An Immutable Distance

Location
 Inhabitants

**An Immutable Distance** is the fifth act of the Fire in the Sky. It follows the Merry Few in the time after the *Great Fall*. It takes place on the mysterious Island, ran by Jacob and haunted by The Man in Black.

The main characters of the act are Attalia Robinsong, Alvera Runehartz, Rem Lancaster and Remi Fonseca.

## The Island

A mysterious sanctuary where souls are sent after departing from the Mortal Coil. Souls that arrive at The Island do not deserve to be sent to either Ka or Kai and so this place acts as a temporary home until the soul is either damned or saved.

The Island was destroyed in Act V when Alvera used the Cork to return to the Mortal Coil. The plane was later restored when Alvera became a Goddess.

## Part I: Alvera is Not God

Alvera is found on the mysterious island by a much older Attalia and Attalia's son, Erol. Alvera helps them find refuge in the forest from a group called the Others that attack in the night and attempt to steal children. Alvera is able to keep everyone safe, but her leadership is questioned by members of the group. Zelda Amastacia is also among the group and her secret feelings for Alvera cause a rift between the two's longstanding friendship. Attalia is unable to help fully due to her commitment to her seven children. Edwin DeLais has his own group on the Island, and he extorts Alvera for food on multiple occasions. Attalia withholds a lot of information from Alvera, and does not tell her about how she arrived to the island or how well she knows Alvera.

The Dark Man is a hidden member of the group, and he convinces Alvera to let a group of the children and adults go with him to find another habitat in order to confuse the Others. The Others in fact do attack Alvera and her gang, causing her to split off from Attalia. Alvera runs into the woods with Rem Lancaster (Attalia's husband) and the two find solace in an underground lab. The lab is soon destroyed by a mysterious man named Ben who tells Alvera she does not belong on the island. She loses Rem, and must continue on her own.

Hungry, tired, and afraid, Alvera approaches a lighthouse in hopes of finding refuge. Luckily, Rem arrives along with Attalia. Attalia reveals that Erol has been kidnapped, and Alvera promises to help her find him. They go into the lighthouse, and there they meet the Dark Man in his true form. He tells them that the only way to escape the island and their terrifying existence is to destroy all of the stations on the island, but Alvera does not trust him due to their troubled history. Attalia convinces Alvera to destroy the stations, with her main argument being that they cannot remain stationary while Erol is still missing. The Dark Man reveals that he is also trapped on the island, and that he is powerless on the plane. He does not reveal any more information even when Alvera questions him.

Alvera heads for the nearest station, just as she did on Ka. Her main goal being to find answers about the strange plane that she finds herself on, and then to escape to find Klemens.

## Part II: Faith in the Unknown

They arrive at the first station and are unable to destroy it. Even the Dark Man is unable to use his magic to affect the station in any way. They are attacked by the Others, and must escape at once. They retreat to the lighthouse and notice a mysterious plume of black smoke in the distance. Rem convinces the group to go and investigate. They are attacked in the woods by Edwin DeLais and captured.

Edwin threatens to kill Attalia if they don't reveal who keeps attacking their camp at night. Rem insists that it isn't them, and that the Others have been the ones attacking due to Edwin's careless antics.

The Others attack during all of the fuss, and Edwin is mortally wounded. Attalia kills Edwin. She explains to Alvera that when people die on the island they just reappear at a later time and that Edwin will not be gone for good. The Dark Man warns Alvera that if either of them die on the plane, it will be for good. They will not be afforded the same luxuries as the souls on the island.

He explains to her that everyone on the island has died and come to this plane. The people on this plane must prove themselves worthy to ascend to Kai, or eventually their souls will fade into the Relentless Black. He tells her of another plane that acts as a mirror to the island known as The Consequence. She realizes that Klemens must be on that plane and asks if he knows how to get there. He shrugs her off.

The group plans to go to another station, but they are stopped by tranquilizer darts that shoot out while they walk through the woods. Alvera is the last one standing, and just before she loses consciousness, she sees Calvin in the distance.

## Part III: The Others

Alvera awakens in a dungeon. A man enters the dungeon and leaves her food. She doesn't eat. Another man enters the room, and introduces himself as Benjamin Linus. He states that he takes care of the island, and keeps all of the people on the island safe from The Man in Black. Alvera mistakes this entity for the Dark Man, and Benjamin explains that the Man in Black is actually the strongest dark force in the universe. He tries to bring the souls from the island to the Consequence in order to bring them to the Relentless Black faster so that he can steal their life force. Benjamin tells her that he does not mean Alvera harm, but that the Man in Black wants her and he intends to give her to him.

