The Crimbulmination (4)
Everything is bathed in a cool blue light. You draw a breath that tastes like a spring breeze. Gaia'ajh-dsli Ak'lwej stops shuddering beneath your feet, and the remaining Crimborg are still as well. You turn, slowly, feeling as though you're underwater.
Uncle Crimbo is here. He's seated in the lotus position, hovering in the air a few feet away and a little above you. You almost didn't recognize him what with the pure white robes he's wearing, though his beard is the same as ever.
"This is a day of peace," he says calmly. "There will be no more violence, no more death -- not even for Gaia'ajh-dsli Ak'lwej. This creature, though she is of the earth, should not be here in this place and time. And so, she is not."
You look around. You're standing on the ground. Gaia'ajh-dsli Ak'lwej has vanished -- in fact, she appears to have never been here at all. The trees are undamaged, your clothes are clean of her blood.
The Crimborg are also gone. You look up at Uncle Crimbo, who is descending to meet you. "They will be fine," he says. "They have been moved to a more appropriate place, where they can build their utopia without strife or interference. The elves as well."
"That's one heck of a deus ex machina you've got there, Unc," you say.
He smiles placidly. "Oh, I'm sure you would have won, in the end. But I seek a path of peace and prosperity for all beings, and today is my day, after all."
"Where have you been, anyway?"
"Meditating."
"...All year?"
"Yes," he says. "And I have been freed from the cycle of desire and despair. I have ascended and been reborn as the Crimbuddha."
"Wow," you say. "...Gosh!"
"I know, right? It's a real trip, let me tell you. Anyway, I must be off. There's a lot of people who require my assistance today. Merry Crimbo!" He taps the side of his nose, turns sideways, and is gone.
"Merry Crimbo," you say to the air, and then look around you.
It does in fact seem like quite a nice day.
| Ahhhhhhh. |
Occurs when picking Huh? in The Crimbulmination (3).
