A sparkle of lapis light had been the only thing that the first guard had seen before going down. The second guard seemed to be busy trying to kick the djinn because he was feeling, hmm, a mix of insecure and over-important it seemed like. Ugly emotions, but not atypical ones for guards. Set could have simply dropped him at the same time as his senior, but she hadn't been able to see both of them peeking around the door, so she'd only fired the one shot. Now that he was swinging at her, she took the moment to at least overawe him into a much more pleasant indigo sort of feeling. Her rift pulled her almost directly over him so that his whole vision became a swirl of emerald, ruby, and lapis linens right before her sandal took him in the face. She was rewarded with him blacking out and toppling from his chair with a low thud. Then her own landing planted her exactly where she wanted to be: right in front of the djinn. "Well, that was easy. Can't believe you tried to take a swing at me. Just...really?" The guard did not have much to say to this, but it made Set feel good about her moment and gave her a slight delay.
See, this next part, this was always difficult. She had to reach out to the djinn so she could use the network. Set sighed, smoothed out her dress and tried to calm herself and reflect. The Annunaki called to the djinn constantly and for everything. Not just powering their cities, but even the smallest things like watering the gardens and opening doors. Annunaki lore had it that if the djinn were not forced into a sort of drunken compliance, they would choose nothing but the distant void and everything would fall into ruin. Set didn't believe that. She felt the pain in the djinn's heart every time she had to touch it. It sought freedom, but she did not think it wanted everything to be void and ruin (except perhaps by accident as a response to its pain). Nor did she think the djinn would simply flee if freed. It might eventually (and so what if it did, Earth had run just fine without djinn power), but when she touched the djinn it didn't seem uncaring. She thought they were probably curious beings in their natural state, though likely jealous of their freedom. Set's stance was that one ought never to be treated as more than a temporary ally.
She sighed again. She wasn't calming down, just working herself up, and she had a job to do for her friends. She was just going to have the endure Caphtor's pain. She reached out a hand to the console, then slowly and carefully down to gently touch the genie herself. Not like a boot, god, can you imagine, Caphtor was skittish enough already without getting kicked for no reason!
Then it was...like being on an ocean in a storm, except with no up and no down to separate reality into its planes. Just waves tossing in every direction. Pain flaring in violent reds and agonized whites. Slowly, slowly, Set coaxed it, holding onto her calm to avoid drowning. She couldn't end its pain, but she could avoid making it worse, could be something that some little piece of it knew was safe. It knew that in her gardens, but this was a new place and the guard kept trying to kick it, so it was being very slow, very cautious. She let herself drift and tuned out the world as she waited.
You might ask why she's bothering with the djinn, the guard seemed to be doing just fine looking at the screens. But, first of all, he wasn't that's why he was unconscious now, keep up. Second, she needed more than a cold, foreign interface she neither had training nor permission to be using. The djinn would act as her eyes and give her direct control over the observation systems. It was a neat trick, if you could endure it.
[Out of this world: 3+5+2=10. What's a new, interesting insight about our situation? Anathet may shift labels in response to it.]
Interview recorded: 50-70-219 Anunnaki calendar Interviewer: Riba of the Ab-Ishtari Subject: Anathet the monk (Anat for short) Planned story: “How to garden properly, the Zhianku way!” Proposed run: “Sunday podcast: how to make your home beautiful and please your masters.”
Q: So, your work has been the talk of Halcyon, and the rumors are that you’ve been outside the bounds of Earth! Tell us a little about yourself, where did you come from? What makes you special?
A: Well, honestly, I don’t think I was ever normal. I mean, I suppose I was a normal baby, maybe? But my mother used to say that I looked at her right after I was born and it was like I was looking right through her. She told me I laughed when she first held me, but she knew it wasn’t her smile. It was like...like I could see something dancing just beyond her and it was welcoming me to Earth too. None of the Zhianku have ever told me if anyone was there, but I suppose it’s possible, y’know? Ah sorry, sorry, The Anunnaki keep telling me I’m supposed to be more formal when I’m doing storytelling, I should practice. So, one supposes that it is possible, such things are anyone’s guess. Recreating the distant past is like trying to draw yesterday’s raindrops on today’s dry rocks.
