For centuries untold, man has made the same assumption: Fate cannot be contained or controlled. In some measure, this is true. One cannot seize fate directly, as Guido von List once imagined. It is not a lever to be pulled or a machine to be wound.
But fate does possess something most men fail to recognize. It has a pattern. And the Arcana Immortus reveals that pattern. Fate may be observed, analyzed, scrutinized. Once its movements are understood, it can be nudged gently, almost imperceptibly, in the direction of one who understands its predictable intent.
When Wilhelm Wulff created the Arcana, at my direction of course, from the very wood of the World Tree itself, each card bore the preternatural image of a player in this grand game. Man, woman, demi-god. And although the cards were of great power, they were not enough. It was the Mirror of Belshazzar that allowed me to follow the players as they moved across the chessboard.
No, not merely to watch them, but to recognize the moments where destiny grows thin. Convergence points, if you will. At such moments, one need not control fate, only shape the conditions surrounding it. A word spoken to the right person. A meeting arranged. A small influence applied at precisely the correct moment. Engineered circumstances.
So you may ask: How was I able to set my grand design into motion? How was I able to guide events so that I might leave one world in order to one day rule nine?
The answer is simple. I manipulate probabilities. And those probabilities are heavily stacked in my favor.
Because before the first piece is moved on the board…
I have already won.
Fritz von Ehrlichmann
February 6, 1945
I was born within the very heart of the Fatherland. My father was a German diplomat, and my mother was of little consequence. As I grew, I knew I was destined for greatness. I had thoughts, machinations, things that cannot be easily swept away with science.
Do you still doubt me when I speak of Fate? I was born on the Summer Solstice.
During the first World War, I had been a daring pilot who had brought down thirteen enemy planes. This achievement alone earned me the decoration of the prestigious Iron Cross. How small such triumphs seem to me now.
While many of my comrades celebrated Allied kills, I found no such pleasure. What is one life... or thirteen for that matter? What is each man's worth?
I would soon discover my own value...
I have already discussed my meeting with Herr Himmler and the Führer, as well as my appointment to the SD. Those early days were difficult at best, but if I were to consummate my union with Fate, I needed to occupy a position of influence. I must admit that at the time I did not yet see the hand of Fate at work. It would be the last time I made such an error.
I would be remiss not to touch upon my relationship with Herr Himmler. Although I would agree the man is quite mad—he believes himself to be the reincarnation of the Saxon king Henry the Fowler, after all—he has nevertheless proven to be a source of great opportunity. I might even call him a friend, if I were so inclined.
Yes, I still have plans for the man. Great ones.
The manuscripts of Guido von List were vague at best and, no doubt, the source of many sleepless nights. I will not dwell long on their contents here, but the questions they raised would eventually lead me to answers—answers found in the most unlikely of places.
I have spoken of Himmler and madness. The same could be said of von List. But what is the true relationship between madness and truth? Surely they are not in opposition. For did not the universe itself descend from madness? From the Old Ones?
This was the second piece of the puzzle that would become my life’s work. Meeting Wilhelm Wulff was perhaps the most important moment of my life. I do not say this lightly. For if not for Wulff, what would Ehrlichmann be? Without his knowledge of astrology, alchemy, and sacred relics, where would the Arcana Immortus be?
I still remember the night in Strasbourg. Raising the dead, even if only for a moment, proved that an undead army was not merely possible, but a tool I might one day wield in negotiation.
The third piece of the puzzle came when the Ahnenerbe detected an event beneath the castle at Le Puy-en-Velay in France. The result was an exposed root of the World Tree—a Schwellenwurzel. Where does such a root lead? Why, to the very heart of the World Tree, of course.
And what caused this event to manifest? A shift in a tectonic plate... a seismic anomaly. Random happenstance? No. I had seen far too much by then to doubt the hand of Fate… my fate.
Within two weeks of discovering the Schwellenwurzel, Wulff began his great work on the Arcana Immortus. The first step was to carve twenty-four tarot cards from the mystical root under precise astrological conditions. With the guidance of the Ahnenerbe, we identified the players. With the help of the stars, we assigned them to each card. With the aid of the aforementioned mirror, we followed them, charted their points of convergence, and gently nudged Fate toward the designs I had already set in motion.
The creation of the Arcana was Wulff’s last great contribution to my plans. Even before we began working together, I sensed hesitation in him. He was weak, and that weakness I exploited. It would eventually cost Wulff everything.
Germany’s greatest scientists had developed an atomic bomb. The problem was that there was no way to deliver its payload to America. The Allies now controlled the skies, and they were hunting down our U-boats.
