[Open Challenge] -

They speak of stories that drive the youth of many a world to take up arms, to train endlessly day after day in order to explore their immediate surroundings and, if they are lucky, the many worlds scattered throughout the void of space. Some in particular spoke about empires, of mass-produced runes instilled within the soldiers forming the ranks of their armies, and of heroes possessing unique sets of sigils enabling them to perform miraculous feats. It was stuff straight out of fairy tales and yet, in the Multiverse, fairy tales were very real. In fact, for every individual that existed within the realm that contained all realms, an equal number of universes were created and maintained until their inevitable demise. Limitless forms of magic, creatures transcending the veil between the living and the dead, planes of existence and non-existence, of creation and of destruction, of positive and negative energy... Anything that could be imagined was certain to belong to a specific universe.

For Vincent Fiorelli, knowledge was everything. When he became the guardian of The Secret Library of Hyades, a treasure trove containing data from an immense amount of Multiversal regions, he understood exactly how little he had witnessed in the past. From forgotten bestiaries to strange cookbooks, from sheets of papyrus detailing ancient magicks to blueprints depicting some of the most advanced technology in existence, Hyades was an astounding place for an individual like himself. Admission to this realm wasn't easy. The multiple datacenters the library was divided in - seven, to be exact - determined whether one was worthy. Worth was, generally, measured in the form of drive, mental and spiritual resilience, and probably the capacity to subsist in the open void of the Sea of Stars. Once someone was admitted into the massive contraption, Hyades picked out the kind of information they could access, and the more knowledge the fortunate few picked up, the greater the amount of data they were given permission to peruse. True wisdom, however, was seldom offered to the lucky traveler. The sentient realm hand-picked those with the most potential and revealed its secrets one at a time, testing the patience of the studious and the intelligence of the scholar.

Books weren't the only object the Red Magister learned from. Every encounter throughout the Multiverse was a new opportunity to learn something, and he could never pass up a chance to grow. An avid researcher into different arts of war, the wandering Fiorelli was quick to recognize patterns in his enemies, studying their abilities, and formulating countless strategies to refute his opponents' approaches. Every time he stumbled across something new and studied it, his physical, mental, and spiritual power grew exponentially only to be tempered by control, by self-imposed limitations and internal limiters. After all, power without shackles could run rampant through one's physical vessel, much like his counterpart currently roaming the fringes of the Multiverse. Regardless of the Red Magister's past, however, there was no denying he had been a rising figure in some universes through the years, and he had become a driving force in the study of magic, aetherial research and different forms of energy, and technological and magitechnical modifications. And yet, he was not the only one. The Red Magister had come up with a method to transfigure certain facets of his personality and knowledge into physical vessels possessing their own will. These vessels were christened "Aspects", and they were often sent into missions of espionage, into wars, and into universes where conflict was taking place in some way or form.

When he wasn't burying his head in books or treading the countless paths available to him, it was a known fact that the Fiorelli enjoyed a leisurely stroll throughout peaceful planets, peaceful planes, and peaceful universes.

Today was one of those days...