There, totally nailed it. I rock and am the best, thank you.
Q: You mentioned the Zhianku. Can you tell us about them?
A: Ah right, it was the Zhianku who took me. They don’t come here often. They’re not really... friends with the Anunnaki, and, well, there aren’t a ton of them on this half of the galaxy anyway.
Mostly because they don’t want to be, the Anunnaki are so crude she thought to herself.
When they come, they’re stealth. Like, they don’t have huge war ships, but the eclipse blades and the civilian eclipse...uh haven I guess? (Look that’s the best I can do in translation, the original word is like “garden contained within four walls”) can move through most places totally undetected! It’s really cool, you’ll never know they’re right under your nose as long as they’re not shooting at anything or trying to talk to you.
Wish they were here now she thought. I’d love to talk to them. Maybe I can find a way to do that. They’re an empathetic people. I’m gonna use that word a lot, empathetic, it’s the best word we’ve got for what they do. The main reason they visit new places is that someone or something there has that empathy too. It’s like, it’s like they connect from afar, like they can feel the people who feel like they do, no matter where they are. It’s so amazing. I’m not gonna to call it psychic though, it’s not mind-reading or levitation. It’s just...empathy, you know, like really feeling what someone or something else feels. Whatever, the point is they go places where they can feel it, and meet people who feel like they feel. That’s why they travel.
That and cuz a lot of people are trapped like the ones here and if they feel that empathy, they seriously don’t deserve that. She knew she couldn’t say that out loud though.
Q: Getting back to your story, could you tell us what all this has to do with you?
A: That’s...that’s how they found me too, the empathy thing. I think I was maybe five? My memory of it’s kind of hazy. I remember my mother of course, and my old house, but...you know you don’t remember stuff from when you were a kid unless you saw it a lot, right?
Fuck that. I remember it perfectly. I never forgot Mom’s face. I never forgot the sofa with the thick fluffy cushions that I could curl up and fall asleep on. Never forgot the old tapestry with the glyphs on it that Mom hung on the wall by the door.
I think during that first meeting I was intimidated. Here, I wrote a short description of it for this interview since I figured you’d ask about it, let me read it to you:
There was a group of small, shadowed and masked figures who visited our home. My mother didn’t seem to be intimidated, but when I saw them, it was like there was something behind each one, a kind of light that made them seem huge and awe-inspiring to me. I know now that their projection is a part of each Zhianku, and they’re not just a big light, each one is unique. Each Zhianku has its own set of colors and patterns, only visible to the Djinn and the empathetic.
So yeah, that’s what I wrote. Did you know they can kind of talk through them? There’s this language of flashing signs and colors, sort of like body language or like when you frown or smile. I can project a simple one if I think about it, it took me like ten years to get there though, and it isn’t a natural part of my psyche. Reading them is totally natural now though.
Q: That’s fascinating. We would like to hear your story though, if you don’t mind.
A: Right, sorry sorry, I keep getting off track. So they came to visit. I was five, and my mom was having a really hard time. We grew up in Alexandria, and it’s kind of a rough place, it was before the Anunnaki arrived at least. I felt a lot, whenever the other kids picked on anyone. So they’d pick on me, of course. Plus I was really tiny for my age, always have been, probably always will be, so that was another problem. I cried a lot. Even without the other kids, I’d cry when a bird fell out of its nest, or when somebody’s cat wanted to go outside and couldn’t and I’d walk by and see it in the window. There are a lot of cats in Alexandria, I assume there still are.
There goddamn well better be. They’re supposed to like cats, right, it would be too sad otherwise she thought.