Regardless, I had other plans beyond those executed under German high command. I ordered Wulff to assist in constructing a shield around the payload, a rather terrible smallpox, using a fragment of the furnace said to have protected Daniel’s companions in the Scriptures. Second, he weaponized it further with a corrupted sample of the World Tree. Killing Americans was secondary to desecrating the seasons. Though the plan was sound, it was never meant to succeed. I had other designs.
While the bomb was being readied, I worked with the Ahnenerbe to draft the treaty necessary to allow passage of the device through the EverShade. In truth, the document itself meant very little. It was merely symbolic, for I believed the King would do whatever was required to gain access to our world once more.
Please note that I said believed. For reasons I could not then explain, Fate proved difficult to read when it came to the Solstice King, and I was unable to discern the true probabilities of success.
Yet what is reward without risk?
With the Solstice Treaty completed, Fate, and the cards, led me to a secondary player: the Jack in the Green. I knew the probability of the Solstice King surviving the betrayal of his land was slim, so I required another ally. But how does one manipulate a god? With an object tied to God himself—the cursed coins given to Judas.
Wulff fashioned a silver circlet that would lead one preternatural brother to betray his winter twin. Into this he fused the Iron Stake of the Voivode, allowing its wearer to raise the dead. After that, it was simply a matter of offering a modest gift of jewelry to the Summer Lord.
Using the Arcana—the cards and the mirror—I set several events in motion so that I might follow von List’s instructions for opening a portal within the Schwellenwurzel. I ensured that the naval commander Ryota Okahara would travel to Germany, bringing with him the three mystics. If anyone could follow the river of Fate, it would be the Onmyōji. Securing safe passage for the Japanese delegation through Himmler proved a simple matter.
Fire, blood, words. Von List was right. I would have liked to have met the man...
With the help of the German propaganda machine, it was relatively easy to convince Churchill to ask Eisenhower to send troops to the newly constructed base. I timed it perfectly, ensuring that I had already struck my bargain with the Solstice King weeks before.
I was unable to warn the German troops stationed at the base of the impending invasion. Such a move would have been foolish. Their deaths were unfortunate, but necessary.
I was certain that Captain Roberts would survive. After all, he is Luke Steele’s biological father and the source of inspiration near the endgame. And Grant Parmiter? One of the first acts of my newly-formed Black Reich. Without the Major's death, Roberts would not have chosen to enter the portal.
I would be remiss not to mention how Captain Roberts and his men came to enter the EverShade. At the final moment, I ensured the demi-goddess of Spring became aware of the assault. I allowed her to understand that the man approaching would stop at nothing to destroy the invading German force.
It was, after all, still her season. Maera possessed the power to still time itself, to permit their passage, and to reveal herself to Roberts alone in her full glory.
The rest unfolded as it must. Roberts and Maera would wed, and in time, a child would be born. Luke Steele.
Fate, it seems, requires only the slightest encouragement.
As the bells of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church rang in the New Year, the people of Berlin celebrated in ignorance. The war was already lost. The generals knew it. Even Hitler must have known it.
But the Arcana had told me long before those bells began to ring. And on that day, while the city welcomed a new year, I sent a cabal out into the world — a Black Reich.
They will be more than my eyes and ears across the decades. They will be my hands and feet. The nudges I orchestrate, they will carry out.
As with many of my manipulations, this particular one took some time to gestate. True, I ensured that Commander Okahara was far enough from the Nagasaki blast to guarantee his survival, yet close enough that, over time, the bomb would claim him nevertheless.
I foresaw his wife's pregnancy as well, and it was I who encouraged the delivery of their first son in a hospital that would be affected by the blast. Of course, the boy perished, and the Black Reich made certain that Yuki Okahara remained properly medicated for the rest of her life.
Lastly, and more importantly, the psychological damage inflicted upon their second son, Takashi, cannot be overstated. The seed of revenge was firmly planted and would serve my purposes for years to come.
I suppose if I were any other man, I might feel a sense of guilt in asking Fate to intervene so cruelly in the life of a six-year-old child. But I am not any other man, and guilt has never been a luxury I could afford. It was important that certain individuals were introduced to a young Akio Nishimura, guaranteeing a lifelong thirst for affirmation and dependency.
Some might think Akio was a homosexual, considering the immediate attraction the boy, and later the man, had toward other men, particularly those in positions of power. But that is not the case here. I merely pulled the strings from time to time, guiding him toward those he would come to worship. In this case, the Black Reich ensured his enrollment at Kyoto University and introduced him to a certain Takashi Okahara.
