"Oh bright eye spring forth

Thy aspiration spreads eternal

Shelter me 'mongst the vagaries of fate

Thy knowledge guards

Thy arts provide

Provide shelter ere the fires arrive

Giveth strength from past folly"

-- Unknown Author, Fragments of Ages Past, AC 1092

After I shake Toriana's hand, I struggle to come up with conversation topics. My interests primarily include: beaches, finding my friend Erica, and not getting [Annihilated]. I'm just about to ask her what she thinks about oceanfronts when I hear Aethir conclude,

"Alright, so we're agreed? A [Polymorph]'ed [Simulacrum] of a brain devourer should interface directly with his neural system. We load the construct into a [Lightning Golem] then encase that into a [Flesh Effigy]. That should transmit the crabs thoughts from the brain devourer to the golem to the meat construct. The akashic feedback from the [Flesh Effigy] should translate anthropoid thought processes into language, and the interface won't harm the crab's body, mind, heart or soul."

"If this works, afterwards we'll have to [Erase] the result. It's going to be an abomination."

"I concur, but we'll write down the method. We'll be able to get through the trial and it may come in handy in the future."

They turn to me as I squeak, "uhm... thanks for the hard work guys, but Toriana helped me figure it out!"

***

Aethir continues to huff and puff as he searches his table.

"Bloody charisma goddess... undermining efforts... is validation too much to ask..."

I try to ignore the fact that he keeps on opening and closing the same drawer over and over again. From what I can see, the contents change each time he looks inside; and the entire situation makes my brain hurt.

"Ah! Found it. Here we are. Now that the *communication* issue is solved, let's proceed with judgement."

He turns to the other gods, "Before I called you here, I already ran a ten thousand sample probabilistic analysis of the crabs next five years using [That-tends-to-Happen] and [I-told-you-so]."

He says to Toriana, "you weren't around when we ratified its use at Gods of Arthos v. Fae Oracles. I know they're the layman's [Future-Sight] but they get the job done. Nine times out of ten, it's ninety five percent accurate and with such a large sample size..." he chuckles, "I doubt there's any question."

Aethir passes out the papers to everyone. He even hands a copy to me. Looking down, there's charts and graphs and figures and lines. He's *kindly* made it easy to summarize. At the very top of the form a table is circled in bright red ink. The chart reads,

Time Frame:

Event:

Occurrence Probability:

Year 1:

Death

87%

Year 1-3:

Gruesome death

93%

Year 1-5:

Ignoble death

95%

My heart falls out of my carapace. I lift my head as my claw gently shakes the papers. Tears fill my vision as Aethir quietly asks,

"Verdict?"

I turn to Lira, Goddess of Wisdom. Her face impassive, I sense no empathy from her.

"[Annihilation]"

I pivot to Toriana, Goddess of Charisma. She sadly smiles.

"[Fate] is not written. It can always change. I vote to give him a chance."

I look to Aethir, God of Intelligence and know my doom.

"I'm sorry Crabby. I can't justify the divine expenditure needed to fix the problems you've presented… especially with your survival chances. I vote [Annihilation]. Majority rules, the motion is passed."

***

They quietly give me a minute to gather myself. Their gentle murmurs fade into the background as I look back on my day of life. I think I've only been alive for a day. The time before, when I was just an animal... that was not living. Nothing wrong with it of course, but the essence of me, of Sir Crabby, started with that girl on the beach...

Erica.

She was so full of life... her happy smile... my first friend. I remember her little pout as I conquered the sand castle for the last time; claws raised high in victory. I remember her cute grin, the sly wink as she gave me a class and named me High Crab of the Realm.

I hope she’s doing well.

I hope she doesn't miss me too much.

The gentle *tap* *tap* of chitin on stone breaks me from my memories. Toriana approaches and places a tender claw on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry Crabby. There are reasons for all this. Reasons which I'm sure don't matter to you right now, but know that your sacrifice is not in vain. I [Promise], to handle your reincarnation myself. You won't remember anything, but I'll place you next to Erica. What would you like to be?"

I try to contain my sniffles.

"A bird maybe? Flying seems like it'd be nice."

She pats my shoulder again.

"Flying IS nice. I'll see about a dove or a swan. No one eats those and they are very pretty."

I nod, not really acknowledging her platitudes. Moments later, Aethir clears his voice.

"Any last words?"

I pause, trying to collect my thoughts. I try to reason, to figure out something meaningful to say. Something that would impact these gods who are stealing my life. Confusion and fear turn to anger, and meaningful or not... I'm going to let them have a piece of my mind.

"Aethir! I hope you're proud of yourself! Killing an innocent crab based on probabilities. Sure, the odds aren't good but look at how I got here? Luck might not be a stat, but if it was I’d have a good chance at living."

I swivel to Lira,

"I have nothing to say to you. This may seem like a Wise choice on paper, but it's cold blooded murder, plain and simple."

I look at Toriana,

"Thank you... for everything."

My words go unremarked and Aethir quietly asks,

"Anything else?"

My brain scrambles for hope, trying to figure out something, anything that would save my life. I initially come up empty, but try for one last idea.

"Aethir, I thought the gods were for every crab? You're condemning me based on sub-par fortune telling. How'd you get so angry and bitter?"

