[NoR] - [26] - Death Wish

The statue held its silent vigil over the Planeswalker’s retreat, a sole witness to Razel exiting his home and traversing the bridge over the void. He ascended the steps, kneeling before his patron in supplication.

“Great Myojin, I implore you. Your acolyte has, regrettably, found himself in a situation he cannot solve on his own. I request an audience at your earliest conven-“

I am here, Razel.

He looked to the mask, watching as the realm around him was consumed by shadow. The statue gradually became animate, its robe billowing against the mass of arms. The fabric hung from the far ends of its headpiece flapped despite the lack of wind. The Myojin’s mask glided to the same level as Razel, hovering at arm’s length.

“That was faster than you usually respond. I hope I did not interrupt anything.”

To think, I could say the same to you.

Razel cocked his head, realization spreading through his features. He lowered his gaze apologetically.

“My sincerest of apologies, O Night. I have failed to provide you with my report on the festival.”

Night’s response was tainted with amusement.

Which I assume was a success, as it always is.

“Yes, well…it sort of started this whole mess.”

Do tell.

Razel hesitated, rubbing the back of his head before continuing on.

“I have told you of the Academy, yes?”

 I am aware of them.

“Well, one of them found me. They caught my trail because of your request. I am not blaming you or complaining, merely specifying. After enough repeat activity, they dispatched an investigator, who verified it was me. I was confronted by him, and while I killed him, I made the mistake of indulging my curiosity.”

My favorite of your varied flaws.

Razel frowned, continuing.

“I found that the situation was worse than simply my freedom being threatened. I tracked the agent back to a plane he referred to as ‘Foundry’, which is where my problem resides.”

So what do you require my help with?

Razel hesitated, unsure of how to word his request.

“There are two threats on Foundry right now. First, my personal plight – the Academy wishes me dead. Because I have eluded them for so long, I have become a priority target. It is to the point that my old mentor, now one of the administrative leaders of the Academy, took a personal interest in the case. Not only is Rokh there, but he has also allied himself with the Phyrexians. They are staging another interplanar Invasion. Unfortunately, they have already begun to pump their poisons into the atmosphere. Given enough time, there will be another Phyrexia. And another. The only way to prevent that is to decimate the plane, which will also take care of my mentor, thus solving two issues in a single stroke. This is where you come in. How can I best follow through with my plan?”

The realm of darkness was silent. Used to his Patron’s mannerisms, Razel waited patiently for her reply. After a long pause, she spoke again.

Before I offer my opinion, answer me this: Why are there two of you?

Razel flushed, having completely forgotten about his double. Embarrassment was not something the planeswalker felt often. He stuttered for a moment as he realized he had never explained the spell to the Myojin.

“OH. That. Uh…well, there are two of me. Sort of. After the festival, I needed a break from my day job as an Inquisitor. So, to that end, I created a duplicate of myself to watch over my affairs on Ravnica while I was away. How, if you don’t mind the inquiry, did you discern that it wasn’t me?”

Ignoring the fact that he did not recognize me, his aura is different from yours. Where yours burns brightly, his is clouded and busy. Where he shimmers, you shine.

Razel mulled the response over, already attempting to improve his spell.

“Well…that would make sense. The Aught is an imperfect copy anyway, even if it is remarkably similar. It doesn’t have a Spark, It remembers nothing outside of Ravnica, and it is mentally unstable over longer time periods. Considering the circumstances, I may need to reabsorb him so I can reclaim the power expended in his creation.”

That is my first suggestion.

Razel cocked his head in curiosity.

“First?”

Let it never be said that I am not willing to help.

The darkness began to recede, while the statue slowly returned to its former state of inactivity. The shadows collected into a small cloud above the violet flame, collapsing into a felt top hat. It floated forward, falling to the floor before rolling to Razel and bumping into his foot. He bent over to pick it up, inspecting the fine quality. A label on the inside of the band verified the maker, the flowing signature reading ‘Alces Alces’. He grinned wickedly.

“That will work.”

Looking around at his retreat, Razel wondered when he would return. With the first part of his plan enacted, he returned to Ravnica, materializing within Garrus’ chambers. The Gardener jumped, dropping a pair of shears and cursing loudly.

“Why do you never warn me before you do that?”

Razel put the hat on his head, addressing his friend.

“Warn you? Where’s the fun in that?”

Garrus retrieved his shears, dusting them off and returning to his saprolings.

“What can I help you with, Razel?”

The planeswalker strode over to him, leaning against the wall.

“You were right and you were wrong.”

Snip, snip.

“Explain.”

“Well, you were right about needing to take a break. Not going to deny that. However, you were wrong about me being wrong.”

Snip...

Garrus furrowed his brow, looking to Razel in confusion.

“What?”

The ‘walker smiled, shaking his head.

“It was the Academy. They found me.”

Garrus thought for a minute. He shrugged, turning to face his plants.

“Well, obviously you’re alright, so it can’t have been too bad.”

“Rokh was there.”

Garrus paused.

“The same one you told me about? The one that trained you in that whole manhunting thing?”

Razel nodded.

“Yeah. The same. To top it off, he’s decided it would be a great idea to join the Phyrexians.”

