The Sketch Rift: The Seal of Demons

Cleaning the Kitchen

Soal,

In all of the time that I had -- it is nearing the end of July in a Hendera jaded of violence -- there was time enough to redirect the purpose of this letter. To address you first, this is your friend Moth speaking, although it may not sound so. It doesn't do anymore to speak like a commoner when you lead an all-encompassing existentialist movement thirsty for the ink of the Reacsoa Hand and revolting against the tide of the Kyueb Reacsoa's story.

It becomes worse yet for such an individual at this time, seeing as Hemingway, with his own pathetically small crowd of supporters, has opposed this, claiming without personality that laying claim to the Hand will endanger the infinite pyramid of Planes. (Yes, even the assembly of Counter's Hall is, thanks to some treasured plot holes, on our side now.) He adds, proceeding this, that I, as your ally, would merely use you and dear Irene as vessels with whom to carry out this task. And, while merely a pseudo-Sulukridger, he can put on quite a show in expressing this attitude. Just hearing about how he mustered enough passion to utterly demolish the ruins of Lint Corp's time machine chamber (as if to forbid your return) made me guffaw.

As the Ambassador and the highest rebel in the movement, I encourage your return. If Ivel was correct about a single fact, it was his final one given. But someone will bring you and Irene back in time for the dawn of September; I promise.

--MOTH

P.S.: I would like to put in a good word for your mother here. She is dying to see you again, although I would like to admit that she is even more anxious to find your sister, whose discovery has not yet occurred.

*     *     *

Soal had been crafty when he was confronted with the disposal of Ivel, whose demise, in his humble opinion, was reasonably deserved. A sizeable amount of tap water had seeped to the tiled floor, carrying the blood with it, trickling through a floor vent into the practically deserted basement, whose own floor gradually absorbed the meshed liquid over time. A broom did away sufficiently with the shattered, stray remnants of the pottery and familial belongings left behind by the clash, but the initial forms of those that were separated had an explanation yet to be written. Ivel's stricken body itself was in no time carried outside, and released into an adjacent storm drain where the deceased Crusader could only harm the sparse inhabitants of the sewers.

The only method in which he could explain to the remainder of his torn family, he personally reasoned, was indirect, as was proven, albeit rather unreliably, with the note he had addressed to them upon his return, before and after the battle. Theodore, or, as Alice had always attempted to make Soal recognize him, "Teddy", had been grievous ever since Alice's sudden departure, as everyone had expected. But his reaction to Soal's lengthy and thorough (as much as possible) written lecture was one of intense skepticism. However, the only necessary evidence was the constantly rearranging letter from the Ambassador, paired with Theodore's prior clear knowledge of Soal's generally cordial and uncreative personality prone to quiet and often obedient behavior. This obviously did not halt his woe, but it eased his spirits slightly to know that his wife was waiting eagerly for an opportunity to reunite with him, as he did. Of course, they did not lighten upon the knowledge that she was trapped within a village of warmongers who wanted to wage battle on something they couldn't possibly control.

The twins, Ashley and Addison, were still talkative among one another (particularly regarding how suspicious and somehow jealous they were of their stepbrother) when they were alone, but near Soal, their lips sealed as if with a powerful adhesive. An occasional glance addressed his presence, but aside from this, Soal recognized little to none of their original brash psyches, for better or for worse, and inevitably from fear for and of himself.

The household was eerily calm. But, as always, there was something to disrupt it in the way of Soal's allies. In fact, Moth's news of Hemingway's betrayal towards him in favor of the "protection" of the Plane was not new. When Hemingway had spontaneously ejected the Master Bringer from Hendera prior to Ivel's fate, he had notified them that upon mental contact, he would be willing to assist them. However, that did not seem so now that Moth and himself were sworn enemies.

Hemingway's occasional telekinetic messages to Soal's mind were continuously and urgently reinforcing that, at all costs, neither Soal or Irene should return to Hendera. On the other hand, Irene had been messaging Soal digitally at a similar rate when possible, urging him to use his Hemingway-favoritism powers to summon a passage back through the Rift. This, of course, was impossible. But his trust remained solely with himself. Moth was acting benignly towards them as if to bring them to his side, but one wrong gesture could spell catastrophe. In any case, his speculations were the same: Could a plot hole be a wormhole?