2 — Entourage Johnathan became overwhelmed with ughter. Daelus found himself blushing, and stayed silent until the ughing fit had died down. “Did I say something odd?” Daelus finally managed, as if he had chosen every word with tweezers from a bowl.“No, no, well, yes,” Jonathan replied. “Just the way you phrased the question. Yes, my goodness, yes, everyone present in this room is a person. In fact, entourage are actively discouraged from being projected within the lodge, particurly during a gathering. It is considered, how do I put this, a matter of decorum. These gatherings are for delegates–strictly.”“It’s just,” Dealus said, eyes going to the door he had just stood within for a discomforting span, “just before I arrived here. Before, you know what I mean, in the time before, in the pce we were before this? I was told…” The more he focused, the more he realized that the past several hours were slipping from his memory. He began to worry that the drink had begun to affect his mind. His eyes went to his gss. Usually he had enjoyed the effects of alcohol, but he wasn’t currently.Jonathan grew quiet and closer, taking on a tone that could almost be considered tender. “It’s not the drink. You just crossed over, didn’t you? From the old world to the new? There’s a period of disorientation. Memory of the process itself sort of just, poofs. It is nothing to be concerned with. We all experience it, and come out fine in the end.”Daelus nodded and Johnathan leaned back in his seat, seemed to recalibrate, and then leaned back in close, speaking in almost a whisper. “You are right to be curious; the entourage ability is a big deal. It’s going to change your life.”

  Daelus began to accept what Johnathan was telling him, and ended his struggle to remember everything that had happened today before now. Some of it, he had been told, had happened a thousand years ago, so he couldn’t be bmed for a little memory loss. “Very well, let’s start over. What is an entourage?”

  Jonathan straightened up, licked his finger and turned an imaginary page in mid-air. “Entourage, noun, plural form, also entourage. It is an ability, the effect of that ability, often called a projection, and the thing or things that ability may result in. It is, in brief, our Benefactor-granted ability to create puppets.”Daelus nodded. “Yes, I remember now.” Much to his relief, the amnesia was not complete. He could still remember the years before crossing over. There was training and preparation. In the st days he was told that he would sleep for a time, a procedure would be done, and then be awakened in the new world. Somehow the memory made him grow anxious. A hand on his shoulder slowly calmed him.“Imagine,” Jonathan began, his hand then moving to Daelus’ opposite shoulder, encircling him, “needing something, and the simple act of actualizing that need could manifest a being capable of providing it for you. What would you do with such a power?”Daelus smiled, realizing that he did feel comforted, and began to let his guard down. “I’d create another me, I suppose.”Jonathan ughed again, but this time any hint of teasing was absent. It was earnest, kindred. “Is it really so difficult to trust anyone else, is that it?”Daelus shook his head. “Well, no, it’s just that–”

  Jonathan was, perhaps, not quite listening. “All delegates experience and utilize their entourage differently, but there are a few things most of us do. Take myself, for example.

  “I have tasks that must be done. I can not do them all myself, but they do not necessarily need a person to do them. So, I project an entourage into the world. It is a bit of my will and intention put out into the world. It’s magic. The projection is, in a literal sense, real. It can be seen. It may interact with the physical world. It is solid. If I desired, it can speak. It could even–”“So you just… imagine an entire person?” Daelus cut in with some urgency. Johnathan read this reaction as excitement.

  “No no, my dear fellow. They are not people. No more than a recording of your voice is a person. They are a creation of the mind but exist as merely an extension of it. They are ventriloquist dummies. Marionettes. A spygss.”“A spygss? You can see–”

  Now it was Johnathan’s turn to cut in. “Yes, precisely! If desired a delegate may see what their entourage sees. Say anything they desire to be said. With tremendous practice it can be done en masse. They allow delegates to see through many eyes and speak with many voices. They may also be set up like clockwork automatons, running a mindless routine, out of sight, out of mind.”

  “They are servants,” said a new voice, and suddenly there was another present at the table. A small man with low jowls and eyes that seemed to be trying to retreat into their skull had slipped into a nearby chair while the two were having their intense exchange. “Goodness, General Michael Jossimer himself!” Jonathan procimed. “You grace us with your presence! Or are you here to carve off a part of our newest member to add to your collection? Nothing I’d miss, I hope.”Jossimer seemed quite content to ignore the comment. “You would be wise to take this gift with the utmost gravity,” he barked to Daelus, in a tone that sounded immediately like scolding. “They are our footsoldiers. Bodyguards. They are what separate us from the dregs that surround us. They keep us separate, keep us safe, keep us clean.”Jonathan seemed to be growing bored with the general’s approach to the expnation, and rolled in with a different approach. “Every delegate manifests their entourage with their own specific fir or personality. Some craft detailed personas, authored characters, and pce them strategically in society as tools to gain influence. “You should see how our mayor, Phaeros, utilizes the projections. For him, they can be a voice in a crowd that cheers or boos at the right moment. They could be a rival politician who finds their way into office only to somehow py into Phaeros’ hands at every turn, with none the wiser that it’s merely a sockpuppet. It's quite masterful, really.“Meanwhile some, like our dear Jossimer here, have an army of brutish henchmen.”Jossimer snorted, which caused Johnathan to erupt in ughter. Daelus felt as if he was being left out of a private joke. “Terribly sorry chap, I forget how much fondness you have for the face you’ve chosen for your lot.”Jossimer ignored him. “I am told that you are in need of lodging, Thresh.” Daelus nodded slowly. In truth, he hadn’t thought of it at all, but at the mention the matter became clear. He wasn’t exactly sure where he lived anymore. “Here is the address to my estate. I have a room for you. In short order I will procure an additional estate worthy of a delegate at which time you shall relocate. This concludes our business. Goodnight to you both.” Daelus looked at the small card Jossimer had slipped him. The address seemed incomprehensible, but he knew he would work it out. The conversation with the General had been short, but nevertheless left Daelus drained. Still, he was very much interested in the topic at hand, so pushed on. “So you imagine a person and it just… does as you ask?” Jonathan leaned in, conspiratorially. “Not all of us bother with the entire body. An entourage can exist as a flurry of hands and feet, working busily at their master's bidding.”Daelus’s imagination was running wild. He downed the rest of his gss, and took a deep breath. “I look forward to devouring the user manual,” he mused.Jonathan wasn’t the only one who went silent. Everyone within earshot seemed to. Daelus could feel strange eyes on him. He had definitely said something wrong.“Daelus, to be clear,” Jonathan said quickly, in a tone and in a volume that was clearly intended for everyone within earshot. “Writing anything down about the ability beyond what the Benefactors have provided for us is strictly discouraged. No, strike that, let’s go all the way–it’s forbidden. The ability is a secret.”“Ah,” Daelus said, suddenly feeling even smaller than he was used to. “Of course. Yes, I had forgotten.” As quickly as it happened, the other party-goers resumed ignoring him. There was one st thing Daelus wanted to know, but the change in atmosphere discouraged him from asking. It was a question that lingered with him all through Jonathan’s grand soliloquy on the topic. Where did the delegate end and the entourage begin?