“If I had known there’d be a test, I’d have listened better the first time you told me about these things. Those are the oil creatures, right? The ones you can’t touch?”

“Right. They’re spreading and I think they’re staging an interplanar invasion.”

“Do they even have the manpower for something like that?”

“Funny thing about Phyrexians - next to none of them are pure. They repurpose the populace of any place they encounter, turning them into more Phyrexians. They call it ‘Making them Compleat’.”

“Efficient. Awful, but efficient.”

“Yeah. So since I don’t really want to see the multiverse, let alone this lovely city, turned to a festering cesspit of undeath and abomination…I decided I should stop them.”

“Alone?”

Razel shoved away from the wall, walking to the middle of the room and staring out the grate in the far corner.

“Not quite. I have my hat.”

Garrus cocked an eyebrow, inspecting the accessory at a distance.

“Is that Alcesian?”

“It is. A gift from my Patron to help with the situation.”

“How will a top hat help you stop an invasion? Even one as…fabulous…as that?”

“I’ll tell you if I live long enough to give it a try.”

The Gardener shook his head. A distant yell echoed outside the room, carried through the compact caverns. Razel looked to the door in alarm, while Garrus simply waved his hand in the general direction.

“That happens from time to time. Folks get lost, wind up meeting the gators. Nothing to be worried about.”

The ‘walker looked back to the grate, visualizing the city beyond. He sighed heavily.

“I took your advice, you know.”

Garrus was unphased.

“I know.”

It was Razel’s turn to furrow his brow and look to his companion in confusion.

“I didn’t tell you. How do you...?”

“I ran into the Inquisitor earlier. Mistook him for you initially, but explained it as a mistake.”

Silence settled between them, leaving an awkward beat between the comment and its response. Razel’s tone became serious.

“What did you say to it?”

“I said I had mistaken him for someone else, and then apologized and went on my way.”

“Did you say anything else? Refer to him by name?”

The Golgari put his shears down, facing Razel and thinking back.

“I might have referred to him with your name, but he didn’t recognize it.”

The temperature in the room began to drop with Razel’s mood.

“You called him by name?”

“Yes. I said I was sorry he had not taken my advice, not realizing that he was the result.”

“Which name?”

Garrus began to look slightly uncomfortable.

“Why?”

Razel noted the fogging of the Gardener’s breath, taking another breath to calm himself.

“I removed all of its memories regarding anything outside of Ravnica, including my first name. I make a point to only give that out to specific people. If someone were to try and reference those memories, there is a possibility it could start to devolve. Go rampant. That would make it much harder to reabsorb it.”

“Oh. Uh...”

“So which name did you use?”

The Golgari wrung his hands, looking about.

“See, funny thing...”

“GARRUS.”

“Yes, I called him Razel!”

The planeswalker buried his face in his hands.

“Gob moggit, Garrus.”

“How was I supposed to know?! You didn’t tell me any of this. How irresponsible do you have to be to let loose a damaged copy of YOU, of all people?! Unsupervised? On Ravnica?”

“W-What are you saying exactly?”

“I’m saying you need to accept that you made a mistake and rushed through this. Don’t get mad at me for not knowing something you never told me.”

Razel glared, softening his gaze and finally caving.

“Alright, you’re right. I...I was in a hurry. I may have cut some corners that shouldn’t have been cut.”

“You think so?”

The planeswalker’s gaze dropped.

“Anyway. Where did you see it last? I need to get this going.”

Garrus shrugged.

“We were on the surface, just in sight of the Basilica. Probably across from...Derrin’s, I think?”

The ‘walker rolled his eyes, remembering his contract evaluation days before. The proximity to the Pawn shop, coupled with the resurfacing of its name, more than likely meant that things had already started to decline.

“Brilliant. There’s no telling where it could be right now.”

Garrus’ confusion was clear on his face.

“You have no way of tracking him?”

Again, Razel rolled his eyes.

“Alright. I get it. I should have thought this through. I was a little panicked at the time, okay?”

“Calm yourself, Razel. I was just asking.”

The ‘walker rubbed his temples.

“I’m sorry. I suppose I could request its services through the Church. That would get it to me.”

“Unless this ‘rampancy’ has already happened.”

“In which case it could be anywhere. The only ones who could find it now are the Dimir, and I don’t want to let them know about my true nature.”

“You’re assuming they don’t already.”

He nodded.

“True. I suppose I should start with the Basilica, and then head to Bane Alley. That’ll be my best bet.”

Garrus placed his hand on his chin.

“So what, exactly, happens with this ‘rampancy’?”

Razel gestured as he explained.

“When I follow the process, I separate a portion of myself and fill it with a copy of my mind. That becomes the Aught itself. If I leave it alone, it will have all the memories and such that I do.”

Garrus indicated his agreement.

“Right. You’ve explained that much before.”

“Well, when it realizes what it is, it has a habit of becoming damaged. The mind can’t handle not being itself, and begins to develop its own unique aspects. Not always in a beneficial way. For that reason, I removed any knowledge of things outside of Ravnica.”

“You also have already explained this. Wouldn’t that just give you more experience when you reabsorb it? Why would that be a problem?”

Knock, knock, knock.

The both of them share a look of confusion, Razel walking over to the door to pry it open slowly.