Paralogia

Paralogia
Meta Information
Author	Peter
Genre	Science fiction
Type of Narrator	Third person
Characters
Protagonist(s)	Wisteria Guinevere Amesidian Black Opal Carbonado Lyris Amaliana Isla Clotho
Antagonist(s)	Lorandite
Side Characters	Ikima Minerva Earendel Ayam Kamari Kiril Alchameth
Background Characters	Psychotria
Setting
Timespan	474 CE
Locations	Empyrium Invirian
Relevant organisations	Empyrium Invirian
Other related pages	Eos Saga Memoria

"Paralogia" is the first proper book and second plot arc in the Eos Saga. Set 14 years after the prologue of the saga, "Eos at the Gates of Dawn", it follows Guinevere, Amesidian, Lyris Amaliana, Ayam Kamari, Clotho, Earendel and Minerva as they try to uncover the mastermind behind the Sentor Banquet Incident and the Laconian War, while also investigating the prior disappearance of Psychotria.

Synopsis

Fourteen years after the planet Eos was integrated into the Empyrium, delegates from every planet attend a grand diplomatic conference on Sentor, with the Eosians hoping to broker a deal to assist the developing world of Laconia. The event is shattered by a shocking terrorist attack: the assassination of the Laconian delegation. In the ensuing chaos, Eosian diplomat Isla is framed for the crime by the Imperial Authority to prevent civil unrest.

Convinced of her innocence, Isla's comrades, led by Guinevere, embark on an investigation. Their quest uncovers a conspiracy far deeper than a single act of terrorism - one that connects a memetic impostor, a civil war masterminded by them, and a mysterious third-party sponsor to the war.

The investigation reveals that the Laconian war is being secretly supplied by a mysterious third party from within the "Alkidian Superanomaly", where they find a realm known as the Invirian Ascendancy, a memoria space where reality is woven from memory and consciousness itself. The true mastermind is Lorandite, a powerful memetic entity who had been impersonating their friend Psychotria for years - a calculated chaotic act to trap the investigators in Invirian.

As the Empyrium descends into war, the group journeys into Invirian to stop the mastermind. There, they discover his true goal: to trigger a "catastrophe" that would transmute the memoria realm into normal space, killing its 1.2 trillion inhabitants in return for transmuting materiel to fund the Laconian War. After a failed attempt to foil his plan, the shamans of the realm call upon Guinevere, who must embrace her own nature as a being of the memoria to become a "key" and save Invirian, and to find a way to stop Lorandite.

Guinevere's initial plan succeeds, culminating in a space battle over the Empyrium's capital and a final confrontation with Lorandite. After his defeat, his true identity is unveiled: he is Eno Xan, an "Emanator of Chaos" from another galaxy, whose intricate schemes were a desperate attempt to gather strength for a war in his own doomed home. With peace restored, Guinevere transmutes the entire Invirian Ascendancy to safety within the San system, offering its people a new home and a second chance at life, while finally making peace with her own complex identity.

Detailed Plot

Premise

14 years after Eos was repositioned in the San system, the Eosians are integrated into the Empyrium, and Black Opal, Carbonado, Isla and Amesidian are trained by Guinevere and Wisteria for a role in Empyrium politics. They are heading to the planet Sentor for the Imperial Conference, an annual event in which delegations from all systems of the Empyrium meet to do business, conduct trade talks, and socialise.

The Sentor Banquet

Black Opal, Carbonado, Isla, Amesidian, Guinevere and Wisteria arrive at a space station orbiting the planet Sentor for the Imperial Conference. They are preparing to approach the Laconian delegation to discuss sending Eosian workers to assist in the planet's development, so that it may leave behind its status as an Imperial-governed world. While they enjoy a drink, they head to their hotel rooms while Carbonado and Amesidian go their separate ways. The others encounter the Laconian delegates Lyris and Otto in the elevator, the former leaving a lasting impression on Isla. Lyris appears eager to begin discussions before the banquet has even begun, but Guinevere shuts this idea down. They find Carbonado again at the hotel, only to find he has ran into some old acquaintances (the Earendel delegation) - Clotho, Earendel and Minerva - who had assisted the others in helping to destroy Amesidian's Flavros Project. Although Amesidian had had a change of heart since then, she grows awkward from this encounter and backs off.

