Post by Doctor Fate on Feb 6, 2012 14:21:16 GMT -8
Mysticism. The townsfolk of Salem lived under the cloud of it for centuries. Each new generation came to terms with it in one of two ways. They either: A) went to extremes to free their lives from its influence, sometimes attacking the projected source of it, more often going so far as to move from its sphere of influence; or B) they ignored it, pretending everything was normal. Nobody wanted anything to do with it, and those that did could hardly say they profited from seeking it out. It was just that kind of town.
So when an eerie fog seemed to fall on the town with no rhyme or reason, no-one batted an eye. Even when walking through it made those of a ... questionable nature... feel as though someone had walked over their grave, they told themselves it was some freaky weather front that just happened to hit the town that night. It made no difference to them that the fog seemed to emanate from a central point, a seemingly vacant lot. To them, freaky weather made more sense than what was actually happening. If only they knew.
The vacant lot from where the fog emanated was the subject of much speculation by the populace. Were it not for the unsettling effect just walking by it had on anybody, it could have become Salem's leading tourist attraction, comparable to Stone Henge. Fear trumps curiosity, though, so speculation was as far as any discussion of the lot went.
Had anybody looked past their fear, they would have found few answers to the questions that seemed to surround the lot, and that was the point of it all: To hide something.
That something was the Tower of Fate.
Beyond the walls of the tower, which was hidden in a pocket dimension that only a select few knew about, Kent's brow furrowed in deep thought. No longer wearing his pajamas, Kent was now garbed in the familiar blue and gold uniform of Doctor Fate. Only a few pieces were missing to make his transformation complete, and he knew just where to find them. He had to know where to find them, as searching for things in the tower was a nearly impossible task. The mystic nature of the tower made it the perfect hiding place for any and all articles of power within.
Getting lost in the tower was very easy, as its many corridors and stairways never lead to the same area twice. Living in it was like living in an M.C. Escher painting, but Kent had gotten used to it.
Having Inza there made that easy.
Inza was his wife and soul mate (in more ways than one).
Kent had saved her life from a mystic menace years before, and in the course of that adventure, they fell in love and were soon married. Kent couldn't imagine a world, or a universe, where Inza didn't exist. She was his world. More importantly, she was his anchor. She kept him from losing himself in the mysteries of the universe which were the province of Doctor Fate, and kept him human. Kent looked at her, sleeping peacefully in their bed, and a smile came to his face, but that smile faded quickly when he reminded himself that their home and safety had been breached. He needed to take swift, decisive action, and had no time to waste. He left their bed chamber and immediately went to the chamber where he knew to find the first of his mystic tools: the Amulet of Anubis.
Forged by the Egyptian god Anubis, the amulet was a source of great mystical power in the hands of Doctor Fate. With it, he could see through any perceived deception, see through any concealment, and, in general, see the true nature of reality. The amulet also gave Doctor Fate great mystical might, allowing him to double the strength of any spell he cast in the cause of order and justice. As he slipped the golden livery collar upon which the amulet was adorned over his shoulders, he felt the weight of the universe slowly come down on his sturdy frame, a weight that sometimes seemed too heavy to bear. He resigned himself to the fact that it was necessary for him to wear these magical vestments, lest the forces of chaos and evil win the day. He took a deep breath and snapped the collar around his neck, as the world became clearer, if not a little darker.
Next, he went to the chamber which housed his 2nd most powerful tool: The Cloak of Destiny.
As he took it from its perch and wrapped it around himself, his spirit began to lift, and with it, his human form. The golden cloak, billowing through the air, was a magnificent item that afforded Doctor Fate the ability to fly, granted him near invulnerability, and gave him superhuman strength. He found these were powerful assets in his mission to protect Earth and its denizens from the forces of chaos over the years, but that wasn't what lifted his spirit. Whenever he put it on, he couldn't help but smile as he remembered how much Inza loved to see him put it on. She needed only say two words to make his spirit soar, upon seeing him in it: "My hero."
