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“Your name, please.”
“Maxim, sorcerer of Mechanus, planar anthropologist, and recent keeper of the spelljammer Sanctum. I assume this… stone is recording our conversation?”
“Yes, for later transcription. But full name, same as you asked for me.”
“No. I do not mean this personally, but it is a request I must refuse. Maxim is all anyone will know me by in any case.”
“Very well, just Maxim, then. From what I’ve heard from VR-LA’s fellow crew members, you are one of the few people to have known him before his amnesia. So, tell me, what was your first meeting like, all those years ago?”
“Hm. Initially, my dealings with VR-LA were of the… mundane sort. He approached me in a professional capacity as a fellow academic, seeking my assistance with his research and the repair of the arcane intelligence Docent. He was cordial— as was I— if clearly… green, I suppose. He was young, back then.”
“One could say he still is.”
“I suppose that is true, but I mean more in manner. He carries himself differently now.”
“Is he no longer that same VR-LA you knew?”
“No. At least, not in the way you mean it. I would say he is more like himself than he ever has been. All that has changed is that he has found his footing and his voice.”
“So he has always been as he is now?”
“He has always had the potential. People like him… They do not spring from nothing. If he did not have this— this quality to him that has brought him to this point from the beginning, then he never would have made it at all. This is a matter I have once discussed with him, but I will reiterate my thoughts then to you, as they have not changed. Those who are truly important in the grand scheme of our and many other worlds, those who become legends or the like, are born that way. Had you placed any who were not in VR-LA’s place, then I have little doubt they would be dead.”
“Interesting, if very deterministic, but I suppose that makes sense coming from someone of Mechanus. But you believe him unchanged? Unchanging?”
“Ah, well, not quite. His view on the world has shifted, as he has altered mine, but if you will forgive me for being somewhat philosophical on the matter, I do not believe his soul— or spirit, or whatever basis you believe forms a person’s core— has changed. The VR-LA I first met would not have deigned to deal with gods or ever believed himself able to do as he has done, but for all that has happened to him and his opinions on such matters changed, he has never ceased being that VR-LA I have always known. For good, and for ill.”
“Would you say his actions lean further in a particular direction?”
“... Once I would have told you ill, but now… for good, I think.”
“You sound almost unbelieving when you say that.”
“Indeed, but it is not the statement I find hard to believe, only that I am saying it. As you said, I have a rather… deterministic view on life. I had not thought my path would ever lead to such a shift in perspective, but if I may impart any wisdom regarding VR-LA onto you, it is that one should never doubt the possibility of the impossible. He has a way of upsetting certainties.”
“You're fond of him.”
“I have long since stopped making a secret of that fact.”
“I see. You seem the reclusive, overly closed off in manner and emotion, set like adamantine in your ways, and generally antisocial sort— no offence—”
“Some taken, but you are not incorrect.”
“— So what is it about VR-LA that, to use your own words, upset your certainties?"
“... That is an expansive question with an expansive answer, but if I were to try and summarise… I guess, in the end, it is his tenacity. He refuses to give up, to let things lie as they are, even when every sign says he should. I may be, ah, what did you say, ‘set like adamantine’, but even adamantine will melt with sufficient heat and time. I've known few with the will, patience, and foolhardiness to do so.”
“You admire this quality?”
“It is as admirable as it is dangerous, depending on the direction it is channelled. It makes one capable of miracles, but I find miracles are rare and double-edged swords. I am glad to say that it seems VR-LA has found a focus in his work that will not destroy him.”
“I assume you are referencing his recent departure from the high-stakes side of adventuring life.”
“Indeed.”
“I heard from his crew members, new and old, that you played something of a part in that decision. What do you have to say to that?”
“... I would very much like to think that I am part of the reason he chose to stop, and I do, to some degree, but it is also clear to me that there were other forces at play at the time which led him to his conclusion. But whether I played a small or large role is ultimately irrelevant; I am merely glad that I could help. I know better than most how difficult, if nigh impossible, it is to draw such a person from their self-destruction.”
“When you say ‘such a person’, what do you mean? Are you referring to the tenacity you referenced earlier, or something else?”
“... I think the word I am looking for is hero. Know that I do not use it lightly.”
“You shouldn’t, it's no small word.”
“Would you agree with me, Catriona?”
“Ha, I thought I was the one meant to be asking the questions. But, yes, I do. Hero is apt.”
“Then be careful. I do not know the nature or closeness of your relationship with VR-LA, but I hope you understand the danger of being able to influence his chosen path. Heroes are rare things; few if any adventures become them. I myself, despite having lived and worked in that world for much of my life, have only known one other who could hold that title. I say this, not as a personal attack, but a genuine warning.”
“Go on.”
“Should the writing you put into the world, or the words you may whisper to him bring him danger or harm, then you will do well to never near the halls of my home again. He may have taken a step back from adventuring, but he has taken a step up as well. The world he works in is more strange and dangerous by its very nature; now, he must be careful. Do not make it more difficult for him. I do not take kindly to those who threaten my friends.”
“I understand, it isn’t my intent to bring any danger to his door. Though I have no doubt it will find him regardless. Or, more likely, he’ll find it first. That's the thing with heroes, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. It is… inevitable. His doom is not, however, so do not nudge him toward it. In any case, I feel it pertinent to remind you that you only have one minute and thirty two seconds of this interview remaining.”
“Oh, damn it. I don’t suppose you’d allow me extra time for what we lost to your threats?”
“No.”
“Not even a little?”
“You are losing seconds.”
“Fine, fine. One last question.”
“I am listening.”
"Does VR-LA know?
"What?"
"You're true name. You made an awful fuss about learning mine, and refused to give me a full name when I asked, so it's clear that you keep that card close to your chest. Fair enough, in our world. But regardless, have you told him?"
"I fail to see why this is relevant to the trend of questions thus far."
"I'm trying to gauge this relationship, nothing more."
"... No.”
“Would you ever tell him?”
“If I ever were to tell anyone, then…”
“...”
“Yes. I believe it would be him.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you learn what you were after?”
“Oh yes, that and more. You’ve been a very interesting candidate, Maxim.”
“Good, because your time has elapsed. I will escort you out.”