Interlude 3-6- Breakfast and a Talk of Cups
Citadel Third floor- Balcony- 7th day of the month ofNiffle of the 6983 GR (Early Morning)
Nath’aniel-
The mage smirked at the sight of Erik, seated in his usual spot picking out tea for them. "You beat me here for a change," Nath'aniel muttered, as he moved to his usual seat.
"Well, you actually had to sleep for a change, after treating all of those wounded. So it's no surprise one of us used to sleeping woke up on time, and the other overslept a little." The northern tribesman had a smile of his own as he said this.
Personalized Utility constructs then entered and joined them at the table, before setting out breakfast. The mage watched as Erik used his powers to float and pour the boiling water into their tea cups, when the smell of the tea hit him, he recognized it as one of the more medical blends that they had in stock. Rather than a purely favored one.
As the mage took his first sip, wincing at the strong bite the tea had. The mutant leader asked. “You didn’t talk much about your time with the Oracle, how was it? Did she tell you about the attack against Namorita?”
Nath’aniel sighed, worried how the other man might take knowing the Oracle was in fact the time-traveling killer that he and Mystique sought. Instead of lying or answering, he used today's events to buy time. "Can that discussion wait for tonight? I have a lot on my mind."
Erik took his own first sip, before nodded in agreement. “Of course, Entreatment Day. When you first wanted to do it, I thought you were mad, but now I see it for what it is. Early age networking, what started out as curious outliers of the tribes has blossomed into tribal leaders or senior advisors. All cmoring to get your advice and aid.’
“However, while I agree to drop the topic on the Oracle, today’s events doesn’t get you to postpone on another topic.”
The mage had to think back a second before nodding and agreeing. “Yes, the Grail.”
Then Erik recalled what they had already told him. “You called it a seed, and the Ancient One said that it can grant the user a wish, but there must be more to it than that, yes?”
Nath’aniel chewed the mouthful of cooked shredded vegetables and swallowed before answering. “There is, but a little context. From my discussions with John and Sam their various shows and books talk about the concept of parallel realities. Other Earths if you will.”
“You think there are other versions of us out there somewhere?” the mutant leader asked him after taking a bite of his own meal.
“I know there are.” Nath’aniel’s answer seemed to stun the tribesman. So he expined. “However, there are not as many as John seems to think there is. He told me that ‘choice’ is an illusion because you simply made the other choice in another version. He is wrong. There were too many people in my time, let alone today, for that to match what my people found in their explorations.”
Erik interrupted him, however, asking. "Wait, wait, wait. Your people went to other versions of Earth?”
“Yes.” The mage answered ftly.
The mutant leader dropped his silverware onto his pte in shock. Then he asked. “How?”
Nath’aniel again answered ftly. “With a magic spell.” He could see the frustration on his new friend so he added. “But worry not, that is Master level magic, so I won’t be doing that anytime soon. Besides it’s far too dangerous, and I have enough to do in this reality.”
Erik chuckled for a bit, while reaching for his cup. Then he took another sip of his tea, and while returning it to the saucer he asked. “And how is that in context to the Grail?”
The mage winched again as he drank his tea, but then answered truthfully. "The Holy Grail, according to our research, is an unborn reality. Or put another way, it is the child of this reality. You must understand that it wants to be awakened, wants to be found and used, and it is understood in mystic art circles that it will reward its awakener with a wish.'
“You see it will create its own version of reality and while it is doing so, it has the power to alter this one.”
“Alter it how?” The mutant leader asked with a frown.
Nath’aniel shrugged before saying. “However you want. You want everyone to have the Mosul-gene, poof we all have it. You want it so all those people the Nazis killed didn’t die, poof their alive again and had lives that they lived over the past couple decades that was taken from them.’
“The limits of the Grail are not what you can think about, but what you can feed it to fuel it. The bigger the change, the more fuel it will need. And unlike the Infinity Stones theoretically anyone can use it, you just have to have the means to interface with it and get the fuel it needs to activate it.”
Erik leaned back in his seat in thought for a time. As he did the mage continued to eat and let the man pounder, but then the tribesman asked. “But what fuel does it need? And how do we even know it’s still out there? What if someone else already found it and used it?”
“All excellent questions.” The mage agreed. Then he took a deep breath before saying. “We will start with the easiest. Ascended beings as far as we can tell, cannot interact with the Grail, otherwise yes they would have already done so. Add in that Hathor thinks that I have it tell us that it’s still out there, somewhere.’
"As for where it is, well I suppose that I could devise a spell to find it. But the real question is what fuel does it need? Because more than likely if it was raw mundane energy, like electrical or sor…"
“Someone would have already used it by now.” The mutant leader finished his thought for him. Then a thought struck the tribesman as he asked. “Is it possibly hidden in some of the pces that only you can see?”
Nath'aniel shook his head before pointed towards the floor. "The Grail is somewhere here in the Physical pne. To remove it would invoke disaster in the pne that it is brought to. This is why many of my people think that it requires some sort of combination of mystical energy, simir to the locks to the rooms in my basement.”
The other man nodded in understanding, before throwing out a suggestion. “Or a combination of both mundane and mystical.” The mage must have made a subconscious expression because then the other man added. "You think otherwise?"
"I think it is grimmer than that. Otherwise, one of the advanced space-faring empires would have already consumed it." The mage stated. Then he drained his tea cup, in an attempt to wash away the thoughts from his mind.
“Grimmer, you thinking, what? People? Do you really think people like the Sky Tribe would hesitate or lose sleep over feeding someone like us to it? Because I can tell you the Nazis that I fought and killed would have gdly thrown my people into the thing if that's what you are thinking." Erik told him, reminding both of them that there is real evil in the wider universe.
"That's a dark truth," Nath'aniel admitted, then shrugged and added. "It was only a thought. Why else would the thing not have been used by now? Regardless we don't have it."
“There are real monsters in the world, and it is our job to stand against them. If today wasn’t Entreatment Day, I can guarantee you that I would have asked to join the X-men in punishing those fanatics.” The mutant leader stated.
There was a moment of quiet while they both went back to eating their breakfast.
“So how do your people know all this about the thing anyway?” Erik asked him a reasonable question.
“One of our people observed one being used in another reality.” The mage stated clearly. Then he reached for the gss of water, and wet his throat before adding. “The Grail was used in that version of Earth to banish away a great evil, and then when the Grandmaster, Grandmaster Aur’then, noted that there was another reality that he could access when he attempted to return back to here.”
“Alert. I am detecting that the Man-Ape tribe has dispatched a team for Entreatment Day. They should arrive on time for the opening ceremony."
The mage thanked her for the warring. ”Thank you, Citadel.”
“I bet you a bottle of Tanglewine that Hathor will offer her blessing to you," Erik said as he rose from the table, his meal only half eaten.
“You don’t think she will ask for the Grail?” Nath’aniel asked the other man.
The tribesman shook his head, before answering. “No, I think she only brought it up to the Ancient One because she was already pnning on killing her. Something like that, she will want you more familiar to her before she will bring it up to you.’
”At least, that’s what I would do if I wanted to make you use a wish granting relic for my benefit.”
