A Destiny's Tale

by Sergorn Dragon

The Time Lord... Or How Everything Begins

One of the purposes of a Time Lord is to be a watcher. Thus the Time Lord of Britannia had been watching this world for a time longer than thou couldst possibly imagine. He watched it growing from a lifeless rock, to a living and breathing world. He watched mankind appearing and evolving. He witnessed their pointless wars. And this is all he had ever done for this is the purpose of the Time Lords: Watchers; Chroniclers of Worlds. They watch upon entire worlds, from their birth to their ineluctable death without ever intervening, for they are not allowed to interact directly with mortals and involve themselves in their business.

But even though they canst not intervene directly with the actions of the mortals, they are however allowed to help them indirectly when Balance requires it. When Mondain conquered Sosaria and Lord British became powerless, he invocated the power of the Serpent of Order to send a 'message' through the Ethereal Void, begging for the appearance of a Champion. The Time Lord of Britannia was the one to 'convey' this message. He knew that the place to find this Champion would be Lord British's former homeworld: a land known as Earth. How did he know it? It is difficult to explain in simple terms, but let us simply say that by their nature, Time Lords are tied within the essence of time itself. They do not really exist in a specific time line like mortals. In a way they somehow live in the present - but they *know* the past and *feel* the future. Hence the Time Lord knew who was the one British sought and where to find him - long before the King himself even looked for him.

The Evil Triad... Comes the Ages of Darkness

And this person was a young man destined later to become the Avatar. The Time Lord had been watching Earth the moment British came within Sosaria - for ever since, both world had become inexplicably tied. And he had felt the presence of the Avatar. He knew that a great destiny, beyond anything one couldst possibly imagine, might lie ahead for him if only he were shown the path. So he made him find his way to the Moongate of Siege Perilous thus coming to Sosaria to face his first adventure. And the Stranger lived up to all the hopes the Time Lord had placed into him by defeating Mondain and shattering the Gem of Immortality.

Later, when Minax came from the darkness upon Sosaria to take revenge on her lover's death, the Time Lord soon realized that British would never be able to stop her. Using her tremendous powers, Minax soon conquered all of Sosaria, and Lord British powerless to defeat this threat was forced to retreat to his homeworld. Yet Minax's power grew even stronger and they began to expend through dimensions and even time itself. She was far more powerful than one could ever have imagined, and the Time Lord himself was 'worried' by her powers, for the control she had over space-time was most unusual for a mortal. So when it appeared that Minax was going to invade Earth as well, the Time Lord decided that he couldst not let her vanquish Earth like she did with Sosaria, and so as the Enchantress' power reached Earth and started to corrupt the land, the Time Lord sent there the Silver Time Gates that saved the Stranger from Minax’s wrath and allowed him to travel through time to face the sorceress. Unlike what one might believe at this point, the Time Lord didn’t actually broke the rule forbidding him to intervene directly by doing so, for every rule has exceptions, and mortals toying foolishly with space-time is one of them. Eventually the Stranger managed to vanquish Minax, thus saving both his world and Sosaria. And when the enchantress died within the Time of Legends, the space-time continuum she had broken naturally repaired itself, and thus no one on Earth or Sosaria ever remembered the assault the evil witch launched on the Stranger's homeland.

Finally Exodus appeared, and once again Lord British called for a hero, and once again the Time Lord led the Stranger toward Sosaria. This time though the Stranger wasn't alone when he appeared at the gates of Lord British’s Castle, for he was accompanied by three companions. Even today, the knowledge of whether they were terrans or Sosarians remains unknown to us, yet the four travellers set out on their quest to face the powerful and terrifying Exodus. At the same moment, for the first time in the long history of Sosaria, the Time Lord physically appeared on the face of the world. Like his former intervention on Earth though, he wasn't actually breaking the rules either as Exodus was an abomination, a strange machinery out of its time - shaped and twisted by Mondain and Minax's vile sorcery - that should never have existed on Sosaria in the first place. The Time Lord thus guided the Stranger and his companions toward the lost continent of Ambrosia where they would find the odd data-cards made from the same strange technology used to create Exodus. The Stranger and his companions defeated Exodus, yet the Time Lord had already come to a dangerous decision for his meeting with the Stranger had already sealed both of their fates forever.

