Seeing all possibilities

"Dungeon Master, you looked through that book and saw different lives I could live. Could you really see everything?"

"You really want to find about you and the legion, don't you?" he teased

"No, not that"

"Well, in all honesty, that's a difficult question to answer. In short, I don't see all at once. Only Gorak, the God of Fate himself can see all contingencies of all events of all time, but he does not share information gladly. What I can do is look through, seeing the same place and moment and how that might differ depending on place, time, and circumstance."

"Can you show me how that looks?"

"Interfering with the Web of Fate is a delicate matter Dungeoness, and I would not hand such gifts to you idly, less you destroy it entirely, as a child would destroy a glass toy."

"I understand. Would you at least let me see things as you do?"

The Dungeon Master ponders on this, stroking his elongated beard "This, I will grant you. And come, we will have a demonstration" The Dungeon Master gently places his thumbs over your eyes and chants a mystical, arcane ritual. His hands quickly redrawn, you feel dizzy as your mind struggles to grasp the information it is constantly bombarded with.

"It's a little disorienting, to be sure. It took me a few decades before I could really get a handle on it. Focus your mind on one thing at a time, or else you'll be overburdened with information." You listen to the Dungeon Masters advice, and focus just on him. You regain your senses, and realize there is nothing else there, you are a seemingly empty expanse.

"Where are we?" You ask

"For the moment? Nowhere, but pay close attention." In a flash, you and him appear in the middle of a huge arena, in what seems to be a desert arena. Your head starts to swoon again "Focus, Dungeoness, or I will take away what you were given just as quickly, and we'll find something more rudimentary for your mind to grasp, like spelling."

You take a deep breath and try to push all else out of your mind. You stand again, seeing the two combatants. An semi-armored human, and an orc monster taken in from the wilds as a combatant. With a snap, time is stopped.

"Now, take a look at the orc, and tell me what you see."

Clearing your mind, you start to see faint images, multiples of the combatants. In all, the orc falls "I see that he is doomed to die in here."

"Indeed, but let us see our other choices. What happens if we introduce another element?"

A third combatant fills the space; a beautiful woman with wild hair that burns like a bonfire, wielding two short axes and with it the threads of fate shift in a miraculous dance. Many disappear, new ones grow in their place, but still many end in this arena. "His life is extended, but he is still doomed to die here."

"Is he now? Or have you not paid enough attention?" The Dungeon Master motions for you to come forward. "Now, hold this" as he places a thread in your hand "And tell me what's different about it" You move in your fingers and try to perceive the series of events "It's two threads! His and hers together! They love each other!"

The Dungeon Master smiles, satisfied with you seeing that on your own "Very observant, yes. Now, where does this go"

"It leads out of the arena! They escape and they live!" You grow excited seeing their life together flash before your eyes. You gasp as you let go of the thread, seeing how it ends.

The Dungeon Master, perhaps predictably, is unflinched seeing your reaction "What did you see?"

"I saw how they die. That's horrible."

"I know. Regrettable, truly."

"How do you know?"

"Because I've set this thread in motion. I caused this to happen, they will be free, but their demise is inescapable. I've tried to change this thread several times, but their Fate is inescapable."

"Than...why? Why make it happen?"

"Because it's the course of action available. Better they have this life, despite it's end, than for each of them to die here in this bloody arena, as pawns to a game where neither contestant is concerned of the outcome. My actions, your actions, when you have the power, have limits and have consequences. Do you understand?"

"Yes Dungeon Master."

"Very good Dungeoness. You take the first steps into a wider world. Do you have any other questions?"