Armed with these two vestments of power and his almost inhuman resolve to see his duty done, Kent then went to the chamber that housed perhaps the most powerful weapon in his mystic arsenal, a weapon he both prized and despised, for various reasons: The Helmet of Nabu.
The Helm of Nabu was perhaps the most powerful magical artifact in the universe (if not the multiverse). It was the source of most (if not all) of Doctor Fate's mystical might, and Kent used that power wisely, due in no small part to his great intelligence and the guidance of Nabu the Wise, who communicated (after a fashion) with Kent through the helmet. It was the only part of his arsenal that he dreaded putting into use, because of the great physical and mental exhaustion it put him through when he wore it (to say nothing of the emotional effect it had on him). He knew he would need it, though, as only one of great mystical power could have possibly breached the walls of the tower, and power such as that rarely goes down without a fight.
As he entered the chamber in which it was kept, though, his heart both leaped in joy and fell into despair at what he saw: the glass case which should have housed the Helm was empty, with no sign of how or when the Helm had been taken.
As powerful a weapon as the helmet was, Kent's mind raced at who could have taken it, and how. Access to the tower was restricted to himself and Inza, and only a few of his colleagues even knew where the tower was, and NONE of them could access the tower without his knowledge. At least, that's what he assumed. Even with access to the tower, it may take a lifetime for somebody to find the chamber where the helmet was kept, and another lifetime for them to leave the tower undetected.
There had to be an answer, but Kent had only a few clues that were left in the wake of the theft of the Orb and the Helmet of Nabu, and those clues were circumstantial at best.... and he would have to investigate without the benefit of his most powerful weapon, the Helm of Nabu, which, in addition to being a powerful weapon, was the perfect means to hiding his identity from the world at large. He sighed and resigned himself that he would have to find some other means to keeping his identity secret. He knew what he would have to do.
He rummaged through the chamber until he found an ornate chest that seemed out of place among the other items in the room. This chest seemed less mystical and more... earthy. It looked about 20 years old, and the combination lock on it looked even older, but it was hidden as if it was more important than anything else in the room. Cursing his memory after a near eternity of trying to unsuccessfully open the combination lock, Kent finally remembered it (Inza's birthday) and opened the chest.
Inside were a conglomeration of seemingly unimportant items.. some baseball cards, a yo-yo, 6 or 7 pictures of Kent as a boy with his father, taken in a far more innocent time, but none of these items caught his eye. When he found what he was looking for, he smiled and said to himself, "Ah, THERE you are."
He raised his hands slowly, careful not to scratch the golden item. It was a helmet, and it looked alot like the original Helm of Nabu, but for a few differences: It had no magical properties assigned to it, and it only covered the top half of his face. It was the helmet he wore as Doctor Fate during the war, at a time when the Helm of Nabu had been lost to him.
He raised it gently over his shoulders and placed it firmly on his head. His disguise was complete, if not his transformation. Ready or not, Doctor Fate had a job to do, and it was time to do it.
Taking a deep breath, Doctor Fate then flew into the air and passed through the molecules of the tower wall, saying a silent prayer to the immortal Lords of Order that his wife Inza should be safe as he made his way through the fog-filled skies for his intended destination and the next piece in this puzzle; the industrial city of Keystone, home to the Fastest Man Alive, and owner of a certain winged helmet.
He hoped the Flash would be in a position to help him, but even if he couldn't, he knew that with the safety of the balance in danger, he couldn't avoid taking this necessary step.
FATE could not be denied.
Even as he left, though, he couldn't help but feel that more was at stake than the balance, and that feeling filled him with more dread than he was ready to admit.
Within the tower, Inza moaned softly. Fate's departure always seemed to upset Inza, as she never knew when she would see her husband again, but this time seemed different. As she turned over onto her side, she turned her back on a dark corner of their bedchamber, a corner where the shadows seemed to be more... solid. The creeking floors and walls of the bed chamber seemed to have a life of their own, and it almost seemed as if the tower itself was.... laughing.