For indeed when the Time Lord finally came face to face with the Stranger and met his gaze, he knew he had seen right. He could *feel* his potential. He *knew* that he could become magnificent. More than he could ever hope to become himself. He had foreseen it. There was indeed a darker side within the young man's heart, that part of him who believed everything was tolerable in the name of good, and had made commit many questionable acts in the past. Yet the Time Lord could feel the regrets inside the Stranger's heart, and he knew that if he showed him the path, he could redeem from his sins for deep inside he was a good man. So when Lord British erected the Shrines and ordained his Quest of the Avatar, The Time Lord knew that it was the way that he could make the young terran the man he wanted him to become, so he guided him to Britannia again, showing him the 'path' that led him to the gypsy, and eventually to Britannia.

And under the name and the appearance of Hawkwind - a historian who had in fact died of his wounds during the time of Exodus - The Time Lord was admitted as a Seer in Lord British’s court, and guided the Stranger on the Way of the Virtues. Thus the Stranger became the Avatar, taking his first step on the path toward the destiny the Time Lord had foreseen for him. Unfortunately, the Time Lord had never imagined the forthcoming event to happen for he greatly underestimated the Gem's power; blinded maybe in his faith he had for his 'pupil' as he shouldst hast seen that even shattered, the Evil Gem of Immortality still maintained its evil influence toward Sosaria.

The Stranger... A Pure Heart Blinded by Youth

When he first appeared on Sosaria, the Avatar was but a reckless young man without any clear vision of goodness or evilness, and to whom the boundary between good and evil was nothing but a thin line in the darkness. In spite of the danger it represented, he accepted the quest bestowed upon him by Lord British, thus finding himself with the fate of an entire world resting upon his own shoulders - a terrifying yet highly exciting perspective. Thus the Stranger was ready and willing to do anything in order to fulfil his quest, and the hopes the young King had placed upon him. While his ethics and his behaviour were sometime questionable, his heart was in the right place, and it is with the best intentions in mind that he eventually faced and killed Mondain, shattering the Gem of Immortality.

When Minax invaded Earth, many people dear the Avatar were hurt or even killed. It is with a heart full of sadness and despair that he managed to escape through the Silver Time Gate the Time Lord had sent for him - saving his own life while Minax was devastating his homeworld. As he managed to find Lord British through time and learn of the true nature of his enemy, his quest even more that it already was, became a real quest for vengeance, and it is with his heart filled with hatred that he hunted down Minax to the Time of Legends and killed her.

When he finally faced Exodus, the Stranger fought with all his heart and courage throughout Sosaria. Yet when he and his companions finally came face to face with the evil creature itself, the Stranger became overcome by fear, and found himself unable to act. Paralysed by fear, he witnessed powerless the death of his friends from the devastating powers of Exodus, and only after seeing his own companions vanquished, alone faced with danger did he managed to find the strength the face the creature and "kill" it...

Long after theses events did the Stranger ponder his past actions and wondered if he had always acted for the best and if all he had done was right. He kept thinking about his life, past and future, and sworn that he would find a way to redeem himself for his past failures. And as an answer to his prayers, he found his way to Britannia again and set upon the Path of the Avatar, following the Way of the Virtues and eventually becoming the living embodiment of Virtues themselves.

The Evil Gem... How the Dark Powers Came to Be

Even though it had been shattered by the Stranger, the Gem of Immortality's evil powers continued to maintain its evil influence toward Sosaria. When he destroyed the Gem of Immortality though, the Stranger became unexpectedly tied to it, and as the power of the Gem flew through his own body as he shattered it with his sword, his life force itself became tied with the Jewel - in a sense they became One. Yet no one had ever imagined this possibility, believing the powers of Mondain's Dark Jewel were long gone.

And so the Stranger was tied with the Gem itself, and as he was fighting the Evil Triad, the powers of the Gem grew, feeding upon his sins and misactions; his fears and weaknesses: Falsehood, Hatred, and Cowardice. But as the Stranger set upon the Quest of the Avatar, and moved forward on the Path of Virtue, rejecting the evil side and the darkness existing within his heart, the power within the Shards of the Gem became stronger and stronger in the Darkness. And finally all the powers contained within the Shards coalesced together within the Void until they formed an actual entity that would someday call itself... the Guardian. The Shards of Mondain's Gem remained on Britannia though, until they were eventually found by the Captain Johne and his companions. Little remained of actual power within the Gem, but the was still enough to drive Johne to kill his companions thus giving birth to the Shadowlords, mere shadows of the Guardian, but a sign already of things to come.

The Avatar eventually vanquished the Shadowlords, but as their souls were banished from Britannia to the Ethereal Void, their evil power merged with the already growing Guardian making him even more powerful and aware for the first time in his existence of the world known as Britannia.

