when Twilight had told them what had transpired at the top of the tower, the cyan Pegasus and orange pony were wide eyed in fascination, the yellow Pegasus and Spike looked concerned and Celestia was unreadable. The silence that followed was broken by a cheerful excited voice.

"Good thing you spent a Willpower point on that last Resolve Roll Twilight!" said the pink pony bouncing up on her tail like it was a spring. All eyes in the room where looking at the pink pony with varying degrees of confusion.

"Pinkie, you're so random." the cyan Pegasus stated shaking her head, Pinkie giggled in response. Twilight and Celestia turned their attention to Mors.

"I've so many questions, I'm not sure where to start." Twilight said, her brow furrowed in thought before settling down "When you introduced yourself you called what happened to me an Awakening. What is an Awakening?"

"As good a place to start as any. An Awakening is when an individual's soul makes a connection with one of the Five Watchtowers, this forges a conduit allowing them to draw upon the power of the Supernal Realm." Twilight looked a little puzzled but seemed to be following him for the most part something tangible will likely be more helpful... "Remember the sensation you felt when you finished inscribing your name into the Tower?" Twilight nodded her head, so he continued, "Try focusing on that feeling." Twilight closed her eyes and started focusing, no sooner had she done so then her eyes shoot open.

"I can feel it" her friends just looked at her "the tower, it's hard to explain. It's like it's a part of me or I'm part of It." several heads turned to Mors for confirmation.

"An accurate assessment." he said with a nod. Twilight was lost in thought again after a few moments she broke her silence.

"When I was in that realm and now when I focus on the connection I can feel some kind of power. It feels similar to magic but the same time very different. What is it?"

"To answer that will take some time, so I hope you are all comfortable." looking around a few shifted a bit but said nothing, Twilight and grabbed some paper, ink and a quill with her Unicorn magic. The paper was off to her side the quill enveloped in a magenta glow and looked be taking notes. Celestia gave him a small nod for him to continue "Very well then. The power you referred to is another form of magic, I must admit that I am unfamiliar with your form magic or its workings but the this form of magic is broken down to into 10 Arcana each of which allows a Mage to impose their will upon reality in a different way. This magic comes from one of the five Supernal Realms, each of these Realms is more intone with two Arcana than the others and when a Mage inscribes their name into that Realm's Watchtower becoming Awakened. The Awakened draw upon the power of that Realm through their connection with the Watchtower, these connections are called Paths." Mors paused for a moment, given the groups reactions only Twilight and Celestia seemed to really be following him. "The Realm you where in is called the Aether it is one unrestrained creation of magic at its purest, a place of energy, destruction and rebirth. Those who walk the Path of the Mighty are known as Obrimos." Mors noticed Twilight shift about looking a bit uneasy at his last statement but he decided to continue "Obrimos draw power from the Watchtower of the Golden Key its Ruling Arcana are Forces and Prime. The best way to describe the Prime Arcana is as the magic of magic." at this Twilight became even more attentive electing a small smile from Celestia and the others shared a knowing look an area of interest perhaps? he glanced at the quill which was going back and forth across a fresh sheet of paper Twilight's a student of their magic and Princess Celestia is her mentor... he put the thought aside for the moment and continued "It can be used to; see the makeup of spells, counter and dispel magic, read the nature of others from their aura, wield Supernal fire, create illusions, imbue items with magic, influence Mana and Halows, and even draw power from the ley lines of the earth." the reactions around the room changed little as he continued "The Arcana of Forces governs; Electricity, sound, fire, heat, kinetic energy, light, magnetism, nuclear radiation, sunlight, gravity and weather." At this point more than a few jaws dropped, Celestia was more composed than the rest. The cyan Pegasus flapped her wings taking to the air, she was hovering in place and looking pointedly at Mors as she spoke.

"Wait a minute. Are you saying Twilight can control the weather?!" her voice held more than a hint of indignation.

"No, it will likely be some time before she is able to." Mors was more than a little intrigued by her apparent offense, his thoughts were cut short by Celestia.

"There are a number of things I wish to know; however I must return to my duties. Before I go I do have two questions for you; where are you from? And why are you here?" Asked Celestia.

"Another world, I can provide you with some texts from my library about my world as well as texts going into more detail about Supernal magic." the only response from Celestia was a raised eyebrow, Twilight looked rather excited at the prospect of a library full of books from another world and the others were a mix of wonder and disbelief "I am here in Ponyvile because when I sensed Miss Sparkle's Awakening; I did not detect any other Awakened in the area and so I came here both to explain what was happening and to make sure there weren't any complications,. As for why I am in your world... I am here fulfilling my friends' last request, why they wanted to send me here I do not know." he trailed off at the end why indeed

"I am sorry to for the loss of your friends." for a moment, Celestia had a knowing look in her eyes and her voice held a hint of sadness "And I am grateful for your offer although I must admit I am curious as to how you will do so. Are you capable of returning to your world then?" her tone shifting to one of curiosity. Mors shook his head.

"No, returning to my world is beyond my ability. It took all four of my friends working together and likely a few years, to send me here. As for my library, it as much a part of me as I am of it, I can go to and from it at will." he paused a moment before continuing "If you will pardon me for a moment I will go retrieve the texts for you Princess, as well as some texts on Prime and Forces Arcana for Miss Sparkle." Celestia nodded her head in response and Twilight looked on with a mixture of confusion and excitement as Mors started meditating that's odd, from what he said he was about to use magic but his horn isn't...wait WHAT!? He doesn't have a horn! A few seconds passed and then he was gone. There was no flash of light or loud noise he was just gone. Twilight looked from the spot Mors had been to Celestia, before she could speak Mors was back along with a dozen books. Twilight was dumbfounded, her mouth trying to form words but failing, her friends were much the same and Celestia looked amused.

