Work Text:
Empires is deeply tied to its story. There is no script per say, and the actors do not even know they are acting, but behind the curtain, Lore keeps a tight hold on Empires.
Every person is at mercy to The Lore. If you go against it or if you are deemed irrelevant?
Well, let's just say your presence is only remembered in small talk.
Oli dealt with these effects firsthand. When he landed in Empires (although it was not called Empires in the beginning), the beginnings of Lore were just starting to take root.
He noticed it in the fog that covered snowy mountains and the mist in the wetlands. Oli has been to many places, and many more worlds. He knows the beginning of a binding story when he sees one.
Maybe foolishly, maybe hopefully, Oli thought that this meant new beginnings. A single actor act. Maybe Oli would be terribly lucky this go around.
Luck has never seemed to be Oli's forte in the end.
The small magic surrounding the place was patiently still. It did not bloom when he landed, or when he lost his dog to the Warden, or even when he started speed running for the fun of it. It decided to peak when he entered the End. The magic ravishing at his ankles as the dragon sparked fiery breath at him. It continued to hiss and pull at him up until the dragons last breath, making him trip one final time into the End Portal.
He tripped head first into the milky portal, arms reaching out to protect him from a fall that would not happen for a long, long time.
Oli had not known it yet, but that had sealed his fate with Lore. It deeming him a nuisance to the timeline. A parasite that happened to wonder in. Maybe his friends would've remembered him from the start if he didn't mess with the End. Maybe he would've been an original cast member of this story if he had just waited.
He would never know. The original start of the story being forever lost to the wind with Oli's hand made one now taking up its space. The stage was not ready when he started a play that was not meant for him. So it only made sense that no one remembered the true beginning of the story. The beginnings would only be remembered by the lands Oli marched over.
Even those would forget him once the emperors started to build.
"...So we need 11 seats in total for everyone. An odd amount of people, but we can make it work for the events. Someone can just be a judge, or we can have a 3-person team every once in a while." Fwhip was practically talking to himself as Oli fiddled with his lute next to the dried up campfire.
Oli raised an eye at Fwhip. "11? We need 13, do we not?"
"Huh?" Fwhip questioned, zeroing back onto Oli. "13? Hm..." He went throughout all the emperors names while mumbling under his breath. "Oh, well, it wouldn't be 13. It would be 12 though; I almost forgot you, Oli!"
Ouch. That kind of hurt. But he was still wrong. There are 13 members, including himself, because the campfire still has 12 seats since they hadn't updated it since Oli "joined."
He tells Fwhip just that, and the goblin pauses for a second, "Hm. Who am I forgetting then?" He genuinely seemed lost, and Oli honestly couldn't blame him too much for it.
Lore has settled in Empires like a thick blanket so that Oli can only feel it this day, but now it wisps slowly around Fwhips head. Wrapping like a crooked crown around his head.
It doesn't bother Oli since it's deemed him completely useless, so Oli finds the name within seconds. "False. False Symmetry yeah?" He ponders for a second, "I actually haven't seen her around in a while."
The magic crown seems to fall away like goop, as if its finally letting Fwhip think clearly. "Oh! Me neither, but we should definitely make sure she comes by! I'll make sure to note that so I don't forget again." He brings out his notepad, and the magic seems to return as he puts it away. "I seem to be doing that a lot." He off handily mentions.
Oli feels he'll have to bring an extra chair for False despite Fwhip's best efforts.
The magic of the Lore seems to work in strange ways. Ever since he popped back into spawn after beating the Enderdragon, it's been practically invisible to his eyes. There were exceptions, of course.
If an impactful story moment was about to happen, Lore would circle the person slowly and then quicker until it finally happened. Other times Oli would see it appear for apparently no reason. It dripping out of chests or as footsteps in the woods.
Oli has come to learn through time, that it also appears to fix mistakes. Most times, whenever Oli would bring up the past in any way, his friends heads would be swirled in see through mist. Whatever he would say from the moment it appeared to the moment it left would go one ear out the other.