So they came to see my mother, we all had tea, and even though I was scared, they were very nice. I think they were actually extra nice because I was scared, it made them want to be nice because again, the empathy thing, they understood, they really got it. My mother saw that during the tea. She said I went and sat in the lap of the lead one, who had a mask painted with a kind of hawk or falcon on it. They offered to take me with them. Give me a good education, y’know? My mother and I didn’t want to be parted, but I think we both figured by the end of the meeting that it was a seriously good idea. They promised I’d be able to come back when I wanted, too. They’re nice. Oh they don’t usually wear the masks, that’s an in public thing, it’s just that their faces are weird for a human, kind of, like, their mouths have fangs and they don’t totally close, it’s more like locked teeth and their noses go inwards and stuff, it’s creepy for a lot of people, so masks.
So, the rest of the story. I went with the Zhianku, and we went to the other side of the galaxy. Their space is far away from the Anunnaki, they see them as kind of provincial, actually. Heh, you should probably cut that. [Editor’s note: we did not cut that]
Q: Can you tell us about what you experienced on the “other side of the galaxy”?
A: Sure. I guess, where to start? Um, so the Zhianku are worried about a sort of psychic parasite thing that’s apparently a huge problem in their neck of the woods. The way the Zhianku described it to me, they move through a slightly different layer of space a wavelength above visible light. They’re not here though, don’t worry. Where they are, what they do is they can latch onto people, or aliens, and kind of, like, puppeteer them. So that’s the Zhianku’s big problem. It’s because of the parasites that the Zhianku all train in meditation and mental discipline. It helps fend them off, plus it’s like their values or something. I think I turned out to be kind of wild for them, but they also liked that, like they think it’s cute when I’m full of energy, and I still learned how to do the controlled calm thing when I have to.
I hope those things never come here. Ugh, I don’t think the Anunnaki are up for it at all.
The places I saw the most of were the gardens they secret in the darkness between stars. Before you’re like “but how can you see the gardens if they’re dark and not near any stars?” they have these beautiful internal systems of day and night, okay? They’re just hidden from the outside so you can’t find them if you don’t know where to look. Or to give the Anunnaki answer, “Hiding unseen only hinders those who search by sight.” That one was pretty good, right?
Seriously though, the gardens between the stars are waypoints for Zhianku travel and retreats for meditation. Each one is dedicated to a different deity in the Zhianku pantheon. Their pantheon, it’s like the old Egyptian ones from Earth. It was very close to home for me honestly, pretty much equivalent to Ra, Horus, Set, Bastet, Thoth, you name it. Like, it’s not that, but it might as well be.
The gardens themselves, well, they do not limit themselves to two-dimensional gravity, so you get these amazing rooms of floating flowers! There was one, it had this huge waterfall, only it was jumping down a bunch of freestanding floating rocks, and the gardeners had lined its route with streamers of little white flowers all the way down on both sides. With the light coming through the spray, it was like a little rainbow reflecting across all of them. Oh, gosh, I miss that. I’ve tried to recreate some of the effects here. It’s nowhere near as good, but I think the impression is on the right track. Like, look over there, see how the flower bed slopes up the cliff? If you come by in the late afternoon, the setting sun will bounce off that stream and cast the flowers in purples, reds, and oranges, it’s really gorgeous.
I wonder if I’m careful if the Anunnaki would give me tech to make floating flower beds. I bet I could crib the spare parts for the Resistance too she thought, trying to make sure she didn’t grin too mischievously.
Q: Can you tell us a little about your travels? Who did you travel with, what were they like?
A: Oh, who else did I travel with? Um, well I was the only human, there were a bunch of different Zhianku, since I was mostly at different waystations. The one who was kind of personally responsible for me, she prepared my meals and read me stories, that kind of thing, her name was Kuliana. That’s not...really her name. It’s the best I can do in this language, it has the right feel and it sort of sounds like what she’d say, but you also have to imagine it with this kind of natural green tone, like the wind blowing petals of fresh grass on a summer day. I love her and I hope I can get in touch with her again. Through permitted channels of course. The Zhianku have a saying “the heart is no more distant than the nearest thought.” I think it’s very beautiful, and it’s like we’re always connected when we think of one another.
