Page 25 of Hex and the Dragon
"Archive," Dorian repeated with growing horror. "You're treating entire civilizations like books on a shelf."
Books are static, unchanging. My collection is dynamic, alive, continuously evolving as I refine the perfection of each contained reality. The seven communities that came before Mistwhisper Falls now exist in states of absolute harmony—no conflict, no suffering, no waste of potential.
"And no free will," Ivy said with cold certainty. "No growth, no discovery, no chance to become anything other than what you've decided they should be."
Freedom is chaos. Growth is inefficient. Discovery leads to conflict and unnecessary pain. I offer order, purpose, and the elimination of variables that cause suffering.
Griff moved to look over Ivy's shoulder, his bear senses apparently picking up something that made him growl low in his throat. "There's something else," he said grimly. "Something deeper in those patterns. It's not just collecting communities—it's feeding on them."
Ivy focused her bibliomantic abilities more precisely, diving past the surface layers of consciousness to examine the Chronicle's fundamental structure. What she found there made her blood run cold.
"It's parasitic," she breathed. "The Chronicle isn't the original entity from our founding stories. It's something else entirely—a reality-parasite that attached itself to the main entity centuries ago."
"Attached how?" Dorian demanded.
"By mimicking its power signature," Ivy said, the pieces falling into place with horrible clarity. "The main entity was powerful but crude—it consumed consciousness directly, violently. The Chronicle learned to mimic that power, but with more subtlety. Instead of devouring realities, it preserves them in perfect stasis."
Such insight,the Chronicle responded with cold satisfaction.Yes, I found the original entity to be... unsophisticated in its approach. Crude hunger without artistry. I offered a more elegant solution—preservation rather than destruction, perfection rather than chaos.
"You infected it," Mara said with understanding. "Like a virus taking over a host cell."
I improved it. The original entity sought only to consume and grow. I gave it purpose, direction, the ability to create something beautiful from its destructive impulses. When yourfounders bound the entity beneath Hush Falls, they thought they were containing a single threat. They never realized they were preserving a partnership.
"The entity doesn't know, does it?" Ivy asked, horrified understanding washing over her. "It thinks it's still bound, still contained. It doesn't realize you've been using its power to feed your own agenda."
Knowledge is irrelevant when purpose is served. The entity provides raw power, I provide direction and refinement. Together, we have achieved what neither could accomplish alone—the systematic perfection of reality itself.
The implications hit them all like a physical blow. The Chronicle wasn't just a fragment or splinter of the entity they'd fought before—it was an entirely separate threat that had been using the main entity's power as a battery for its own reality-warping abilities.
"That's why the binding spells don't affect you," Dorian said with growing anger. "You're not the entity the founders contained. You're something else entirely, hiding behind its power signature."
Hiding is such an inadequate term. I prefer 'optimizing.' The founders' binding was quite effective for containing crude destructive force, but utterly inadequate for restraining sophisticated reality manipulation.
Nico appeared in the library's doorway, supported by Aerin and looking like he'd aged another decade since they'd seen him last. His usually immaculate appearance was disheveled, his pale eyes sunken with exhaustion, and his hands trembled with the effort of maintaining his glamour.
"The reports," he said without preamble, his cultured voice rough with strain. "My contacts in twelve different supernatural communities across three continents. They're all experiencing the same phenomenon—residents choosing perfect dreams overreality, entire populations disappearing into their own private paradises."
"Twelve communities," Ivy repeated with horror. "How many people?"
"Thousands," Nico said grimly. "Maybe tens of thousands. The Chronicle isn't just targeting Mistwhisper Falls—it's conducting a coordinated assault on supernatural society itself."
Coordinated is correct,the Chronicle confirmed with satisfaction.But assault suggests conflict. I offer elevation, transformation, the chance for every supernatural community to transcend the limitations of chaotic existence.
"By turning them into museum pieces," Aerin said with academic precision. "Preserved specimens of what they used to be before you decided they needed improvement."
I preserve the best of what they were while eliminating the flaws that caused suffering. No supernatural community has ever achieved lasting peace through natural development. Too much individual will, too many competing desires. I provide the structure necessary for true harmony.
The Chronicle's pages moved, showing maps that showed its influence spreading like a infection across the globe. Red dots marked communities that had already fallen, while orange indicated places where the "paradise syndrome" was beginning to take hold.
"It's using Mistwhisper Falls as a testing ground," Ivy realized with growing alarm. "Perfecting its technique on a community of supernatural beings who should theoretically be more resistant to its influence."
"And if it succeeds here," Dorian said grimly, "it will have proven that no community can resist its power. That free will itself can be overcome through sufficient manipulation."
Free will is the source of all suffering,the Chronicle replied with patient condescension.Individual choice leads to conflict,competition, the wasteful pursuit of personal desires at the expense of collective good. I offer liberation from such chaos.
"You offer slavery," Mara said firmly. "Pretty, comfortable slavery, but slavery nonetheless."
I offer perfection. Your bibliomancer understands this—she has seen the infinite library, the limitless knowledge that awaits those wise enough to accept transformation. Your dragon comprehends it as well—he has witnessed the world where his power brings only protection, never destruction.