Everyone is called into the banquet hall where dinner is served. The group is introduced to Ayam Kamari from Beta Venera whom Isla had reservations about earlier. In her head, she takes note about the condition of Ayam's non lead representatives who come from Imperial systems, whereas Ayam comes from a free system. Black Opal notices Imperial guards and the Junior Vizier of the Empyrium (who is second-in-line to the Emperor), walking in. Isla notices tension between the non-leads from the Beta Venera system, and Black Opal suggests that they are not fearful of the Imperial Authority, but rather Ayam's position as head of a richer world, giving insight into the class disparities in the Empyrium. As dessert is about to be served, Isla notices Lyris and the Laconian delegation rushing to leave the hall, followed by Imperial guards. Fearing for Lyris' safety, Isla chases after her. She follows her to the elevator, where an altercation between the two ensues. Lyris accuses Isla of sticking her nose where it doesn't belong, explaining that there is an "emergency" back home she must attend to. As they reach the docking station, Isla beckons her to remain at Sentor, citing the importance of not allowing the worker deal to fall through. Frustrated with Isla, Lyris lashes out, only for her ship to explode behind her, with everyone else on board losing their lives.

Meanwhile, the banquet upstairs is halted immediately, and all delegations are evacuated to the hotel. Minutes turn into hours and days, as people wait patiently for news other than the confirmation of a "terrorist attack" to be released. Isla and Lyris are discovered and are put into custody, assumed to be the culprits of the attack. The junior vizier personally interviews the two, as well as Guinevere and Ayam, coming to the conclusion that Isla, guided by a staunch pro-Imperial stance, unilaterally acted to remove anti-Imperial voices from the Laconian delegation through the attack. She is arrested pending her arraignment and court date. The Eos delegation meets up with the Earendel delegation, Lyris, and Ayam to discuss where to go following Isla's arrest. Universally agreeing that she has been scapegoated for the disaster in order to avoid civil unrest, they are confronted by the junior vizier. They allow them to investigate the nature of the crime on their own, but that they must not make it apparent that they have the backing of the Imperial Authority to do so, as it would undermine the power of Isla's scapegoating. Ayam suggests that they go to the planet Iophiuchi which hosts the Imperial Investigation Bureau, so that they can conduct meaningful investigative work of the data that they possess. Wisteria, Black Opal and Carbonado volunteer to return to Eos to watch over the system.

Skirmishes on Iophiuchi and Sadiym

Guinevere, Clotho, Earendel, Minerva, Lyris, Amesidian and Ayam board Wisteria's ship - the Starlight Serenity - in order to make their journey to Iophiuchi. As they jump into voidspace, the Earendel trio remark about how Wisteria planted the garden on board as an artistic statement that offers a look into her protective nature, and how it reflects that of the Imperial Authority. Clotho points out that weeds have unintentionally appeared in the garden, and implicitly suggests that the terrorist attack was caused by a force from beyond that has gone unchecked, and that the group must also go to the planet Sadiym to talk to the Empyrium Border Force. Arriving at Iophiuchi, Ayam guides the others to the IIB ofices, leading them to a sub-level housing BREDA, an AI that he designed to have access to the IIB's entire repository. In the meantime, the Grand Vizier (first-in-line) visits Isla on the planet Althani and explains the nature of her arrest, asking her to place her trust in her friends that they will find the masterminds. Back on Iophiuchi, BREDA concludes that, from the forensic evidence plus the nature of the event, the terrorist attack was an act of suicide provoked by an unknown sponsor who is the mastermind. Lyris suggests contacting Laconia personally to come to a definitive conclusion, but BREDA warns against this, saying that her trusted friends on Laconia may be compromised, much to Lyris' shock. Undeterred by this, Ayam leads the others back upstairs to the communications centre, and orders the workers to establish a direct line to Laconia, which fails.

The workers explain that the Laconian communication centre is shut down on their end, confirming BREDA's theory. Clotho, Earendel and Minerva are ordered to return to the Starlight and prepare for departure. Suddenly, the IIB headquarters is attacked by unknown forces with immense strength, prompting Ayam and Lyris to evacuate the civilians whereas Amesidian and Guinevere prepare to battle their way through the chaos to reach the Starlight. They find the enemies possess immense strength and resilience, are well-armed, and are supported by an extensive space fleet. As they reach the exterior, they find Ikima, a dragonrider from the planet, and with his help, they ride the Fiyana dragon back to the Starlight, where Guinevere offers him refugee status on the ship with the other civilians. Just as the enemy forces begin to overwhelm them, everyone boards the Starlight and they depart under heavy spaceship fire. although Guinevere is wounded. Ascending through the planet, they prepare for a void jump, where Lyris is deeply saddened to learn that they were under attack by Laconia, who had just declared their secession from the Empyrium and has been rapidly invading the New Colonies. Heeding Clotho's idea, Amesidian makes the void jump to Sadiym just as a Laconian blockade threatens to destroy the ship.