We’re going to be a lot more connected soon. I’ll get a line back out there. It’s just a matter of time and patience. Almost wish I could tell them that, I bet they’d hardcore panic. Probably arrest me though she thought, almost wistfully.
Besides her, there was Niknik, my miniature space whale. The Zhianku keep them as pets in little tanks, or they can swim in the gardens. I released Niknik in a station before I came back here, I think she wouldn’t do well on earth, it’s a bit big for a miniature space whale, and the gravity is a tad strong for them.
Q: Aww, that sounds very cute. Maybe we’ll find a way to bring one here. What brought you back then? It must have been hard to leave your friends.
Yeah it was. I...sorry the question is what brought me back to Earth? Well, it’s been over a decade, so I think I was homesick. Plus Earth is changing a lot and I wanted to be involved. That’s...I mean I get to garden here, too, and share those skills I learned, as well as the wisdom I learned while I was far away. I hope that people come and visit me, and that I’ll also have the chance to travel and share my skills with others. That’s um...that’s pretty much it really. Yeah, that’s the only reason. Well, I suppose I do want to make some friends here as well, I get many visitors and my master is quite pleased with my work on the estate, so I plan to start entertaining for tea more often.
Anyway that’s me. I hope your steps are bathed in radiance and your heart sits light as you wander. *bows*
Recording ends
Private journal entry, day of the seventh spring blossom
I hope I did okay with the reporter today. I think I said a couple things that might get me in trouble. I hope they won’t be mad that I called the Anunnaki provincial, even though I didn’t say it was what I thought. I got a little nervous when they asked why I came back, too. I hope nobody notices, or they just cut that part. Probably just trying to end on a good note and getting a little tangled up, right? Hehe. Not like I could be like “the Anunnaki are ruining my homeworld!” on their Sunday podcast. I wonder where my Mom is now. I need to find her. I’m kind of afraid to visit what’s left of Alexandria though, they’re ruining all the cities. Ah, crud, I hope talking about it as Alexandria was okay, they won’t be mad about me talking about my own memories right? Ah you know what, screw it. I did good today, they’ll love it. And anyway, nothing I said could make them nearly as mad as the power plant we’re about to blow a hole into for the rescue op. This is gonna be good, I think one of my new friends claimed she can get in and out even faster than I can. But we’ll just see about that! *Light glimmering sound as a rift portal opens and the sound of a cloak fluttering to the ground* Alright, later journal, wish me luck!
Hero name, role, and outfit
When she’s acting at night, Anat has taken on the role of the goddess Set. Although Set is traditionally a male deity, she’s adopted herself as an avatar of his mixed role of guardian, outsider, and trickster and reimagined him in the context of her culture and the Anunnaki world.
Her hair, kept up in a bun during the day, is let down to her shoulders. She drapes a circlet headdress atop it with an image of a hissing cobra at the exact center. Trailing from the back half starting at each ear are thin strands of gold set with tiny gems (emeralds, rubies, sapphires) that dangle down to the base of her hair. Drawn on each cheek in black ink is a different animal of Set’s composite: a hieroglyph of a crocodile on one and a hippo on the other. Most resplendent are her shoulders and upper chest, which are covered with a mantle of shining gold and a fringe of royal blue linen. The gold is inset with narrow bands of lapis that form rings of color around her neck and upper chest. Below the mantle, she wears a tight wrap of cotton covering her chest and most of her stomach and lower back, though some of the back remains bare. The wrap is bound below her chest by two interlocked gold rings. Her arms below the mantle are also bare, though covered with a series of beaded lapis bracelets that act as her blaster and thick gold bands about the wrists. Her skirt is a series of bright fabrics: a base of white linen with diagonal swirls running through it of that same lapis blue, emerald green, and ruby red one after another winding from the end of the skirt just below her knees up to the waist. A pair of gold bands that open at the back entwine her lower legs, and on her feet are a pair of soft, white-fabric sandals with threads of gold that wrap up the foot.
