Chapter 20

  Dick turned around and walked towards a room I hadn't seen. I followed, because, well, Emperor. The man who brought me stayed at the doors with the guards. The other nobles all started mingling as if the Emperor had dismissed them. I suppose he had, by concentrating on me once I entered. I caught a few nobles out of the corner of my eye watching me with various expressions. A few with curiosity. A few with hostility. Most with apathy. I simply continued after the Emperor, trying to ignore the stares.

  Upon entering the room, a door I hadn't seen shut behind me. I looked at it, then back at Dick. He gestured to a seat near a table in the middle of the room, "Sit, please. Don't worry, you're not in trouble, nor are you in any danger. Not from me, at least."

  I gulped, then sat down in the seat he gestured to. "Then why did you bring me here, Your Majesty?"

  "Please, call me Dick. I get enough of that Your Majesty stuff from the sycophants out there. No, you're here because the Empire needs you."

  "Why, though? I'm just a kid, at least in this world."

  "Let me tell you a story. Are you familiar with the Challenger crew?" I nodded. "Good, I'm not sure from what century, or even country, you're from, but since we're speaking in English, and your accent is vaguely American, I assume you know what happened to the shuttle we were on."

  Again, I nodded. "Yes, I watched it live."

  "Ah, from the 1900's, are you?"

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  "Well, I died in 2020, but I was already pretty old by then, so, most of my life was in the 1900's."

  "Ahh, yeah the Pattern we used to gather the information on you didn't tell us any of that. Just that you were an incarnation, and what your original name was. Myself and the other crew members, those that survived, didn't die. I'm not sure how the government hid that our bodies weren't in the wreckage, but a portal opened up just before we lost pressure, sucking us into this world. It was probably what made the explosion we heard behind us as the portal closed behind us. I don't remember the details, it was several millennia ago. It took all of us to survive the first few years here. After some time, we figured out the world, the people on it, and how to Weave. With our knowledge of Earth, we were able to do things that the locals couldn't figure out. This lead to us conquering each territory until we could impose peace on the people. We still have plenty of enemies, though, and that's where you come in. I know you were contacted by one during your first year in Academy. I don't know what he wanted, nor will I ask. I know him, and he probably has some sort of Pattern on you that will destroy everyone around you if you speak, so don't say anything. What I do know, is that you will be contacted, and they will try to undermine me. Let them. All of this is necessary if we are to get the proper outcome that is required in all of this. Do as they ask, and don't worry about me."

  Wait, what? I wasn't sure I understood anything he was saying, despite being able to understand every word he was saying. "Okay, I'm confused. Why would you let another person undermine you?" I hesitantly asked. I wasn't sure if saying that would be enough for the Pattern to go off. Luckily, it seems that it was not.

  "Because, I'm tired. It's time for another to take up the mantle. You will know everything, in time. For now, continue your studies. There is much more to the Spool and Loom than anything you have touched upon. Even in your own studies. I'm sure you realize there is much that we, as humans, and you as a human soul, can do that others cannot. Either they don't have the imagination, or they don't have the background in science we do. When the time is right, we'll begin the transfer of power from me."

  With that, he turned and walked to another door I hadn't seen, across from the door to the main hall. As he went through it, he turned and looked at me for a second, then disappeared into yet another room beyond. I turned around and walked to the other door, and walked out into the main hall. None of the nobles seem to have left, and they all went quiet and watched me as I walked out, then towards the main door. No one said anything to me, or to each other, they just watched. It was actually, kind of disconcerting, but I tried to not let it show. I passed the man who had picked me up. He didn't even look at me, just opened the door to let me out.

  I went back the way we had come, and eventually made it back to the Academy. My head was in a daze, and I was still confused by everything that had happened. The Emperor was up to something, and I still had no idea what. Somehow, I would figure out what his game was. I just hoped it wasn't a trap, or dangerous, but instead was something I would want to do. I didn't believe it was for a minute, but it's good to hope, right?