Arriving on Sadiym to find it abandoned, the group plans to copy a large batch of the Empyrean Border Force archives; Lyris stays on the ship however, and Guinevere and Amesidian head to the communications centre to give their friends back on Eos an update. While the data is being copied, Guinevere manages to contact Wisteria, explaining to her how Sadiym has been abandoned, and how the locator beacon has been shut down to deter a Laconian invasion. To Wisteria's dismay, Guinevere explains that she wants to reactivate the beacon to purposefully draw the Laconians to the abandoned planet for a fight, believing that it will alleviate pressure on the Border Force. After ending the call however, the two search through the station's logs and find that Sadiym has not been fully evacuated, but instead the military personnel have relocated to the other side of the planet. Amesidian realises that the planet's star being a pulsar means that it is an incredibly powerful radio source, and that the Laconians will always know how to find Sadiym anyway. Realising that they have been caught in the middle of the Border Force's trap, they call Clotho, who has just returned to the Starlight with the data, urging her to evacuate. The Starlight takes off as Guinevere and Amesidian aim to find the Border Force through a teleporter located near them. As they try to leave Sadiym, the crew of the Starlight is confronted by a Laconian fleet, only to watch it be engaged by the Border Force, who had been waiting for the moment to ambush. Earendel takes control of the ship and changes heading, plotting a voidspace jump to Alsujin. Minerva questions this, and Earendel tells her about how he found a crucial piece of data while searching in the Archives that could lead them to the mastermind. Before their escape, Earendel commands Clotho to send a copy of the data back to Eos. After jumping into voidspace, he explains that he found an encrypted voidspace lane between the planets Primio and Thrallix, the latter of which is unknown, and located in a region of space deemed impossible to traverse - the Alkidian Superanomaly. They decide to investigate the route, as it is the strongest lead yet for uncovering the mastermind - the unknown sponsor of the Laconian war.

Journey to Invirian

On San, Wisteria is in constant contact with Sakura and Hecate, who are also searching through copies of the data packet that Clotho and the others retrieved. Sakura explains that she found information pertaining to the disappearance of Psychotria, which had happened ten years prior, revealing that he was spotted with a stolen ship near Primio. When the Starlight arrives at Primio, they prepare to make the jump, and contact Wisteria. Wisteria sends them a copy of the Psychotria data, revealing that he undertook the same void jump that the others were about to make, and was never seen again. Black Opal suddenly remembers that the Psychotria that arrived on Eos 14 years prior was not the real Psychotria, but a memetic entity commissioned by Clovis Gershwin - the administrator of TERAPRO - to take his place to investigate the murder-suicides in the facility. He and Sakura had learnt this fact, then promptly forgot it, explaining that the nature of this memetic entity made those who learnt about it forget the details. Clotho suggests that they must attempt to find Thrallix to uncover both the mastermind and the truth behind Psychotria's disappearance. Wisteria adamantly warns against it, suggesting that they will die trying, but Clotho cuts her off to prepare for the voidspace jump. They make the jump, but immediately run into issues as the ship hits a large anomaly within voidspace. As the ship seems to be on the verge of destruction, ghostly blue figures appear in the bridge and shield others from injury, while also taking control of the ship to put it into another voidspace jump within voidspace. Ayam says that the ship cannot handle another jump as the core is badly damaged, but it manages to pull through the transit.

Exiting voidspace, the group finds themselves orbiting the planet Thrallix, while an automatic update to the ship leads the group to discover the existence of the Invirian Ascendancy, a space nation hidden from the galaxy within the Alkidian Superanomaly. Convinced they have found the mastermind behind the Laconian war, the group vows to discover the truth behind Invirian, and Psychotria's disappearance. Landing on the planet, they explore the city and decide to go to a registry office to see if Psychotria had indeed been on the planet. Minerva mentions Psychotria's name, which causes an orgone rift to appear, causing panic amongst locals and nearly causing a death due to "orgone shock" - a fatal condition where a memoria being is exposed to realspace. The Xahnamohan arrive, led by Kiril, who confirms they have indeed entered Invirian Space, but to the group's surprise, they learn that Invirian is not actually supporting the Laconians, and are conversely unaware of it. Kiril explains that the orgone rift appeared because Minerva introduced information that did not belong to the memoria realm - that being the name of Psychotria. The group pieces together that someone must have the ability to transmute memoria to orgone, or rather create things within the memoria realm and then send them to realspace to be used in the war effort. After remaining on Thrallix for a few days, Kiril suggests to the crew that they visit the shamans on the planet Fiyani, as they may be able to unravel more clues about the true nature of Psychotria's disappearance and how it ties to the mastermind.

