1 The Storyteller

In The Void, You Meet Him

You are far from home traveling to and fro. But it doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter where you were from, nor where you're going. All that matters is that you are going to meet him, be it by chance, fate, or intentions your paths have crossed. And up ahead you see this figure of mystery, someone who seems as out of place as yourself.

His figure surprises you, He is no simple figure, not one that you recognize anyway. His body is a bright glowing blue, he was adorned in a robe of rags looking like it's made of mere sackcloth, but you approached the stranger anyways. It isn't like you encounter many others in the void regardless of their intentions. As you drew closer you could see more details on the man, but you could tell that his aura was suppressed or closed off altogether but did it matter? Now within earshot you could hear him looking into a cold glassy sphere no larger than 3 meters in diameter, mumbling to himself. As you approached, he turned around to look at you, or that's what you expected. When he turned around you saw he had no visible face, just a bright, blue, seemingly featureless, patch. He was decorated with short and neatly kept strands of what you would assume was hair streaming down his empty face; and a beard that ran with well-kept sideburns along his jaw meeting up neatly on what should be his chin, and glasses mysteriously suspending themselves where they should rest.

"Hello there." the man said to you in a warm, deep, and elder tone. You were taken aback just a small amount by his warm and familiar tone, you felt oddly familiar with the man despite never before meeting him. "H-hello." you stuttered not yet fully accustomed to his strange existence. "Are you going to be stopped here for a short while?" he asked with a tone that conveyed a gentle smile to you without even having a face, but strange as he might be you feel comfortable in his presence. You gave the man an affirming nod, and he chuckled to himself as he formed a small patch of earth for you to rest upon as he sat down, motioning for you to do the same. It didn't matter if you took off your traveling gear, or lay down your weapons, or began to eat, these were mere meaningless details.

The man pulled out a tea set from the sleeve of his robe, and began to brew you a drink, whilst facing the sphere. "Since you're traveling, I would assume you would prefer to have a nice drink of tea before you go, restore your aura, and maybe have someone to talk to for just a bit." He held out a cup of tea for you, one that you gladly accepted, and began to drink. "Old man… just who are you exactly? If you don't mind telling me that is." You asked the man nervously. He looked into your eyes and made you sense another smile. "Oh, me? I don't really have a name, not anymore anyways. But if you have to call me something, Storyteller works just fine." You nodded; it was a simple name, and easy to remember; but yet it was so obscure.

The Storyteller took a sip of tea before placing his hand upon the sphere again, "Oh woe is this realm." he mumbled aloud, before removing his hand from it to turn back to you. "I wonder, do you know what this is?" he said while pointing to the glassy sphere. You pondered for a moment before asking, "Is it some fancy glass?" The Storyteller shook his head before softly speaking once more, "No, no, this is a WorldFrame. Good guess though." He sat down across from you once more and drank his tea. You sat in silence, anxiously waiting for the next spurt of talking, because he does call himself the storyteller.

A little bored you initiate the next conversation. "What is a "WorldFrame?" It sounded important." It seemed like he just slightly shifted his gaze, but he sat in silence as he drank. You observed his peculiar face once more and noted that when the cup reached where his lips should be, the top of the cup disappeared. But your waiting didn't go unnoticed, as the Storyteller set down his and gave a sigh of satisfaction. "So would you like to know what a WorldFrame is?" You nodded profusely, to which the Storyteller asked, "How did you make it to the void? I'm assuming you used a jumper, or were born here." You thought about it for a bit, but it's been thousands of years since you departed. Your thoughts were interrupted by the Storyteller asking, "You can't quite remember, can you? It's no problem, void does that to us all." The Storyteller sent you another smile, as he continued, "In a way that's not too surprising in all honesty. Now this sphere and by extension all other WorldFrames are their own little universes." He said with a chuckle, "Don't get me wrong, they aren't small, even this 3-meter WorldFrame technically has an infinite volume. But some you and I can go into like they were our own, original realm. However, some others have their own rulesets that we aren't compatible with."

You sat astounded, that mere sphere held infinite space, while you were thinking that it was just some pretty glass. How peculiar it is, does this mean your world you came from is all within a glass ball like this one? But before you knew it the Storyteller interjected a question, "Would you like to hear the story of this world?" Puzzled, you looked at the man, what exactly did he mean by "the story of the world,"? Was he going to tell you its entire history, just like that? The Storyteller then blurted, "This WorldFrame, it doesn't have much longer, and it would be depressing to just let it be forgotten. I won't be long, just enough to make you remember it." This time as he spoke, his words could be heard more as a plea than a question. Alas you have nothing better to do so you take him up on his offer.