Work Text:
Original Treatise by Royal Scribe Topazulon the Great,
Updated by Adept Scribe Topazulon II
Published by Dundonian Royal Publications
1052, First Era
ZERO
The number of nothing. The void. The unknown. It represents everything mortals fear: uncertainty. Thus, it is never used to start counting, except for by fools with more recklessness than reason.
ONE
The number of uniqueness. There is ONE Hammer of Glory. There is ONE Dundee. There is ONE Zargothrax (long may he remain imprisoned in ice).
TWO
The forbidden number. It lacks vision. It is the never-existing cursed blade of lies, a blade with two edges but no steel in-between. It represents the false concept of duality, tricking mortals into believing that every choice they make is discretely good or evil.
THREE
The holy number that had been blessed by the Starlords when they created the universe, representing the THREE mighty artifacts that had, have, and will determine the fate of this universe: The Hammer of Glory, the Amulet of Justice, and the Magic Dragon.
FOUR
The number of pure hearts in the world at any given time. It is also the number of heroes needed to save the world from great calamity -- just as had been in 992.
FIVE
The number of the outcast. The FIFTH of any group is always the traitor, just as the dark wizard Zargothrax had betrayed his once-allies in the royal courtroom of Dundee, using the FIFTH royal law as a tool of his trickery.
SIX
The number of the opposite. Every THREE has an opposite, making SIX when together: the Hammer of Glory and the Vorpal Laserblaster of Pittenweem, the Amulet of Justice and the Knife of Evil, the Magic Dragon and the Legendary Enchanted Jetpack.
SEVEN
The number of the Dwarf Lords, in their SEVEN-sided halls of stone, who seek to connect together the SEVEN corners of the world.
EIGHT
The number of waiting, of patience. As SEVEN belongs to the Dwarf Lords, it would be rude to ask one to wait SEVEN days, thus “a week and a day” makes EIGHT.
NINE
The Number of Myth. NINE kingdoms, NINE planets, NINE galaxies; NINE treasures, NINE trials, NINE keys; NINE maidens of stone, NINE mages of knowledge, NINE chiefs of war.
The rest of all numbers are numbers of combination, and their meanings may be derived in a matter such as follows:
TEN
The first number of combination, and the symbol of the oxymoron: a mix of ONE’s uniqueness and ZERO’s nothingness.