It should be noted here that time moves quite differently within the Nine Realms, and the EverShade is no exception. In this aberrant land, time is paused—owing to nothing less than the death, and non-rebirth, of its king.
I mention this because of the date: 5 November 1985. Yes, that is the day of Luke Steele’s birth on Earth, but inherently not so within the EverShade.
Regardless, I helped orchestrate not only his escape but also planted the thought within the Fall Queen’s mind that she should give her energy to her Spring sibling. In doing so, I accomplished two things: Luke escaped the EverShade with his doula, and the demi-goddesses of Fall and Spring perished... if only for a time.
Yes, there is quite a large gap in time between Luke Steele’s escape and the incident in the woods involving the Jack in the Green and Tess McCoy. Was I not actively plotting during this time? Was the Black Reich not carrying out my plans? Of course. Much was set in motion, but the smaller nudges are too numerous to recount here.
Instead, I will simply say that, given the manic state of Green’s mind and his obsession with finding the Crown of Sovereignty, the Summer Lord proved remarkably easy to manipulate. Yes, I turned his gaze upon her and let nature do the rest. Of course, I ensured his intent would fall short. After expending a tremendous amount of energy opening the portal, he was hardly in a position to fend off Luke Steele’s doula when she intervened as he attacked Tess.
What was the outcome? The girl was traumatized, received a proper scholarship, left Beaver Hollow for the army, learned about weapons of mass destruction, and could read the words on the bomb schematic. I simply made certain each step occurred.
While it may appear simple on the surface, orchestrating this sequence of events was quite complex.
It began months earlier, when the cabal worked to secure an hourly radio program featuring music from the American 1940s. The broadcast would distract Archie Steele and take his eyes off the road. Next, we required a man who would not only hesitate to accept a drinking game from a woman in a local tavern, but who would also feel perfectly comfortable driving himself home.
As you can see, I did not cause the crash that killed Luke Steele’s adoptive parents directly. I merely created the conditions that made it likely.
And why didn’t Luke die in the crash? Probabilities, of course.
While the deaths of Archie and Ginny Steele and the attempted rape of Tess McCoy should not be understated, it was the death of Bobby McCoy that served as the true catalyst of my plan.
With Green’s help, I was able to send a will-o’-the-wisp through a temporary rift in the EverShade and into West Virginia, more specifically High Rock Mountain. The wisp safely melted the detonation cord, drawing Bobby McCoy up the mountain. His death would bring his sister back to Beaver Hollow and plant the seed of suspicion in the mind of Luke Steele.
Of course, the resulting explosion revealed a root of the World Tree, one the Ahnenerbe detected and Fate confirmed.
I am not too proud to admit that I was surprised at how effective Mr. Nishimura proved to be. He became a worthy pawn in my game. So worthy, in fact, that I considered sparing his life. But I get ahead of myself.
Akio’s misguided devotion to Takashi was not only the key to bringing the CEO to West Virginia, but also to supplying Mr. Okahara with the page from the Book of the Dead. I must be careful when speaking of the minor dread that would be summoned. That discussion must wait until the proper protections are in place.
I believe I failed to mention how I was able to guide the will-o’-the-wisp, in this case to burn a hole in the overlook sign at Turkey Spur. I wish I could say it was some inherited power, instead of a granted one. The distinction, I would later learn, is not always so clear. The simple answer: The Jack in the Green bestowed on me the Essence of the Green. Not a large amount, mind you, but enough to achieve some remarkable results. In this instance, I was able not only to direct the wisp, but also to call vines up from the earth.
When the bomb detonated in the EverShade (a temporary measure surely, as such a small thing as a nuclear explosion could hardly obliterate something so primordial), I was certain the Essence would leave me. It did, of course, but not before I exploited it further.
There is a reason that this entry is labeled “A Curiosity.” While it is true that I was able to control a wisp, in this case, I did not. Green warned me that while the glows are unpredictable, one thing is certain: they exist to bring forth death.
Which brings me to the bear. The wisp possessed the beast of its own volition. Of course, this was the final straw in Luke Steele’s mind and would eventually lead him to finding the root on High Rock. That is the domino effect of Fate at work.
And the screaming skulls? An anomaly. Not all forces are meant to be understood.
I just spoke of the domino effect in regard to Fate. This is a perfect example. I did not need to nudge Fate here, nor did I need to send the Black Reich to accomplish a task. Not a finger was lifted. Allow me to explain.
