The Questing Beast (audio story)

Battling the Lord Burner, Braxiatel is separated from his friends as they fall through a multitude of alternative Gallifreys. He arrives in a realm where science is magic and there is a Dragon to be slain...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

After tumbling through time with the Lord Burner, Braxiatel lands on an alternative Gallifrey with a mediaeval society. He is taken by soldiers to the Citadel and brought before Queen Romana, who believes him to be her universe's Braxiatel and charges him with serving the Great Beast. Ignoring Sir Narvin's insistence that he be executed, Queen Romana gives Braxiatel the chance to prove his innocence by joining Sir Narvin in hunting the Great Beast, an offer which he accepts. Braxiatel is chained and taken out of the Citadel into the wild by a horse-riding Sir Narvin until they eventually make camp in a clearing.

In the morning, Sir Narvin attempts to kill Braxiatel with his longsword, but he is able to avoid the attack and subdue him, learning that Sir Narvin wants revenge for the death of Leela, his wife. Sir Narvin demands proof that Braxiatel is not the man responsible for Leela's death and that he has indeed come from another Gallifrey, so he tells him about his version of Leela and notices that he gets no reaction when he mentions the Doctor. Comforted to know that a version of Leela still lives, Sir Narvin does not attempt to kill Braxiatel again and tells him that the Great Beast was once believed to be the planet's protector.

After passing through the forest, Braxiatel and Sir Narvin pass through a narrow canyon and glimpse the Great Beast, a dragon, flying overhead in the mist. They reach a crater and are confronted by the Great Beast, who identifies himself as a Braxiatel changed by magic and considers his counterpart to be a loose thread. Braxiatel confirms his suspicion that his hoard, hidden inside a cavern, is a collection of temporal technology at risk of being overloaded by a temporal paradox such as the meeting of two versions of the same person. He touches the Great Beast to make the unstable technology spark and create a tear in spacetime, causing damage to the cavern.

Braxiatel and the Great Beast are both injured by the falling rock. After considering what it would be like to start anew on this Gallifrey, Braxiatel remembers the threat of the Lord Burner and says farewell to Sir Narvin, dissuading him from attempting to follow him by stating that their respective Leelas are different. Braxiatel tells Sir Narvin what the Great Beast's weak spot would be and departs as Sir Narvin attacks the Great Beast, unsure of where he will arrive if indeed he is to arrive anywhere.