The Actor's Anthology (Vol. 8)

The Actor's Anthology (Vol. 8)

A story collection used by the troupe to gather script material and creative inspiration, published with assistance from the Interastral Peace Corporation. This is the eighth volume of the 2156 Era edition, chronicling stories collected by the troupe through various means while tracking down their perpetually truant Troupe Master. Pirate Company Under the guise of "method acting research," the Troupe Master once fled to a crew of interstellar pirates. By the time the Pirate King took a wrong turn on his way to the bathroom and stepped out into the vacuum of space, she had already risen to become the crew's second-in-command. On her suggestion, they founded a pirate company built on bootleg films, churning out massive quantities of low-budget schlock and turning a surprisingly handsome profit. Even a pirate outfit that size couldn't survive the Troupe Master's absolutely catastrophic money management. Good thing a lot of those pirates turned out to be pretty solid Actors in the end. — Adelante, Former Pirate Company Employee Paper Figure Theater One day, a beggar appeared in a remote city on the outskirts of Khorgahar. A passing old woman took pity on her and brought her home, pressing her last bag of biscuits into the beggar's hands. In return, the beggar borrowed a roll of scrap paper and cut it into rows of human silhouettes, a scene from the old woman's memory: her child who had left home, disappearing into the southern mountains with the others. That night, a spectacle unfolded across the sky. Terrified by the paper figures drifting above, the empire's governor ordered his soldiers to burn them away, unaware that, in doing so, he had overlooked a procession making its way toward the city, where a child was about to be reunited with his mother. — Annisa, Mother of Modern Education in the Khorgahar Federation Racing the Hound After a script had been delayed by a full twenty years, the troupe members, having endured all they could, pooled the earnings from nine performances to hire a superdistance hunting hound from Wen-II to hunt down the Troupe Master. But the moment she stepped through the door, the Troupe Master sensed something was off. She bolted, dove into a Gondola, and floored it straight into the Merlo Nebula. The superdistance hunting hound speeds up in tandem with its targets' once it has locked on, meaning the Troupe Master had no way of shaking it loose. So, she scattered candy all along her path. The glutton of a hound could only alternate between giving chase and stopping to gobble up sweets, until it had eaten itself into such a bloated, waddling state that it couldn't keep up anymore. The Troupe Master left the Merlo Nebula in high spirits, only to step off the ship and find another hound blocking her way. Yep, the troupe had hired two hounds. — Wen-II Hound Breeding Center Post The Depth Crawler and the Magnifying Glass The Troupe Master has made all manner of animal friends across the universe. Once, to drive a depth crawler away from a torment eagle's home, she climbed onto the eagle's back and, soaked by diamond rain, hurled accusations at the colossal uninvited guest. The depth crawler, however, had no intention of abandoning its natural diamond bath. It was enormous, and the one doing all the shouting was very, very small. The Troupe Master was furious. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a magnifying glass, casting a shadow across the starry sky. Seeing a giant loom before it, the depth crawler charged without hesitation, only to swipe at empty air. The Troupe Master flipped the magnifying glass to its other side, focusing the light shimmering between the diamonds into a single blazing point that scorched the depth crawler right on its backside. Startled out of its wits, it fled in a flash and was never seen on that star again. — A Trotter and Space Mongoose Passing By Missing Person Notice I'll be the first to say it: The Troupe Master is, bar none, the most unreliable sentient being I have ever encountered. There were moments I genuinely wondered if she was just a Masked Fool in disguise. And yet, I cannot deny it: Though she may lack raw power, she is doubtlessly the greatest Mourning Actor who ever lived. I witnessed her lull an awakened titan back to sleep with nothing but a bedtime story. I watched her broker peace among three worlds that had nursed a thousand years of vendetta against one another. Her magic tricks once made the stars in the night sky burst into laughter, and no, that is not a figure of speech. She also once wove a paper boat out of a story and sailed us out of the Sea of Forgetfulness, a place with no exit. Anyway, the point I'm making is simple. I know you're reading this, so don't forget: You still owe us a script. A story powerful enough to change the world. And I've always believed you'll bring it back. — Jerica, Lead Star of the Troupe