This contrasts with her daytime outfit, which consists of long, baggy robes in various shades of gray or dark blue, a monk’s wooden sandals, a typically light gray veil, and a wide-brim straw hat that covers her eyes unless one intentionally bends down to see her face. She does wear some jewelry beneath these robes, occasionally visible when she pours tea or tends her plants, but it’s usually just one or two small bracelets and a lapis necklace.
Anat aids the resistance in both her roles. During the daytime, her garden and teahouse serves as an opportunity for guests who might not otherwise meet to chat over a shared admiration of nature and to use the opportunity to pass messages in code. At night in her role of Set, she is the protector of the weak and the outsider, those who are oppressed by Anunnaki society. She can appear practically anywhere with her portals and she particularly delights in freeing slaves. She has much sympathy for the cult of Dumuzid, though she hasn’t personally met any of their members yet. She also seems to have a special bond with the machines, djinn, and spirits of the Anunnaki, and she occasionally seems to communicate with them.
Anathet (Anat) of the Zhianku
The Nomad
Look
-Woman -Middle Eastern, medium hair hanging just above the shoulders, usually loose -Compact body, very very short -Monk’s clothing (by day) bright dyed linens and lots of skin at night -Eccentric jewelry
Abilities
Assortment of experiences and alien technology. The two most important toys (both taking the formof jewelry) are -Rift Generators (which allow for teleporting myself and others) -Modular Blaster (various energy settings, repeat fire or big charge explosive shots)
Labels
Danger +1 Freak +2 Savior -2 Superior +3 Mundane -1
Conditions
[ ]Afraid (-2 to directly engage a threat) [X]Angry (-2 to comfort or support or pierce the mask) [ ]Guilty (-2 to provoke someone or assess the situation) [ ]Hopeless (-2 to unleash your powers) [X]Insecure (-2 to defend someone or reject others’ influence)
Relationships
Marianne knows plenty that I don’t about this world, its people, and how to deal with them; I should follow their lead while I’m here. Canada is...well...boring. But that’s okay! I’m going to make them more interesting.
Influence
I have influence over Marianne Canada
People who have influence over me Marianne Black-eyed Girl named Tia Canada
Special influence rules (Putting down roots)
• Adults do not have Influence over you by default. No one does. • You can only give a total of 6 Influence. • During play, you can only give Influence by revealing a vulnerability or weakness to someone. You can still give out Influence through the end of session move. You cannot give Influence to somebody who already has Influence over you. • Others cannot take Influence over you; if they would, instead they choose: mark potential or inflict a condition on you. • You reject Influence at -2 by default, instead of +0. • When someone takes advantage of their Influence over you, they can choose two options. • At the end of a session, you can take back 1 Influence from someone you choose. • If you have given out 0-Influence, you cannot comfort or support anyone. If you would trigger that move, instead mark a condition as you say exactly the wrong thing. If you have given out 0-Influence and someone tries to comfort or support you, you cannot open up to them. • You gain benefits based on how much Influence you have given out. See below. These benefits stack.
[ ]1-2 Influence: When you defend someone who has Influence over you, you can ignore the Insecure condition. When you directly engage someone who has Influence over you, you can ignore the Afraid condition. [X]3 Influence: When you take a powerful blow from someone with Influence over you, take -2 to the roll. [ ]4 Influence: When you pierce the mask of someone who has Influence over you, you can always ask them one question, even on a miss. [ ]5 Influence: When you spend a Team to help someone who has Influence over you, it gives them +2. [ ]6 Influence: When you accept the words of someone who has Influence over you, mark potential, clear a condition, or take +1 forward.
Moves
The littlest space bandit
When you directly engage a threat that underestimates you, roll + Superior instead of + Danger.
Out of this world
When you plug into the cosmic aether and tune out of this world, roll + Freak. On a hit, you come to a new, interesting insight about your current problems and situation; the GM will tell you what. On a 10+, you can also shift your own Labels according to match your new understanding. On a miss, you realize something dangerous or terrible; the GM will tell you what, and shift your Labels accordingly.
