Hans Seiderman/Jester: He did not tell us the rest that night... what had happened to this other group. He needed to sleep, and then we needed to keep moving. But when we were finally on the boat to America, he told us what little there was of the rest.
Elsa's father wanted Herr Toulon arrested for kidnapping, the murders were noticed... there were problems. But Elsa claimed they had eloped that night, and they also said that Herr Toulon had not been back to the theater after being left in the woods. Elsa's father was then a suspect for a short time... but no cause of death could be found, and no sense to any of it. Worse, when one of the bodies was found to be an unwrapped mummy that was thousands of years old. Eventually the whole case was dropped from sheer confusion.
Lizzie: *slight head shake*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: Herr Toulon then began to study medicine, specializing in anatomy. His reasons... the puppets he had transferred his friends into to save them were not meant for such use. He wanted to do better for them.
Lizzie: *thinks this is good*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: A few years passed in quiet, but... something was wrong. The puppets were tired, more and more often... except for the one that was once Afzel. Herr Toulon expanded his studies, trying to find an answer for this as well.
Lizzie: *sad for the puppets*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: You see, the way he knew then to do things... did not involve what you call 'gunk'. The puppets were not designed that way, they could not feed... even if he had known of something to feed them.
Lizzie: *big wince*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: *nods, sadly* It is not like starving is for humans. It is more like... clockwork running down, or dead batteries. I do not think they would have died... they would have slept, as we had, but with no way to ever wake them. Perhaps that is not so different. Perhaps it is worse.
And... Afzel, he had his own solution to this problem. One the others had no interest in. He could 'feed' in the way we saw the Totems later use... draining the energy from... something else.
Lizzie: *shudder and growl*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: *nods* Herr Toulon did not approve either. He insisted Afzel restrict himself to feeding on animals. ... I wonder if part of it was because Afzel had been a sorceror, but Herr Toulon seemed to have so much less influence on him than we would notice later. He was, however, able to force that issue at least.
Herr Toulon continued to look for answers, but he didn't even yet know the whole problem. The older team... they had returned to avenge their own murders, and to prevent Herr Toulon from being killed as well. That task was done...
Lizzie: *feel of a sober nod*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: Between that, the feeding problem, and their disgust at Afzel's solution... they felt it was time for them to leave.
When Herr Toulon found this, he carefully stored them away, on the chance they were just sleeping... and that he would be able to fix this. Meanwhile, he transferred Afzel into a newer form... one designed to accept some sort of elixir as food, when he should find the right formula.
He designed the puppet after the demon from Faust. Mephistopheles, though they called him Mephisto.
Lizzie: *snuggling and listening*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: Herr Toulon became a doctor... but he continued to travel, and put on puppet shows, meeting in different countries with herbalists and alchemists. Mephisto allowed himself to be used to test things, but... when it did not work, he would feed in his other way.
Ten years after the events in Paris that led to him first being called 'Puppet Master' by one of Sutekh's minions, Herr Toulon managed to develop a formula that would work as he wanted. The last secrets he learned during a trip to Cairo that year. Somehow... with us, it always goes back to Egypt.
Lizzie: -It ain't that bad 'o place. When Osiris ain't goin' dotty over Shade.-
Hans Seiderman/Jester: *pictures this of Bey, and snickers* I cannot imagine... ... then again, the Egyptians were very fond of cats.
But to return to the story... It took some time to make certain of things, and that Mephisto was not sneaking around instead, and then Herr Toulon planned to try to restore the others. But... the first world war began, and the building he had stored them in was bombed.
All he ever found was Cyclops' head... and he knew enough by then to tell he was beyond recovery. I think... perhaps he held on to it in the small hope he might someday find the rest of them, and if they still could not be saved, at least properly laid to rest.
no subject
Elsa's father wanted Herr Toulon arrested for kidnapping, the murders were noticed... there were problems. But Elsa claimed they had eloped that night, and they also said that Herr Toulon had not been back to the theater after being left in the woods. Elsa's father was then a suspect for a short time... but no cause of death could be found, and no sense to any of it. Worse, when one of the bodies was found to be an unwrapped mummy that was thousands of years old. Eventually the whole case was dropped from sheer confusion.
Lizzie: *slight head shake*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: Herr Toulon then began to study medicine, specializing in anatomy. His reasons... the puppets he had transferred his friends into to save them were not meant for such use. He wanted to do better for them.
Lizzie: *thinks this is good*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: A few years passed in quiet, but... something was wrong. The puppets were tired, more and more often... except for the one that was once Afzel. Herr Toulon expanded his studies, trying to find an answer for this as well.
Lizzie: *sad for the puppets*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: You see, the way he knew then to do things... did not involve what you call 'gunk'. The puppets were not designed that way, they could not feed... even if he had known of something to feed them.
Lizzie: *big wince*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: *nods, sadly* It is not like starving is for humans. It is more like... clockwork running down, or dead batteries. I do not think they would have died... they would have slept, as we had, but with no way to ever wake them. Perhaps that is not so different. Perhaps it is worse.
And... Afzel, he had his own solution to this problem. One the others had no interest in. He could 'feed' in the way we saw the Totems later use... draining the energy from... something else.
Lizzie: *shudder and growl*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: *nods* Herr Toulon did not approve either. He insisted Afzel restrict himself to feeding on animals. ... I wonder if part of it was because Afzel had been a sorceror, but Herr Toulon seemed to have so much less influence on him than we would notice later. He was, however, able to force that issue at least.
Herr Toulon continued to look for answers, but he didn't even yet know the whole problem. The older team... they had returned to avenge their own murders, and to prevent Herr Toulon from being killed as well. That task was done...
Lizzie: *feel of a sober nod*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: Between that, the feeding problem, and their disgust at Afzel's solution... they felt it was time for them to leave.
When Herr Toulon found this, he carefully stored them away, on the chance they were just sleeping... and that he would be able to fix this. Meanwhile, he transferred Afzel into a newer form... one designed to accept some sort of elixir as food, when he should find the right formula.
He designed the puppet after the demon from Faust. Mephistopheles, though they called him Mephisto.
Lizzie: *snuggling and listening*
Hans Seiderman/Jester: Herr Toulon became a doctor... but he continued to travel, and put on puppet shows, meeting in different countries with herbalists and alchemists. Mephisto allowed himself to be used to test things, but... when it did not work, he would feed in his other way.
Ten years after the events in Paris that led to him first being called 'Puppet Master' by one of Sutekh's minions, Herr Toulon managed to develop a formula that would work as he wanted. The last secrets he learned during a trip to Cairo that year. Somehow... with us, it always goes back to Egypt.
Lizzie: -It ain't that bad 'o place. When Osiris ain't goin' dotty over Shade.-
Hans Seiderman/Jester: *pictures this of Bey, and snickers* I cannot imagine... ... then again, the Egyptians were very fond of cats.
But to return to the story... It took some time to make certain of things, and that Mephisto was not sneaking around instead, and then Herr Toulon planned to try to restore the others. But... the first world war began, and the building he had stored them in was bombed.
All he ever found was Cyclops' head... and he knew enough by then to tell he was beyond recovery. I think... perhaps he held on to it in the small hope he might someday find the rest of them, and if they still could not be saved, at least properly laid to rest.
Lizzie: *feels like she's thinking deeply*