Pilgrims of the Void, Part I

Time Stream: 1.111.111

6E 115

This much was certain to S’thajj: only someone touched by Sheogorath would sail a sand skiff through the Void. But then, only someone touched by the Lord of Madness would go where he was going.

S’thajj did not think himself mad; obsessed, perhaps, but not mad. The journey itself was an act of research: sand skiffs were designed to skirt the deserts of Masser, transporting Merchant’s Guild goods as far as Corinthe-by-the-Shallows. His own skiff had served him well in this capacity over the last two years. But augmenting the soul-gem matrix with mana-sail enchantments had rendered the skiff capable of Void travel, and once he’d learned of the old ‘station there was no reason not to set sail. He documented each trip, giving his “research” to a mage of the Guild…who kept him well-supplied with soul gems.

It was not a comfortable journey. The skiff was barely ten meters long and half as wide; the hold – designed for trade goods – was filled with supplies, and the matrix-housing. That meant sleeping on the deck, wearing his breathing scarves throughout, with no real space for comfort. Still, a skiff this size was all but impossible to see in the Void, and of no interest to pirates.

And so a month round trip, living on scrib jerky, and doing his business straight into the Void. It could have been worse.

The old voidstation looked just as he’d left it: dead. To anyone else it might have appeared to be a left-over bit of creatia: drained of poiesis and floating in a far flung vector of Oblivion. It was only as he drew near, easing back the throttle, that he saw the dock entrance. Sliding the skiff into place he dispelled the sail and tied the ship to the jetty.

For the next hour he emptied the hold, placing his provisions inside the main entrance, being careful to keep the food, supplies, and soul-gems separate. There was enough food for him to stay a week, and maybe enough papyrus to record what remained in the Intelligence’s Memory. Shifting to darksight he walked down the hallway to the command center. He always felt a little nervous; stepping through the door was like stepping back in time.

"An Empire across the stars", the book had said. No one had dared to take it literally; that was why no one had found the ‘station and its lost history.