It's partly why he couldn't stay angry at his friends for long. As it wasn't their fault if they remembered to invite him or not, it was the Lores decision.
Lore even effected pictures, it seemed. Oli kept most of his old photos in his Enderchest but he kept a simple photo of him and his Afterlife area sitting on his desk. Angel Sausage had taken it to commemorate his great building skills at the time, despite it just being the beginning.
It's a nice picture; Oli's sticking his tongue out and giving his signature peace sign pose (its the best pose) as his orb buildings were shown around him. He was an Enderman at the time with a purplish haze staining his arms and making his hands a dark void.
He didn't notice it at first, but now his Enderman features are completely gone from the photo. Even the background has become hazy. You'd have to really know what you were supposed to be seeing to know where he was.
One day a terrible thought entered his head.
If the Lore one day decided he was important to the plot, would he forget his past? Would he look at his friends through misty eyes and clouded thoughts? Or what if the opposite happened? What if he was deemed to be erased completely? Would anyone remember him?
It was pretty terrifying to think about. So Oli tried to forget about it.
Fale's empire is a weird one. Don't get him wrong, he loves the aesthetic of all the gears and such!!
It's just a very weird place, Lore wise. While the lore steered clear of his area after deeming him unimportant, it still swirled around False's grandfather clock tower despite deeming her not necessary to the plot.
Even as False invited him inside and they engaged in small talk, he still couldn't see any Lore floating around her place. The Lore he was used to suffocating in was strangely absent, and unfamiliar magic made its small appearance in its steps.
A puddle of orange magic sat under some blank signs, magic dripped off of Falses pillow onto the floor, and it even glinted off of her eyes, acting as a second light source every minute or so.
Maybe the presence of this unfamiliar magic is what made the lore back off. Maybe some other story sought its eyes on False and her mystical presence.
Whatever it is, the Lore has turned its back on False like it had him. So it was his duty to make sure he wrangled her back into the story with all his might.
"So!" Oli clapped his hands together as he finally got to why he showed up to her place in the first place. "There's going to be an event in a couple days next to the big ol' bridge!"
"Ah... I don't know Oli. I'm pretty awkward at events-" She started to trail off, fiddling with her fingers. Oli put a quick stop to that as he reached forward to grab her hands in his.
"Oh, nonsense, False! You have to come! You're one of the emperors, yeah? All emperors gotta compete! I'll be announcing the whole thing so it can be an even 12 players!"
She looked to be considering it, but Oli could tell she still wasn't sure, so he shook their hands. "And besides, I need my other magical blonde partner to talk to in between events!
She laughs. "Well, I guess I can come and see what it's all about."
He smiles and lets go of her hands. "That's the spirit! Be there or be unsymmetrical, False!"
As he leaves Falses tower, the Lore hisses at him, but he just shoos it away. The Lore can make people forget about him all it wants, but he can't stand to see it try to stifle someone else.
Oli can be the sole audience member for the play as long as his friends can flourish. He can come to terms with the fact that this bard isn't made for the stage anymore.
Or, at least, Oli was willing to come to terms with it.
He was prepared to never be an actor on stage with his friends.
He would suck it up and be happy for his friends, even if they could barely remember him most days.
But it seems, the other "unimportant" non-actor couldn't let that be.
Everyone else is laughing and talking happily with each other as Oli feels his eyes get misty. A robot announcer blares loudly from new speakers around the area talking about the first event.
False is standing in front of him with a slight awkward smile on her face. "Well," she starts. "You're an emperor too, are you not? It wouldn't be right if you didn't participate."
"But," he stammers, "but then the team events will be uneven?" He tries to reason with her. "It's okay if I'm not participating! I can have as much fun while watching!"
"But you'll have even more fun participating! And besides," She uses his own old words against him: "Two weird magical blondes gotta stick together, right?"
She holds out her hand to him and tilts her head, smiling again. And Oli lets out a startled laugh.
He takes her hand, and two weird and unimportant blondes walk onto stage. Being forgotten and Lore be dammed.