Predictability and probability. That is all that has happened here. The blast occurred. Mr. Nishimura contacted Mr. Okahara about an “event” the man had been waiting for. He had to see it for himself. To do so, he purchased the mining company to gain access. He brought the Three with him. They refused to wear helmets. The constable brought them and served as a distraction. Luke Steele and Tess McCoy entered the EverShade.
And what of Shinjo? Could he have killed Luke and Tess? Yes. But probability said otherwise. Some would call it luck. I call it Fate, misunderstood.
I will be brief.
I have attempted to determine how Grace Burnette, Luke Steele’s doula, was able to manifest within the EverShade and offer him guidance.
After considerable effort, primarily through the application of the Arcana, I find myself no closer to an answer.
Additional manuscripts attributed to Guido von List provided me with the necessary protections to speak of Aggaroth. The rituals took time, but they were essential. After all, the Old One drove poor Wulff quite mad.
So let me speak plainly. Bringing a dread, even a minor one, into our world was of great importance. The first step was introducing Takashi to the Three and their master, Tenmon. There, Mr. Okahara learned of Aggaroth the Seeker, an Old One capable of pointing him toward that which would bring about his vengeance. From there, it was simple. Mr. Nishimura would do everything required to obtain a page from the Book of the Dead and commit to memory the incantation and rites needed to bind the creature. Of course, I knew it would escape its invisible prison and kill them all, at least temporarily in the case of the Three, before returning to kill Green, temporarily as well.
I should note here that Miss McCoy was mistaken in believing Aggaroth to be a demon. He merely appeared as such, for that is the form he assumed on this plane. Had he arrived in his true form, all would have been driven mad. Myself included, I suspect.
If I entertained a soft spot within my heart, it would have been for Akio Nishimura. He saw the world as it is, not as it pretends to be, and acted accordingly. Such clarity is rare. Regardless, I would be remiss not to speak of him one last time.
I did not anticipate Akio's death. In fact, every projection I made suggested the man would live.
Fate, it seems, is fickle.
Ah, the eyes of the Jack in the Green. I had not intended to include this detail in the Arcana timeline, but I will allow myself a moment of indulgence in recounting it.
As I have previously mentioned, I was given a measure of the Essence of the Green. In this instance, I used it to place a thought within the mind of the Summer Lord, one he may have otherwise overlooked. When he was confronted by Aggaroth regarding the breaking of their eons-old agreement, he was wise enough to realize that saving Luke and Tess might offer him a path out of the EverShade.
The thought I placed within his mind was simple: no one will trust you if you lack pupils. It was a small adjustment, but even the smallest details can shape perception. And perception, as I have learned, is everything.
Did I influence the probability of a mosquito biting Takashi Okahara? Of course. The fever that followed was not without purpose.
In his delirium, he conjured the dead. His CFO. His father. His mother.
Who did this serve? Myself, of course. I wished to observe how his obsession would manifest when reason was stripped away.
And was it worth it?
Undoubtedly.
How did the Three rise from the dead? Without this preternatural event, my grand designs would have been impotent. After all, their blood saved Luke Steele and granted him increased strength.
While Fate surely intervened in some manner, the true reason, one that Ryota Okahara stated plainly to me, is much easier to grasp.
The Three have obtained a measure of immortality.
I initially scoffed at the idea. But that single sentence changed the course of my life. It changed my endgame. The Third Reich, Hitler’s dreams, all of it became irrelevant.
I must have immortality.
There was a span of time between Luke Steele and Tess McCoy joining the Army of the Green and the forest ranger being attacked by Sir Augustine that there was little for me to do. I had set the pieces on the board perfectly and now they would simply run their gambit.
Each player did exactly what was expected of them. Luke would protect Tess at all times, having her bound to Green. He would notice a large hole in Green's plan and suggest a solution. The fellowship would be divided and the battle lost.
I did, however, nudge Captain Roberts toward Luke, moments before the commander turned on the man. If not for this, the ranger might have fallen by Augustine's blade.
I anticipated that Luke Steele would accompany Frost and the Winter Guard to Wyvern’s Teeth. Probabilities made that much clear. There, he would find the schematic left behind by Gideon the Betrayer, and in turn, be shot by the same.
Two points are worth noting. First, the man-beast was a fine captain, but easily persuaded. Why? It is an age-old reason. Gideon had grown weary of being second. Green convinced him that when the Summer Lord left the EverShade, he would rule the Greenwood.
Everyone wishes to be king.
Second, the arrow. Gideon would not be so easily controlled when it came to killing Luke. He was a superb marksman. How then did the shaft miss its mark? A single snowflake landed upon the fletching, shifting it no more than a hair’s breadth.