A sudden thought crosses my mind. Maybe I could get a fourth opinion?

"I wish I could speak to a kinder, gentler intelligence, someone like me... still young and full of hope."

The silence was deafening.

It was broken by Toriana wildly waving her arms no, full body shaking in terror.

Aethir… HOWLS. His voice, that of an old man, fluctuates wildly in pitch and yaw. The chaotic yo-yo of his tone mirrors the surrounding space as it warps and cracks. The figures of the three gods oscillates in disorder as I throw myself to the ground, trying to anchor against the deconstructing reality. In the shrieking void, I manage to understand him.

"...wish to...speak... young... kinder intelligence?"

The air rapidly disappears, receding into vacuum. I don’t know what to do, what to say. His voice calls again.

"...yes... or no?"

I open my mind, about to respond with [Eyes of Intent] when suddenly...

"NO."

***

The cave snaps into being; reality reconstructing before I could process the change. Toriana and Aethir are golden blobs, light shining from translucent bubbles. I have to tear my sight away, their wild gesticulations plunging towards madness.

Lira.

Lira is something *More*.

She is a picture of crabby elegance, her demeanor poised and regal. And yet… there's an indefinable other to her presence, a sense incongruous with her physical shell. I can't focus on her too closely, the unconscious attempt revealing a shape comprised of infinite fractals. Her aura presses against me and I can feel something splinter; not my flesh, nor my mind nor heart... something esoteric. She raises her arms as she turns to the misshapen gods and declares:

"KNOW that I exercise my right as WISDOM of this age. Return to the past so that I may fulfil my FUNCTION."

Just as reality shuddered into stability, so too did their misbegotten forms; flesh and chitin assembling into familiar profiles. They stood there as once before, as if nothing had ever changed.

Lira lowers her claws. Her presence diminishes slightly, and she turns to face me; her eyes glaring in wroth. She intones each word with an air of antiquity, her cadence and speech resonating in time.

"HEARKEN unto me mortal. KNOW ye have in ignorance spoken of ancient COVENANT and deep truth. You have forced me to act in a manner unbecoming of this era. Supplicate thyself to receive my counsel."

I swallow, then step forward, back legs bending low to maintain eye contact.

"Supplicant. KNOW what ye have asked."

"KNOW that WE are DIVINE."

"KNOW that WE are ASPECTS OF ETERNITY."

"KNOW that WE are parts of a whole."

"As one changes, thus do all change; balance maintained amidst chaos."

"When you gaze upon our form it is but a sliver of a fragment of a touch of our power. A tenth of our attention would reduce your world to ash."

"KNOW of the COVENANT between mortal and DIVINE."

"That as ETERNITY guards the AETHERIC GATES, mortals guard the MATERIAL PLANE.

FOR this SERVICE, you are granted the BOON of FREE WILL and may interact with ETERNITY as you wish."

"I grant ye the counsel of WISDOM. Look upon the shadows of ages past. PONDER the WISDOM of bringing young INTELLIGENCE to the fore."

She waves her claw, and draws my attention to Toriana. I take only a second to see what she asks of me. Endless shadows writhe behind her. In them, I see flashes of bygone days. Backwards in time, the ideas become raw, more primal. From Charisma to Love to Lust to Yearning to Passion to Fire. It recedes into the distance, becoming more abstract as it goes. I see tender lovers, and drunken fools. I see men chased and torn limb from limb as revelers cry in ecstasy. I see SUMMER, BLOOD, CHAOS.

A glacial claw grips my chin and tears my gaze away. I was unable to do it myself.

"You have SEEN."

I nod my head, dumbstruck.

"There is more. Gaze into my umbra."

Lira's shadow offers the same vista, yet in reverse polarity. From Wisdom to Knowledge to Experience to Ice, WINTER, DEATH, ENTROPY. A million faces, a million worlds. Three old hags cackle in the night, sharing an eye. A Jackal headed man weighs a heart on a scale. A star dies, then collapses; tearing a hole into void.

My eyes are bleeding; pain crushing my feeble protests. Again, she jerks my head away as she brings me closer; eye to eye.

"KNOW that this is the last you'll see. Should you find the ASPECT you seek, remember ETERNITY's connection. Even should we take no action, our presence will still be felt."

I manage to nod before she turns me towards Aethir. I see a one eyed man, two ravens on his shoulders. I see a feathered serpent, flying in the jungle. From Intelligence it recedes into the past, and I'm barely standing as I try to comprehend the vision before me. Far, far, in the back I find what I'm looking for. I see Wind, SPRING, MAGIC, HOPE, and then right after... there's a kinder, gentler intelligence. It's young and naive, it hasn't been hurt by the vicissitudes of time.

I could bring this aspect forth. I could ask for mercy, and I'd be pardoned almost certainly. But... this is too far gone. This intelligence existed in days of old, when the world was young. If I call him into the present I might be saved. But I’d risk letting Innocence, Passion and Disdain suffuse the [System] that Intelligence, Charisma and Wisdom have built.

The ichor pouring from my eyes is joined by a flow from my mouth and ears. Lira, Goddess of Wisdom, holds me upright; her support the only reason I'm still standing.

"You have received my WISDOM."

"What is your choice?"