Inza slowly tossed and turned in her bed, as the darkness in the room seemed to grow more and more intense, the further and further Doctor Fate got from the tower....
So when an eerie fog seemed to fall on the town with no rhyme or reason, no-one batted an eye. Even when walking through it made those of a ... questionable nature... feel as though someone had walked over their grave, they told themselves it was some freaky weather front that just happened to hit the town that night. It made no difference to them that the fog seemed to emanate from a central point, a seemingly vacant lot. To them, freaky weather made more sense than what was actually happening. If only they knew.
The vacant lot from where the fog emanated was the subject of much speculation by the populace. Were it not for the unsettling effect just walking by it had on anybody, it could have become Salem's leading tourist attraction, comparable to Stone Henge. Fear trumps curiosity, though, so speculation was as far as any discussion of the lot went.
Had anybody looked past their fear, they would have found few answers to the questions that seemed to surround the lot, and that was the point of it all: To hide something.
That something was the Tower of Fate.
Beyond the walls of the tower, which was hidden in a pocket dimension that only a select few knew about, Kent's brow furrowed in deep thought. No longer wearing his pajamas, Kent was now garbed in the familiar blue and gold uniform of Doctor Fate. Only a few pieces were missing to make his transformation complete, and he knew just where to find them. He had to know where to find them, as searching for things in the tower was a nearly impossible task. The mystic nature of the tower made it the perfect hiding place for any and all articles of power within.
Getting lost in the tower was very easy, as its many corridors and stairways never lead to the same area twice. Living in it was like living in an M.C. Escher painting, but Kent had gotten used to it.
Having Inza there made that easy.
Inza was his wife and soul mate (in more ways than one).
Kent had saved her life from a mystic menace years before, and in the course of that adventure, they fell in love and were soon married. Kent couldn't imagine a world, or a universe, where Inza didn't exist. She was his world. More importantly, she was his anchor. She kept him from losing himself in the mysteries of the universe which were the province of Doctor Fate, and kept him human. Kent looked at her, sleeping peacefully in their bed, and a smile came to his face, but that smile faded quickly when he reminded himself that their home and safety had been breached. He needed to take swift, decisive action, and had no time to waste. He left their bed chamber and immediately went to the chamber where he knew to find the first of his mystic tools: the Amulet of Anubis.
Forged by the Egyptian god Anubis, the amulet was a source of great mystical power in the hands of Doctor Fate. With it, he could see through any perceived deception, see through any concealment, and, in general, see the true nature of reality. The amulet also gave Doctor Fate great mystical might, allowing him to double the strength of any spell he cast in the cause of order and justice. As he slipped the golden livery collar upon which the amulet was adorned over his shoulders, he felt the weight of the universe slowly come down on his sturdy frame, a weight that sometimes seemed too heavy to bear. He resigned himself to the fact that it was necessary for him to wear these magical vestments, lest the forces of chaos and evil win the day. He took a deep breath and snapped the collar around his neck, as the world became clearer, if not a little darker.
Next, he went to the chamber which housed his 2nd most powerful tool: The Cloak of Destiny.
As he took it from its perch and wrapped it around himself, his spirit began to lift, and with it, his human form. The golden cloak, billowing through the air, was a magnificent item that afforded Doctor Fate the ability to fly, granted him near invulnerability, and gave him superhuman strength. He found these were powerful assets in his mission to protect Earth and its denizens from the forces of chaos over the years, but that wasn't what lifted his spirit. Whenever he put it on, he couldn't help but smile as he remembered how much Inza loved to see him put it on. She needed only say two words to make his spirit soar, upon seeing him in it: "My hero."
Armed with these two vestments of power and his almost inhuman resolve to see his duty done, Kent then went to the chamber that housed perhaps the most powerful weapon in his mystic arsenal, a weapon he both prized and despised, for various reasons: The Helmet of Nabu.