A mysterious man breaks into the dungeon and helps Alvera escape. The man turns out to be Calvin. Alvera is more concerned with the safety of her friends than worrying about Calvin, and Calvin leaves her because he can't blow his cover among the others.

Alvera escapes the dungeon with only Attalia, and they learn that Rem is being sacrificed. The ceremony being performed by the Others plunges a soul into the Consequence and does not allow them to come back to the Island. Attalia sacrifices herself to save Rem. Rem and Alvera escape.

Alvera checks her map and they go to the nearest station: the Orchard. They find Erol hiding deep within the laboratory eating a box of crackers. He and Rem embrace and Erol asks where his mother is. They cannot answer. Alvera learns that the Orchard hides a deep mysterious energy by reading the books in the station. She unlocks the energy and a loud ringing bellows throughout the island.

A dark plume of smoke rises from near the lighthouse and charges toward the Others. Benjamin and the Dark Man are both able to separately escape.

Alvera, Rem and Erol watch as the plume of smoke kills most of the Others. The light at the lighthouse turns on, and they take it as a sign that the Dark Man is waiting for them there. They head back. But as they head to the lighthouse it is revealed that the Dark Man is actually heading to the Orchard, and that someone else awaits Alvera.

## Part IV: 4 8 15 16 23 42

Alvera is surprised to find a mysterious man waiting for them at the lighthouse. He introduces himself as Jacob and states that he knows of their mission on the island and he wants to help them complete it. He states that he only reveals himself to those that are true of heart, and he pulls out six cards. Trapped inside the cards are the souls of six heroes. He calls them the Survivors of Evil. Each card has a number on it, and each number matches one of the mysterious Numbers of Lore. Alvera wants to know who they are, but Jacob insists that they are souls that are long gone, and the people themselves do not matter, but what the cards stand for is what matters. He gives the cards to Alvera. He tells her to let them guide them on her journey to find the way to her friend Klemens.

Jacob offers his hand to Rem and Erol. He offers to bring them to Attalia. Alvera insists that she should go along with them, but Rem convinces her that she must find a way to her friend Klemens, and allow them to go after Attalia. She reluctantly agrees.

Days later, she finds the Dark Man in the woods. He looks tired and defeated. She tells him of the cards, and he states that he knows all about the Survivors, and how meaningless their power is on this plane. He states that a long time ago, a plane crashed on the very island they stand on, and that each Number matches one of the seat numbers where a survivor sat on the plane. He knows the Numbers are magic, but he tells her that magic is not the same on the Ethereal plane because it is so abundant. Only strong, chaotic magic has power.

Alvera and the Dark Man travel together, following a mysterious blue aura that trails along the forest. They arrive at an eye-shaped hole in the ground. Alvera recites the numbers and it fills with black water. The Dark Man then betrays her and drowns her in the water.

She wakes up in a forest of fire. The trees are red and the leaves on the trees are burning. She looks up at the dark red sky and thinks back to the day Animus died in Omega. Men scream in the distance. She pulls out the six cards, and for the first time in the series, she prays to someone other than Zeus. She prays for the Survivors of Evil to guide her through the Forest of Carnage.

## Part V: The World Turned Upside Down

Alvera moves through the Forest. She ends up finding a group led by Ronnie the Red. He attacks and brutally wounds her, and then he steals her innocence in the woods. She is able to get away from Ronnie, and she hides in a small cavern.

She hears a familiar voice in the woods and comes to find Erol and Rem. They state that the man that claimed to be Jacob was in fact an imposter, and that he tricked them into giving up their spots in the Island and sent them to the Consequence. They have not been able to find Attalia and have been waiting for Alvera for nearly four years, even though for Alvera it's only been about four hours.

Erol, now 9, helps Alvera find food. The three stay put in the woods to avoid the bandits that run rampant in the Consequence.

The three celebrate the Day of Gifts in their cave, but are interrupted by an attack by Ronnie and his men. They are saved by Klemens, and the act ends with Klemens destroying Ronnie's soul and sending him to the Relentless Black for what he did to Alvera. Alvera and Klemens embrace.

Somewhere else in the Consequence, Attalia continues to search for her friends.