Seeking the mastermind

Concurrently, near Alkid, both the Grand and Junior Vizier are preparing Isla to return to Theia, hopeful that they may find clues about an alleged TERAPRO/Accord plot, or rather that Accord Space is the ultimate mastermind using Laconia and the Alkidian Superanomaly as smokescreens. Likewise, Isla is also tasked to investigate the disappearance of Psychotria, as the swap with the impostor definitely happened before everyone arrived on Eos. The viziers unveil a gargantuan satellite machine known as the Oblivion Weaver, modelled after the quantum tunnelling device used for the Flavros Project, and successfully use it to transport Isla to Theia. As this happens, Guinevere and Amesidian finish their journey back to the San System, where Wisteria relays the information from the Starlight about their journey to Thrallix. Guinevere and Amesidian finally learn that Psychotria is an impostor, and that he himself journeyed to Thrallix - Wisteria hopes that this may be the most important lead yet. Meanwhile, the crew of the Starlight Serenity arrives on Fiyani, where they meet the shaman Alchameth. They perform a ceremony that allows Alchameth to infiltrate Clotho's subconsciousness, believing that her psyche may contain the clues.

Clotho and Alchameth journey through Clotho's mind, and come across events that she experienced that she never recalled - one where she, Wisteria and Black Opal are discussing Psychotria's impostor's presence on Eos, and another where Clotho and Guinevere physically try to prevent the impostor from escaping. Through this investigation, Alchameth pinpoints an entry into the memories of the impostor, despite Clotho's objections that it would not be possible. They see a vision in TERAPRO of the impostor hiding Psychotria's body and assuming his form as a disguise, and then bringing a comatose Clovis Gershwin to his desk. They witness the impostor plant the memory that Clovis hired the impostor as a spy in lieu of Psychotria within their group. Again, Clotho questions the nature of them being within the impostor's memory, even though they should not be able to access it, but in his attempt to respond Alchameth begins to lose control over the psychic realm. Clotho rapidly tries to piece together the clues; inferring that the memory implantation must have also included planting the idea that Eos was a threat to humanity, she realises that this set in the chain of events that included Eos being transported to Empyrium, Lyris' life being saved at the Sentor Banquet Incident, Isla's implication in the attack, the investigation, the war, and ultimately the group's arrival to Invirian. Realising that something is seriously wrong, Clotho tries to will Alchameth to get them out, but Alchameth realises that they are in the impostor's psyche because the impostor is present.

The two awaken to find the shamans dead, and everyone else surrounded in a shield of Kiril's making, with Lorandite in front of them - the impostor, and true mastermind behind the Laconian War. He plans to wipe their memories, but before doing so taunts them, revealing that he is orchestrating a war between the Empyrium and Accord Space. Clotho tries to pry into his true nature, but learns nothing. As he prepares to wipe their memories, Alchameth covertly releases a psychic occlusion spell, intended to prevent Lorandite from tampering with their minds. Seeing it as a futile act, Lorandite "kills" Alchameth, and Clotho absorbs his memories by appearing to give in to Lorandite. Knowing Alchameth's plan, she commands everyone to run back to the ship, as Lorandite learns that his memory-altering powers are ineffective on them. Escaping just in time, Lorandite warns Clotho that although they have learnt a lot, they still will not be able to escape Invirian, which is ultimately imprisoning the truth. Escaping Fiyani, Alchameth (within Clotho's mind) reveals what he learnt - that Lorandite is a memetic entity that ultimately is made manifest through altered memories and perceptions, also implying that he is not a Kaphi and that Lorandite is an alias. Regrouping with everyone on the bridge, Kiril suggests that they travel to Haekand, where Invirian scientists are working on a way to revert the orgone catastrophe.