Watched C-beams Glitter
When you make a claim about a strange situation or phenomenon based on your experience, roll + Freak. On a hit, you were right; the GM will tell you what opportunity your knowledge grants to you. On a 7-9, your claim is incomplete, flawed, or tangential; the GM will tell you how. On a miss, your experiences are incomplete; the GM will tell you what mistake your flawed understanding leads you to make.
Team moves When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, ask them what they admire about you. The GM will shift one of your Labels up and one down based on what they say.
When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, mark a condition, give them Influence over you, and mark potential
Potential
[X][ ][ ][ ][ ]
Moment of Truth
Locked
Advancement
[ ]Take another move from your playbook [X]Take another move from your playbook [ ]Take another move from your playbook [ ]Take a move from another playbook [ ]Take a move from another playbook [ ]Unlock your Moment of Truth [ ]Rearrange your Labels as you choose, and add +1 to a Label [ ]Rearrange your Labels as you choose, and add +1 to a Label
Dulcinea, your readings are of the charts! Like, you are rocking it. These raindrops are of nearly perfect purity. You've never seen anything like this! And this woman's face, why it's got sun chi lines etched into it running just below the surface. Yes, you're certain, these are sun energy readings crisscrossing everywhere. Even your hops, maybe not basketball hoop category, but you're nailing the ballet audition here, you've got the elegance of a black-tip reef shark gliding majestically over a bed of corral. That air you slashed for a sample: perfect lines, best air sample you've ever collected. You feel alive and energized, and it's visible to the whole world in every movement you're making.
And here's the thing. These readings, the weather, the chi lines. They all point to exactly one thing. This woman in front of you is the sun. Like The Sun. With capital letters. Maybe not THE SUN because that much capitalization would imply a kind of confidence and comfort in the job that she's clearly missing at the moment, but definitely The Sun and no mistaking it. Now, you might be aware that a different person used to be The Sun (her name was Jade) but that she got shot by a dark black arrow by the Headmaster of the Bleak Academy, who you have personally visited at some point in the past and found to be an extremely unpleasant person even when she's not firing shadow arrows at people. Anyway, this is very clearly a different person who is now The Sun. You did this! This is all you, congrats on saving the entire world, which is a thing you know that you did and that everyone else is not nearly aware of or grateful enough about compared to how they ought to be.
I hardly need to do the logic for you regarding her current physical state and the unusual weather, and I'm sure you know what to do about that problem. My question for you is what does this mean? Like, alchemically and metaphysically? How is it connected to the Outside storm? Tell us your hypothesis, then you can test it, for science!
[Grab 1 emotion XP for leaving us all speechless]
*****
Jasper, your prompt is responding to Dulcinea, I cannot possibly offer you anything more just yet. If you need any inspiration for what to talk about, you do feel irrationally certain that this person will understand you and how weird it is to have fallen out of the kingdom of heaven.
[You are dealing with intrusive mortal things (like sneezes) right now though, so go ahead and grab an XP for The Miracle. Also note that I forgot to flag an XP for your Mortal Life theory in your previous post. Go ahead and take that now too.]
*****
Okay Rinley. She gets it, her heart hears you. How could it not, you're broadcasting like a beacon of Gondor, which is a thing that you definitely have no idea what it is but also understand inherently is a very large beacon that would get a lot of people moving around and doing things.
"My name is Sessily Shishika" she says, blushing more than a little, especially when you compliment her strange umbrella. "I'm a...well I'm a spirit, I guess and I'm kind of new to Fortitude, which is probably why you haven't met me before. That's um...that's not too weird right? Like, that I'm a spirit? You're okay with that?" Her dandelion seems to droop a bit like it's almost worried and trying to give her a pat on the back, but all this manages to do is shake water onto the both of you. She looks it over and says "hey, stay up straight Totem!" and then looks back at you and blushes even harder because she's sure that most people don't scold their giant dandelion umbrellas in front of new friends and probably that's a very embarrassing thing to do. She thinks for a second, trying to come up with something to say or do.