Was this my doing? No. I do not command the weather as the Winter Lord does. Fate, perhaps. Or something else. Even now, I cannot say.
The timing of presenting the Solstice King with the treaty was deliberate. The Lord of the EverShade would have just fought his twin and would therefore be at his weakest. The Arcana showed me that his sons would learn of the betrayal immediately, and that the Jack of the Frost would, no doubt, take matters into his own hands—and his father’s throat as well.
After that, the bomb would remain hidden while the other pawns began to move across the board.
I have already noted that the Three are, for all appearances, immortal. They learned the art of Onmyōji in the sixth century under their master, Tenmon. Divination. Theurgy. Necromancy. And, dare I say, magic.
Without them, my grand designs would have come to nothing. After all, who would open the portal to the aberrant land? Who would help retrieve what was lost? And who would save Luke Steele in his hour of need?
I am not a fool. I know that I am but an infant, still suckling at the teat of Fate. The Three are masters of it. Or perhaps something more. They are its lovers, for they understand her gentler ways.
Some who observed the death of Mr. Okahara might have thought the man’s luck had run out. Perhaps. But I knew all along that Tess would find her strength, and that Roberts and Luke would intervene. It was only logical that the Jack in the Green would require another interloper. Of course, I speak of Takashi Okahara.
The gift I gave to Green was the silver circlet. But it was more than a simple reforging of the cursed coins of Judas Iscariot. As I have hinted before, Wulff had infused it with a fragment of the Iron Stake of the Voivode. Yes, the very spike imbued with the un-life-giving power of Vlad the Impaler.
This same artifact would prove most useful in the final battle between the Army of the Green and the Winter Guard, when Green raised a hell-spawned host.
In the end, it did little to aid the Summer demi-god. I, however, derived considerable benefit.
Before I recount what transpired at the roots of the World Tree, I must first speak of Wulff and the Mirror of Belshazzar. I encouraged him to look deeper into the Mirror, as we required a force that would initially unite the West Virginia lovers with the Jack in the Green. Of course, I speak of Aggaroth the Seeker.
I have already noted that Aggaroth is an Old One, a minor dread. The creature, if such a word is appropriate, is capable of finding anything, for a cost. It does so through its many terrible eyes. Those same eyes, however, are enough to drive a man mad. This did not occur when it was summoned by the Three into the EverShade, as it assumed a form that could be safely observed.
Wulff was not so fortunate. He beheld its true form within the void, the same void described in certain forbidden texts. That was sufficient to break him.
Why did I allow this? Because I required knowledge of the Old Tongue. And in his madness, Wulff proved an eager teacher.
And I, an apt pupil.
It was inevitable that Luke Steele would find himself at the roots of the World Tree. There, he would claim the Crown of Sovereignty and become, for the first time in eons, a new king.
This held only minor interest for me. What I came to observe was the naming of the great tree itself. I needed to hear the ancient words.
And I did.
Every syllable.
I have spoken of the domino effect. It is not theory. It is observable, and with Fate involved, inevitable.
From the moment Luke Steele led his small company from the crossroads, I was satisfied. No further intervention was required. The board was set. All that remained was to observe the conclusion.
The bomb detonated in the EverShade, precisely as anticipated. What became of Frost and Green, I cannot say, though death is unlikely. Summer requires its Jack in the Green, and winter its Jack of the Frost. As for the EverShade itself, Elijah spoke plainly. Nothing may bring it to ruin. Neither water nor fire.
A final note regarding Takashi Okahara. I am not a sentimental man, nor do I claim empathy. Such things are of little use. Even so, his redemption, despite the form it took, proved… satisfying.
His father would have been proud.
Twenty-four cards. That is the number Wilhelm Wulff created. Twenty-four cards that, with the aid of the Mirror, would track every piece. Every person. Every demi-god.
But I created one more. The Wild Card. I fashioned it myself, using skills acquired in dark places.
With this card, I was able to direct Fate, shape probabilities, and impose order upon chaos. In time, it led me to the moment of truth.
Knowing the name of the World Tree was essential, but it was not sufficient. I required more. Cadence. Syntax. Phonetics. This is why I guided Wulff into madness, so that I might record the words that spilled from his lips and learn the Old Tongue properly.
And so, while Soviet soldiers dismantled Hitler’s dream one street at a time, I played my final move. At least in this world.
With my box of wonders secured, I returned to the Mirror and spoke the name of the World Tree exactly as the stags had spoken it. The same words Luke Steele heard, yet could not comprehend, opened the Mirror to eternity.
And I stepped through.
Checkmate.
