Russell part 2
By the time Russell returned to life at the college, he found things different and, although he was in a better state than when he left, the situation continued to be challenging. Asinjin had taken residence as a dean and the rivalry between the two (at least in Asinjin's mind) had not diminished. Cloud was gone to no one knew where, or even if he was still alive. Luigi was there, but was very busy.
With a new mindset, he renewed his focus, talking less of chronomancy, which he had come to realize was disturbing to people, and more of psionics, which for whatever reason was less unsettling. The College was still a familiar place, and until The Night of Broken Gears, allowed him to put aside his concerns for a time. The threat of Nilas’anor, seemed distant, and more mundane concerns rarely entered his mind. It was a simple existence that took him back to the time before he became entangled in world altering events. From time to time the Guardians would seek his aid, but Maglore in particular knew that Russel was struggling to find his way without his full power.
He soon also found travel outside of the College fraught with troubles. People that should have remembered him didn't. Others that should have had no reason to dislike him did. He was confident he himself was not infected or enchanted, but others seemed to be. The more he tried to go into the world beyond the college walls, the more he noticed these effects. Only at the College, and in the Guardian Vale, were there no signs. Like time and time before, Russell had a puzzle before him he needed to solve. Forces seemed set on making sure he did not maintain the peace of mind he had found.
The Night of Broken Gears was a terrible reminder of the state of the world. The Inevitables were not mindless, and did not engage in wanton destruction, but, true to their name, they let nothing stand in their way. During the battle, as one of the constructs approached to capture him, Russell used a minor chronomancy spell, a time slip, to try to gain an advantage over it, and was surprised that when he reemerged, the machine had gone berserk. In the wake of the battle, Russel’s research would discover that while the Inevitables were immune to almost all magic, including chronomancy, they could not process when one of their objectives disappeared from the time stream. Russel would share this with Parker, who would use it to keep his family safe for years to come.
The losses on the Night were crushing for Russel; in particular the death of professor Mangan, who had aided Russel in his journey into psionics. Many of his fellow professors resolved to take the fight to Iott any way they could, but none of them were at the top of Iott’s most wanted list. Possibly the smartest mortal in the world, trying to put the world back right, but denied access to the tools that would allow him to do so, Russel seethed in frustration. Only conversations with Haskra and Maglore stopped him from attempting to repair the Chronomancy Stone.
On a trip to the market Russel was given a revelation. A halfling walked out of a plague house, where the sick were quarantined. He had an empty basket. It was an odd sight, as few came out of the house. He wore no symbols or insignia. Russell worried that the foolish halfling might spread some plague and approached. Taken a bit by surprise, but unconcerned, the halfling explained that he had been sick but had recovered without spells. Some clerics believed that made him immune. He wanted to help out and he remembered that when he was sick how much some food made him feel better, even though it couldn't cure him. "I know I can't make them well, but maybe I can help them in some lesser way. Perhaps, if we all do what we can, things will get better." In that moment Russell remembered that his patron Jazirian, one of the mightiest powers of the multiverse, was not so powerful because he was the patron of psions, but because above all, he was the power of community and cooperation. Russel journeyed to Havenhollow the next day, to visit Rubius and found a small shrine to Jazirian. While there he saw no sign of the malaise he had encountered elsewhere. After a few days spent is the cheerful company of the halflings, Russel returned to the College and dusted off his sword and staff.
Wizard 8 / Chronomancer 10 / Psion 5