A Familiar Queue

Laniss looked out over the line, winding it's way across the flat barren plain toward the tower.It was remarkable how much could change in a day, and yet remain the same for millennia . The endless dead were waiting impatiently, slowly marching toward their meeting with the lady of death and fate while various shadowy entities walked up and down the crowd, striking dark deals with those desperate or fearful enough to risk an eternity of damnation.

A shadowy figure nearby quickly captured Laniss's attention. He appeared at first to be an elf, but at every glance he was slightly different; a living construct, a dwarf in a crafter's apron, an elderly human woman. And yet you would swear up and down that nothing at all had changed. At once extremely familiar and entirely unknown, all Laniss was sure of was that this was no simple soul waiting for judgment.

"You appear to be making something of a habit of this. I'm not sure that is wise" the stranger spoke with a voice like the motion of the continents.

"It is true that a number of miscalculations were made."

"More than you know Headmaster. You have begun to see the true path, but you will need more help. You must set aside the distractions and prepare."

Laniss frowned as he attempted to decipher the stranger's words. "Headmaster? I think you may have me confused with someone else."

"My apologies, I sometimes forget when we are." The young theori started off into the distance, clearly distracted "Think on my words. Finish what you started, because It has what you seek. Stop dying." With that, he turned and quickly vanished into crowd.

*   *   *

"...So with that, I feel it is time for me to tender my resignation from The Great Downward Engineering Company, and to officially petition for the land around the western rise be deeded to me for the purposes of construction of an arcane college in exchange for access to increased magical and scholarly resources as well as guaranteed tax revenue not less than....."