The Helm of Nabu was perhaps the most powerful magical artifact in the universe (if not the multiverse). It was the source of most (if not all) of Doctor Fate's mystical might, and Kent used that power wisely, due in no small part to his great intelligence and the guidance of Nabu the Wise, who communicated (after a fashion) with Kent through the helmet. It was the only part of his arsenal that he dreaded putting into use, because of the great physical and mental exhaustion it put him through when he wore it (to say nothing of the emotional effect it had on him). He knew he would need it, though, as only one of great mystical power could have possibly breached the walls of the tower, and power such as that rarely goes down without a fight.
As he entered the chamber in which it was kept, though, his heart both leaped in joy and fell into despair at what he saw: the glass case which should have housed the Helm was empty, with no sign of how or when the Helm had been taken.
As powerful a weapon as the helmet was, Kent's mind raced at who could have taken it, and how. Access to the tower was restricted to himself and Inza, and only a few of his colleagues even knew where the tower was, and NONE of them could access the tower without his knowledge. At least, that's what he assumed. Even with access to the tower, it may take a lifetime for somebody to find the chamber where the helmet was kept, and another lifetime for them to leave the tower undetected.
There had to be an answer, but Kent had only a few clues that were left in the wake of the theft of the Orb and the Helmet of Nabu, and those clues were circumstantial at best.... and he would have to investigate without the benefit of his most powerful weapon, the Helm of Nabu, which, in addition to being a powerful weapon, was the perfect means to hiding his identity from the world at large. He sighed and resigned himself that he would have to find some other means to keeping his identity secret. He knew what he would have to do.
He rummaged through the chamber until he found an ornate chest that seemed out of place among the other items in the room. This chest seemed less mystical and more... earthy. It looked about 20 years old, and the combination lock on it looked even older, but it was hidden as if it was more important than anything else in the room. Cursing his memory after a near eternity of trying to unsuccessfully open the combination lock, Kent finally remembered it (Inza's birthday) and opened the chest.
Inside were a conglomeration of seemingly unimportant items.. some baseball cards, a yo-yo, 6 or 7 pictures of Kent as a boy with his father, taken in a far more innocent time, but none of these items caught his eye. When he found what he was looking for, he smiled and said to himself, "Ah, THERE you are."
He raised his hands slowly, careful not to scratch the golden item. It was a helmet, and it looked alot like the original Helm of Nabu, but for a few differences: It had no magical properties assigned to it, and it only covered the top half of his face. It was the helmet he wore as Doctor Fate during the war, at a time when the Helm of Nabu had been lost to him.
He raised it gently over his shoulders and placed it firmly on his head. His disguise was complete, if not his transformation. Ready or not, Doctor Fate had a job to do, and it was time to do it.
Taking a deep breath, Doctor Fate then flew into the air and passed through the molecules of the tower wall, saying a silent prayer to the immortal Lords of Order that his wife Inza should be safe as he made his way through the fog-filled skies for his intended destination and the next piece in this puzzle; the industrial city of Keystone, home to the Fastest Man Alive, and owner of a certain winged helmet.
He hoped the Flash would be in a position to help him, but even if he couldn't, he knew that with the safety of the balance in danger, he couldn't avoid taking this necessary step.
FATE could not be denied.
Even as he left, though, he couldn't help but feel that more was at stake than the balance, and that feeling filled him with more dread than he was ready to admit.
Within the tower, Inza moaned softly. Fate's departure always seemed to upset Inza, as she never knew when she would see her husband again, but this time seemed different. As she turned over onto her side, she turned her back on a dark corner of their bedchamber, a corner where the shadows seemed to be more... solid. The creeking floors and walls of the bed chamber seemed to have a life of their own, and it almost seemed as if the tower itself was.... laughing.
Inza slowly tossed and turned in her bed, as the darkness in the room seemed to grow more and more intense, the further and further Doctor Fate got from the tower....