Mr.Rhyme
Sayth chased Mr. Rhyme through a vast series of hallways and elegant rooms, very bright and very dark. Each time, as Sayth was about to catch up with him, they would bend and stretch. The interiors seemed significantly larger than the outer dimensions. Furthermore, Rhyme would miraculously enter one door and exit another one, unconnected across the room.
Sayth tried to follow, but the malleable dimensions did not work in his favor, and he was ever accosted by a tide of beasts. Mr. Rhyme continued casually walking and talking with his hands in his coat pockets.
“As a guardian dragon, you know well theories of how the Vaynegia created itself, stretching and twisting reality into a state of decay. This was not how it began. The decay did not develop for millennia, and in that time, the dragons of the past harnessed its unreal powers. In a time when the night’s sky was dark.
“Let me show you a city of perpetual light and ash, Sayth. One of five, a testament to technology, science, and creative potential. Knowing neither plague nor famine, these cities stretched beyond the reaches of planet and gravity, far into the stars. Spanning galactic clusters, they built out a utopian society more advanced than even the dragons of Rainbow’s Wane. The pitiful cities of Earth you hold so dear are nothing in comparison. Worse than nothing.
“They integrated reality-bending power into their technology; their very architecture defies spacetime. Ever they expanded, stretching stars and black holes to their whims. One such well of gravity became a mere tourist attraction, a park I recall. That is the level of their capabilities. Une Sailanse is but a small part of it, merged with TriCora.
“This is where it all began, and this is where it will end. Beyond imagination, life, and reality. Welcome to the city of Cose in the dimension Prysm.” Mr. Rhyme threw open massive copper doors and stepped into the light.
-Rainbows Wane
A magnificent ambiance swept over the room: banners, golden thrones, stone walls and plush fur rugs piled with stargold and jewels. Phallun’s throne room. He sat at a small table featuring the most exquisite chess set Magie had ever seen and adjacent to him sat a man in a grey trench coat over a white hooded sweatshirt.
[...]
“So, Phallun, conspicuous as ever in flaunting your meaningless material wealth,” Mr. Rhyme said, advancing his pawn to open the game.
“Meaningless, hardly. I indulge in the finer points of life and draw great joy from it. Surely there is meaning in that,” Phallun said, meeting the white pawn with his own in a Scandinavian defense.
“Everything is meaningless in this state of rot. You, me, this entire kingdom on the brink of oblivion. The schism claims it all; a palace of glass. Your delusions can only carry you so far,” Mr. Rhyme continued to play back and forth with Phallun, both masters of the art.
“A palace of glass? I like that, very poetic. If this kingdom is as meaningless as you claim why did you need me to stir Oseair’s state of slumber? You obviously have some scheme or other in mind,” Phallun asked. A servant refilled his goblet with bloodwine.
“Perhaps I do. Perhaps the only thing that could possibly have meaning. Besides, I find you a fascinating case study. You choose to be a king, why? Why should one be valued above the others when all burn to dust in the end?”
“Let me tell you something about people. They live in fear. Fear of loss, monsters, each other… the list continues into the sunset. Even in security they cower at the unknown, the greatest fear of all, which is where faith comes in. A soothing light to turn to when the night proves opaque.
Recruiting the spiritual leaders was my first step in conquering Evnyance. Men and women will rush headlong into a raging inferno so long as their fears are alleviated that the other side is absolute. And there’s nothing more absolute than the gods. To deny this is blasphemy.
From this vantage I supplied the people with answers to their unknowns. These are the enemies, let their differences fuel your prejudices. I am your friend, I act in the name of the gods. Follow me and you will find salvation from this life to the next. Seizing power is a simple matter. People will give it freely if you say what they want to hear. Eventually I too became a god in their eyes.
So to answer your question; I am king because I have answers and to those with answers, others follow. Such is the way of things. Check,” Phallun advanced his knight into position.
“You seem very comfortable from your house of glass but forget whom you’re speaking with. I could crush this kingdom to dust with a thought. But why would I? Where’s the meaning in that? Besides, I have a better idea, one that strikes more at the crux of your character.
Tell me, you value your wife above all else, even yourself, with an unwavering devotion. More so, you believe you can cling to this love forever. I’ve seen more romances than you can possibly dream and all end in time and decay. For this love, why should you be any different than the rest of the wretched masses?”
“You don’t understand love, do you?”
“I understand it greater than anyone. Love ends. I think you know that. I think you’ve built this entire kingdom to shield yourself from the fact. Check,” Mr. Rhyme skillfully setup Phallun’s queen to be captured by forking his king.
“That’s exactly why my love is different; I’ve surpassed the mortal bounds of the ghate and for my beloved Ahrizon as well. It’s something not you nor anyone else could fathom. We’re above that, above anything and everything the universe could send our way,” Phallun was forced to move his king from danger but resented the choice. Mr. Rhyme could detect a slight waver to his voice.
Mr. Rhyme contemplated this comment, silently playing the next moves in an ever more dominant endgame. Finally, on the last play he spoke, “do you really believe that? You think your trifling sway of the ghate has made you one of the gods? I’ll show you how meaningless your love, life and anything else you cherish truly is. I’m going to take her from you in a way she’ll never return. Checkmate,” Mr. Rhyme ended the game.
Phallun stood up abruptly, “get out! You’re not welcome here! Leave and don’t even dream of ever returning!” He thrust his index finger to the doors.
The many guards raised their weapons to Mr. Rhyme but held back, unsure of what to do if the god called their bluff.
Mr. Rhyme calmly stood as well. “Yes, yes, I know the way out. You and your beloved have one more moon together, make the most of it,” he strolled calmly out of the chamber.
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-The Gatekeeper
Mr. Rhyme serves as the main antagonist of Rainbows Wane and an overarching antagonist of The Gatekeeper. He's an Ogigah Wraith, a mysterious lovecraftian horror and the god of order. Although his goals of ridding the universe of schism decay seem noble, his methods of achieving them include mass genocide and are anything but. As the god of order in a universe ravaged by schism he has a very nihilistic point of view; not caring in the slightest about mortal creatures and seeing most actions as meaningless. In fact his goals revolve around doing the one thing that could possibly have meaning, to return the universe to a state of perfect order. He's one of the few characters who makes Sayth genuinely uneasy.
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Mr. Rhyme has a vast array of godly powers but most notably the ability to create soulless monsters without constraint. Frequently the heroes can't so much as touch him against the rising tide of creatures. All of his creations are very angelic with white fur or feathers and wings upon wings but that doesn't make them any less deadly. He can also mutate humans and aliens into blood lusting beasts.
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Mr. Rhyme is actually the dark side of the yellow Ogigah, Halika, who was split by schism. In Signature the gods are inspired by Lovecraft's works and called Ogigah Wraiths. Each Ogigah is assigned a color of the rainbow and role in the universe. Halika was the soul or reason of the universe so when she was split by schism I named her dark side Mr. Rhyme, after characters from the Phantom Toll Booth, the princesses Reason and Rhyme. Although Mr. Rhyme is extremely powerful, he is relatively low on the pantheon of gods and fears greater Ogigah like Oth.
