However, on this occasion she was on edge. Magnus of Normandy, known to several of our DOers from DTAPs 1202–3 Constantinople, returned to his home village (some 50 km from Collinet) after many years gone, which was a cause of celebration. However, Magnus was excessively preoccupied with querying everyone about their memory of a local song or folktale, about a great hero who had, several generations earlier, saved the village from attack by a feuding tribe and later been canonized by the Church. The hero was named Tristan of Dintagel, an unremarkable enough name—except that Magnus met somebody named Tristan of Dintagel in Constantinople, 160 years after the events of the story.
Magnus called the village elders into council and described this remarkable coincidence to them. They did not share his obsessive curiosity. He then traveled to Collinet to query Imblen, formally seeking her advice and assistance as a witch to make sense of this. He was excited and aggressive and supplied many details about Tristan’s recent activities in Constantinople, making it obvious that he had observed Tristan closely and recruited other members of the Varangian Guard to keep an eye on him.
Imblen feels she said, “I can’t help you,” a little too quickly and firmly, because he became even more intrigued, and declared that he would go to Dintagel directly to seek the (parish? Church? Hundreds?) records and establish if “his” Tristan was a descendant of the hero . . . or if something stranger was happening.
For the record, this is the fourth Strand on which something like this has happened. Each time, Imblen seems more shaken and Magnus appears more clear-headed and determined. This time—given what he understands of witches’ powers—he hypothesized directly to Imblen that given Tristan’s archaic speech patterns, perhaps another witch had Sent Tristan forward in time, and if so, “he would hie himself back to Constantinople to learn more of Tristan’s doings, in case there could be profit for himself made from it.”
Respectfully submitted,
Esme Overkleeft
Exchange of posts by DODO staff on “Anachron
Management” ODIN channel
DAYS 1862–1870 (EARLY SEPTEMBER, YEAR 5)
Post from Dr. Melisande Stokes:
Welcome back from vacation, everyone. I am assuming you have all seen Esme Overkleeft’s incident report. It sounds like Magnus knows too much. Should we consider bringing him forward?
Reply from Macy Stoll:
Please keep in mind that the Anachron Management Team, which bears the brunt of looking after all of these people who are brought forward, is currently operating at capacity. Some Anachrons are easier to handle than others. If this Magnus is so burning with curiosity that he would traverse half the known world to pursue this matter, then he’ll cause just as much trouble for us here if we bring him forward.
From LTC Tristan Lyons:
Respectfully, Macy, if we bring him forward we will at least have some oversight re: his troublemaking. If that requires additional resources for the Anachron Management Team, then there are channels for requesting same.
From Dr. Roger Blevins:
Magnus’s psych profile suggests he will probably be considered a “nut job” (possessed by demons, etc.) by anyone in his era. While he might cause problems, they don’t warrant us spending the resources on housing him here for the rest of his life. He isn’t sophisticated enough to figure the whole thing out—or to be useful to us if he’s here. It’s not worth the resources to bring him.
From LTC Lyons:
Respectfully, I can vouch for Magnus’s abilities, having fought beside him on several occasions in Constantinople DTAPs. Contrary to Dr. Blevins’s assessment, I cannot think of a better soldier to help train DOers who will be operating in the Viking/Norman world. I should have proposed recruiting him already. My department has a number of physically active DOers who are currently in turnaround. If we bring him forward I’ll be his minder until we’ve taken proper measure of him.
From Dr. Stokes:
Just bumped into Esme in the cafeteria—she had to do one more Strand on DTAP 1205 Collinet, and says Imblen reports that Magnus has now advanced his theory.
Given that Tristan of Dintagel of legend came to Normandy as a fortune-seeker, and then (as Magnus sees it) almost certainly came forward in time, he is evidence that time travel is an excellent way to seek one’s fortune. Apparently Magnus would like to employ the same method. He is asking Imblen what fee she would accept to Send him in one direction or another. She has reverted to typical witch maneuvers of requesting impossible-to-get things (in this case myrrh from the cradle of Baby Jesus). He threatened her—highly unusual behavior toward a witch—and she had to render him mute for an hour to put him in his place.
Esme hasn’t had time yet to file a full report, but I’ll link in this thread when she does. Please reconsider bringing Magnus forward.
From Dr. Blevins:
Anyone stupid enough to threaten an active witch will never get his head around what is really going on here.
But since he is now a threat to one of our human assets, and Tristan seems to think he can contain him, I’ll (dispassionately) second Melisande’s suggestion to bring him forward.
From LTG Octavian K. Frink:
Have been monitoring this thread.
Bring Magnus forward. Even if he doesn’t figure anything out, we’re dealing with the specter of Diachronic Shear if he says something to somebody more clever than he is. If we keep him busy as a combat instructor he’ll probably think he’s died and gone to Valhalla.
Private message from LTC Lyons to Dr. Stokes:
Don’t correct him about Valhalla, Stokes. I know you want to. Don’t.
GRáINNE’S
FINAL LETTER
to GRACE O’MALLEY
PART 1
Summer Solstice, 1603
Faith and Auspiciousness to Your Grace!
It’s a very long letter I’ll be writing you this day, and the last one ever, for certain this time. I’ve been to the future and back again, so I have, and am about to go again—and this time, I am quite certain there’ll be no returning. So you’ll never know the end of my story, Your Grace, but now in your closing weeks, before you cease to draw breath, it’s a remarkable adventure I’m leaving you to dwell upon, that you might not forget your little Gráinne as the veils lower between the worlds to receive you.
So to get on with the telling:
Rose Sent me forward, to the same place we have both so oft sent Tristan and the others. I arrived in a place so shocking that I doubt our fair language has words harsh and perverse enough to do it justice. As Tristan had already revealed to me, in this future day there’s only a small, airless chamber where magic’s working, with just enough room for two people, barely larger than a garderobe it is. The walls are slick and peculiar, like tiles made of painted wood. And no smells in it at all, not a one. How can that be?