"How...? How did...I thought only Unicorns could do magic? You're an Earth pony, how...did...?" Twilight asked, being more confused than ever. Mors was now mirroring Celestia's amused look.

"An Awakened forms an image in their mind of the changes they want to make in the world, an Imago. The Imago consists of the spells effects and factors; once an Imago is formed the mage draws on their connection to the Supernal Realm and uses that power to enact the changes of the Imago on the world. The changes a mage can make are confined to the Arcana that they know, their own innate power and their understanding of how the Arcana interacts with the world around them." Mors stated as he floated a stack of books over to them put them down in front of them. Twilight had a look of sudden comprehension.

"So when you told Rainbow Dash it would be sometime before I could control the weather it was because in order to do so I would need not only an understanding of the effects needed to cause the weather to change but also how the Arcana involved would need to be used to affect it?" Twilight asked.

"Correct, and the more drastic the change the greater the complexity and force of will needed to enact it." he replied. Twilight once again looked to be pondering something. Celestia was about ready to depart but her Faithful Students next question caught her interest.

"Are you an Obrimos mage Mors?" she asked. This time there was a pause before he replied which didn't go unnoticed by any in the room.

"No Miss Sparkle. My Path is Moros, its Realm is that of Stygia and its Watcher is that of the Lead Coin." Again there was a pause the room had become quite had stopped taking notes when she noticed the change in his tone. It was solemn now with an underlying calmness to it. "Its Ruling Arcana are that of Death and Matter." Mors reply was met with silence. Twilight had paled at the mention of the Death Arcana, as had several of the others, Celestia was unreadable and Spike was fidgeting nervously.

"Do..do..do you mean..deaaath..as in..zombies...?" Spike stammered out. At this Mors' face darkened causing Spike to gulp.

"The dead are not playthings and I do not suffer those who would make a mockery of the dead." Mors' voice sounded like it was emanating from a tomb, echoing forth from its depths "They have earned their rest and..." he stopped as he saw that Spike was now hiding behind Twilight who looked more than a little worried by the sudden change. Rarity had fainted; the yellow Pegasus was hiding behind the cyan Pegasus, who along with the two Earth ponies looked stunned. Mors lowered his head with a sigh "I must apologize for that outburst." his voice returning to normal "I have personal and ethical reasons for my view on such practices and I am afraid it has been a very long time since I have interacted with anyone other than my friends." a few moments passed before the silence was broken, this time by Celestia.

"My little ponies please take Rarity and go down stairs." her voice was firm but gentle. Once they had left she turned her attention back to Mors. "What exactly does the Death Arcana govern and to what degree are you proficient in it?"

"It influences: Darkness, decay, ectoplasm, enervation, resurrection, souls, lifespans, and undead. It can also be used to speak with the dead and interact with objects and beings in Twilight; a state parallel with the Material World, that ghosts and other spirits exist within. As for my proficiency; I am an Archmage of both Death and Mater and I have a fair knowledge of the other Arcana as well." Celestia looked at Mors, her expression remaining unreadable for several minutes passed before she spoke.

"Mors, what do you intend to do now that you are in this world?" Celestia's tone was even.

"If I am to remain here I would like to know your laws and customs. In the short term, if you want, I can help both you and Miss Sparkle understand and control her new abilities. As for long term; I am unsure, I know too little about this world to make such plans." he replied.

"Based on how forthcoming you have been in answering my questions and your actions thus far, I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. I have decided that I will accept your offer to help Twilight Sparkle, the two of you shall return with me to Canterlot for her lessons. I will arrange for you to stay at the palace for the time being and in between her lessons Twilight will be able to tell you about our world." her voice taking on its usual soft yet authoritative tone.

"Thank you Princess." Mors replied bowing his head.

"There is still much for us to discuss, however for now let us join Twilight Sparkle and her friends." Celestia said while getting up, Mors followed behind Celestia as she made her way down stairs.

Twilight and the others were talking quietly amongst themselves, Rarity having recovered from fainting. Their conversations stopped when they saw Celestia and Mors had joined them. All of them had varying looks of nervousness and worry, but most relaxed when Celestia gave them a small reassuring smile. Celestia's announcement was received with mixed emotions: Twilight seemed excited at the prospect of her lessons especially since the Princess was going to be present. Pinkie Pie was the only member of the group who vocal objected since they were leaving before she could throw a party.

Once Twilight had packed she rejoined the others downstairs. One by one her friends headed home after saying goodbye and making Twilight promise to come back soon. Spike would be staying behind to run the library, the others having offered to take turns helping him. With everything taken care of Celestia cast the spell to transport the three of them to the palace and with a flash of light they were gone.

END Chapter 3

A/N: This chapter turned out to be one massive headache to write, don't be surprised if it gets heavily edited at some point (nothing story wise will be changed but some of the dialog I might have to redo) and sorry if the end seems a bit rushed. I've decided that at least one more of the Main 6 will Awaken at some point in the future, not sure about the rest.

A/N 2: For those familiar with the MTAw book Imperial Mysteries (IM); I have been leaving the concepts presented in it out of this story (for now at least) as I feel including those elements would make following the story a nightmare. That and I'm having enough of a challenge writing this story as is. Also for those familiar with IM: Mors has a Gnosis of 8 and here is his Arcana:
Death: 7
Fate: 3
Forces: 4
Life: 3
Mater: 8
Mind: 3
Prime: 5
Space: 4
Spirit: 4
Time: 3