The Age of Armageddon... When Time has Come

The Time Lord became very troubled by the appearance of the Shadowlords, as he realized that he had greatly underestimated the powers of the Gem of Immortality. He eventually heard of an extremely powerful entity existing within the void that was calling itself the Guardian. This Guardian took great pleasure in conquering and destroying entire worlds, and fearing that this Guardian would eventually set his eyes upon Britannia, the Time Lord decided to find out more about this entity, and he eventually learned the terrifying truth about the Guardian and his relationship with the Avatar and the Gem of Immortality.

The Guardian however soon noticed the interest the Time Lord had upon him so he decided to face him, and managed to imprison him within the Shrine of Spirituality as he was finally planning his invasion of Britannia. As a last resort, the Time Lord used his powers to send a Red Moongate to the Avatar’s homeland, hopeful that he could maintain it long enough for him to find his way to Britannia. He didn’t know that he was actually going along the Guardian’s plan, whom having learn of his relationship with the Avatar contacted him directly to make sure he would find his way to Britannia for he was filled with the desire the face him.

When the Avatar finally reached him in the Shrine of Spirituality, the Time Lord couldn't bear to reveal him the true nature of the Guardian due to his own responsibilities in the matter - or at least not yet. But he did guide the Avatar again in his quest to prevent the Guardian from entering Britannia. That would have been forbidden, and the Time Lord's power diminished as a result, but he was ready to pay the price for his own mistake.

Eventually, the Avatar managed to defeat the assault of the Guardian and set sail for the Serpent Isle where he restored the broken Balance of the universe. But at the mercy of the Guardian which had set a trap of him, he found himself banished to the world of Pagan, and during this time the Guardian managed to enter Britannia with the help of Blackthorn. And as the Time Lord's influence toward Britannia grew weaker, the Guardian's on the other hand became stronger and stronger. The Time Lord managed however to use his remaining powers to save the Avatar from certain death upon his return to Britannia, for he had foreseen the future and knew seen that without the Avatar, Britannia would soon fall into Lord Blackthorn’s clutches. He also knew however that it meant he wouldn't be able to help him in his quest anymore but he had no other choice. Yes he still managed to pass on his knowledge of the Guardian's true nature to the ranger Shamino which had undergo a travel to the Ethereal Plane in order to contact him.

In the end, everything was left in the hands of the Avatar, and the Time Lord was once again nothing more but a watcher, the role he should have never left in the first place.

Sacrifice... When Everything Comes to an End

After the shock of the initial discovery of his relation with the Guardian, the Avatar eventually realized that everything that had happened to Britannia since the death of Mondain had been his fault all along - directly or not. Minax and Exodus: both only sought revenge upon those who killed the one they loved. Could he really blame them considering he had felt such feelings himself long ago? The Shadowlords and the War with the Gargoyles - they were of his own responsibility as well. And finally the Guardian, born from his own sins. There were profound feeling of guilt, sadness and regret in his heart. As he looked back at his first coming to Britannia - or Sosaria as it was called then - he pondered whether there would not have been another way to deal with Mondain. Couldn't he have been reasoned with? That was the first thing coming to his mind when he looked back at it now, and yet the idea never even crossed his mind back then. All this pain, all this sadness, all this suffering that could have been avoided if he had simply sought a way to reason his enemy.

But it was too late for regrets, and the Avatar knew that there was only one thing he could do to save Britannia from himself, from herself - only one way to break the circle. The Codex made clear to him what he already knew. Britannia had suffered by his fault; only through his sacrifice could Britannia be saved once and for all. Through death only could the Avatar and the Entity born from the darkness of his heart would be One again. And thus as the words of Armageddon echoed through his mind, the Avatar and the Guardian ceased to exist to be one again as the Avatar's mortal life disappeared in a flash of light. And by going from existence too nothingness, his soul was reborn into the Ethereal Void. By surviving through death, the powers of the Avatar and his former nemesis gave birth to a new entity within the Void. The Avatar had ascended beyond mortality, to a consciousness that no mortal would ever understand. Forever would he be the protector of Britannia, thus fulfilling the destiny the Time Lord had foreseen for him so long ago.

And what of the Time Lord of Britannia you ask me? Some says he still exist, watching now over another world beyond the Void. Other people claim that he joined with the Avatar as he was reborn within the void and that now: they are One. But many more thinks that he simply ceased to exist leaving Britannia in the care of his 'pupil' and that the Avatar replaces him as our new Time Lord watching over the Fair Land of Britannia for all eternity.

T H E E N D

Back to