"I'm old enough in human terms," grumped Xiao.
"Good enough," said Ruddygore. "Leave as soon as you're ready."
The Mimir whirred and clicked. When it spoke, the voice had changed from the "many voices speaking at once" to an oddly accented and very deep male voice.
Known by many names, sometimes as simply the World or as Counter-Earth or the Realms by the inhabitants, those outside the world refer to it by a major feature - The World Of The Dancing Gods. The 'Dancing Gods' referenced is a major river in this world, almost qualifying as an inland sea if one ignores the factors more common to rivers.This World is considered a Class One hazard due to an effect known as The Rules, which is a carry over from the formation of this world. It is a world of Epic Fantasy but any visitors quickly find themselves running afoul of those Rules and therefore desiring of keeping their visits as short as possible.
"Okay," said Ranma. "What's that mean? What are these 'Rules'?"
The World known as the World Of The Dancing Gods is a world built by commitee. Originally the world had only "soft" physical laws and was a land of pure chaos and physical uncertainty. The first group of Rules was to address the "soft" physical laws and reinforce them so that constants like gravity and seasons would be addressed. Had they stopped there, it would have been an odd universe but not that different. The problem is that they did not stop there.One of the dimensional travellers native to this world, a powerful archimage named Throckmorten Ruddygore, has likened it to a terrestrial tax code. Whereas a simple tax law might be fair and equitable to a large segment of populace, special exclusions and limitations and requirements quickly produce the sort of tangle that nobody completely understands even if they devote their own lifetimes to it. The Rules of the World of Dancing Gods are somewhat worse as they will apply themselves to anyone within that world and will usually force the visitor into an undesirable role.
As such the Rules will attempt to "pigeonhole" a visitor by this vastly complicated set of guidelines. Stealing a loaf of bread for example will likely force the victim to become a Thief, and there are over one hundred rules that apply to a Thief - most of which would be considered undesirable by a large number of said victims.
There are at least four other universes with Rules developed along similar needs and similar in function to that of the World of Dancing Gods, however those other worlds mainly seem to have commitees that are "less anal" than the High Council Of Wizards has been in the past.
Those who find themselves in this world and unable to immediately turn around and leave are advised to take up the mantle of Adventuring Hero as that gives the most leeway as far as the Rules go, though there are also some considerable hazards of that path.
Hazards being Epic Quests, Evil Overlords, Romantic Subplots, Rival With A Tragic Secret, Random Monster Encounters, and that sort of thing.
At least with the monster encounters you can loot the body and lair and make enough money to survive on.
"Huh," said Ranma as the Mimir wound down. That meant he'd have to try again tomorrow to get more details. In the meantime though.
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(Posted Sun, 09 Nov 2003 19:59)
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