The orgone catastrophe

The Starlight Serenity crew, guided by Kiril and Alchameth (within Clotho's mind), arrives on Haekand. They investigate a massive orgone-accumulation device designed to mitigate, not prevent, the impending catastrophe. Minerva theorizes that the only way to defeat Lorandite is to reverse the device's polarity, making it accumulate memoria energy instead. This would create a powerful lure, drawing Lorandite to them. Despite the risks, the group activates the device and then its polarity is flipped. The plan works, but the immense energy manipulation opens a chaos rift that inadvertently funnels the power of the Oblivion Weaver, which the Empyrium Fleet has just used for their invasion of Accord Space. Lorandite absorbs the immense orgone energy, granting him the power of an entire star. He then effortlessly wipes the memories of the entire group and disappears, having achieved his goal. Meanwhile, Guinevere, Sakura, and Amesidian arrive in Invirian space to rescue the others, only to find that the orgone catastrophe has already begun. She senses the damage that is being caused to the memoria realm, knowing lives are at risk. Communicating with the residual memories of the Xahnamohan and Haniamonai, Guinevere learns that she, as a powerful memoria being who once created a world (Eos), can become a "key" to save the people of Invirian. She vanishes, beginning her spiritual journey to understand this power, leaving Sakura and Amesidian to find the others on Haekand.

Guinevere journeys through a metaphysical palace within the memoria, guided by Alchameth's spirit. She witnesses the history of Invirian and reflects on key memories: Ariadne's sacrifice at the Loom of Fate and her own creation of Eos. Alchameth shows Guinevere a view of Ariadne's childhood. troubling Guinevere as the circumstances of her creation meant that she will never have the memories of a normal life - growing up, starting a family, and so forth. She understands that the collective wish of all beings is "to be alive" and to have their memories preserved. Thousands of Xahnamohan and Haniamonai transfer their power to her, and she witnesses the tens of thousands of Kaphi diamonds that, together, formed her existence when their common desire to stay alive united them all. Repeating the mantra: "I offer up all that I am... so that our memories may live on", Guinevere accepts her destiny and reveals to Alchameth her plan, by giving him a beating heart. She uses this amalgamated power to transmute the entire Invirian Ascendancy into real space, saving 1.2 trillion people from annihilation. She rescues the Starlight from the memoria space, and tells them to go to Alkid to stop Lorandite before it is too late.

The grand finale

The Starlight arrives at Alkid to find it under a massive siege by the Laconian fleet - Guinevere's plan to pull the rug from under Lorandite's feet worked, leading him to stage a cataclysmic last stand against the Empyrium. Guinevere reappears, now imbued with god-like power, and heads for the Laconian flagship. She battles her way to the bridge and confronts Lorandite. During their fight, he boasts that his goals are bigger than the Empyrium, but Guinevere quickly gains the upper hand. Feigning weakness, he allows Guinevere to freeze him in place. Planning to double-cross her, he prepares to use his paralogia spell to destroy her memories, as he expects Guinevere's offer of peace to be genuine. Guinevere sees through his tricks and uses her superior power of occlumency to neutralise his spell, leaving him completely defenseless. Having entirely overpowered Lorandite, she mocks him for his cowardice and forces him to utter the sacrificial mantra, draining him of all his power and reducing him to an empty shell.

With the battle over, the Starlight crew is summoned to the Imperial Palace. Before the Emperor's throne, Guinevere presents the powerless Lorandite. Under the Emperor's compelling presence, the impostor's true identity is forced out: he is Eno Xan, the "Emanator of Chaos" from a planet called Acheron in another galaxy. He reveals he and two others came to this galaxy seeking reinforcements for a war against other god-like entities that are destroying his home. His intricate plan of sowing chaos was his method of mustering strength. Having failed, he shatters into nothingness. The Emperor declares the matter resolved and thanks the group for their efforts, before coldly dismissing them to prepare the ensuing peace treaty.

Life begins to return to a new normal, albeit the war-torn Empyrium has now been partitioned. Guinevere reveals she has relocated the Invirian worlds to the San system. Psychotria is joyfully reunited with Sakura. Clovis is reunited with Carbonado and introduced to New TERAPRO. As Guinevere prepares to return all of the memories to the Invirians, she takes time to reflect that though she is a composite being born of countless memories, she has finally found peace in her own identity - a stark contrast, but also a striking comparison to the identity of Eno Xan. She recites the mantra one last time with the affirmation of her - and everyone's - fundamental wish is to be alive and to cherish the memories that life creates.