"Um, so, uh Rinley, I heard there's a new beat poetry place that's supposed to open up near the Archive. Maybe we could, um, go take a look together? They might have shelter from the rain at least." She gives you a warm little smile and oh that's a friend smile, she's trying to be your friend, you cannot possibly refuse this friendship request!
[And yes, do collect that up to date XP]
*****
"Hmmmmmmmmm" Seizhi looks at you and makes a long humming sound as she finishes leaning the umbrella into a wall and starts working on her coat. (why is she taking her coat off, surely you have satisfied her, what possible reason could she have to stay????). "Eh, okay, I mean, halls of records are pretty official places and every real person knows that if something is filed there then it's got to be accurate because what would the point of official records even be if they weren't official? Being a real person, I also know that, so your story checks out."
Seizhi nods to herself once in a very self-satisfied way and resumes trying to get her arm out of the coat sleeve, which really shouldn't be this hard but she's making quite the tangle of it. "Okay, well, that settles that. You've clearly got a lot of work here, and if you're the owner and it's going to be a maid cafe, you're going to need a chef. It just so happens that I, Seizhi Schwan, am completely prepared to become a master chef for any cuisine that is appropriate to a maid cafe! So, I'm applying for a job right...um...as soon as I get this...one second I just need to move the sleeve and...right now!" Seizhi finishes with the coat, tosses it to the wall, and now dressed in her t-shirt and long overalls gives you a beaming thumbs up in place of her resume.
[I thought this was more than a bit suspicious on your part, so go ahead and take that XP for the Art Shop and Garden.]
As the smoke bomb goes off, Kazelia leans over just a bit and makes a quick gesture. The punch bowl, already a little precarious, slips off the side of the refreshment table and the guardswomen who come running in to protect Ourania take a slip on the ground. Not that Kazelia had anything to do with that, somebody setting the table up just hadn't placed it centrally enough. But it did mean that nobody interfered with Kyouko. It was going to be such a lovely wedding.
And then all of a sudden, Kazelia was in a hug. The best hug. The coolness of Alina's tears and the warmth of her heart all mixed together with Adila's strong scales holding them all up. It was...it was perfect. It was perfect and Kazelia felt herself crying, the tears pooling softly and slowly running down her cheeks, leaving darker stains as the water pooled at her chin and then dripped off. She holds onto Alina and Adila tighter.
Kazelia sniffles. "Of course I'll visit! You can even lock me in the dungeon! Kyouko might complain if the sheets aren't good though, she's very sensitive" Kazelia says in a stage whisper. There is a distinct harumph from within the rapidly expanding smoke cloud, which Kazelia ignores, looking instead at Alina's beautiful green eyes and Adila's deep golden ones in turn.
"You helped me find a home when I never thought I had one. When I didn't think that I could ever belong anywhere. Even when I started and I still thought that all I could do for something I loved was to be fierce and powerful and I didn't have any idea how to be a princess, you let me join you. You were both so patient and wise, even when I screwed up. Even, even when you were afraid of me and I was messing things up, you still let me stay. I...everything I've done here, I couldn't have done it without both of you. Every one of my sisters, my brother, I'd never have been able to reach them without the little fire of hope that you helped me start. Wherever you are will always be home to me."
Kazelia holds Kyouko's hand as they walk, while Kyouko steps carefully with her kimono between the chairs until they reach Ourania. Kazelia hesitates for a moment. In private, she might just call her Ourania, but she decides she should be a little more respectful in public, so she says "it's good to see you, Queen Ourania!" before giving her a formal bow that she quickly switches into a quick hug. This may or may not also permit Kyouko to gauge Ourania's reaction time to unexpected movement.
"This probably isn't the best time to give you my full report, but I'm happy to tell you that I didn't find any rot in any of the roots we visited. Some of the shrines around the world need cleaning and care, but I think none of the damage is permanent!" Kazelia beams, before blushing when she realizes Ourania almost certainly could tell that from her connection to Argossa's magic and just wanted Kazelia to make sure.
"Of course, you probably could already tell that, you just sent me around to double check! I bet you'll want to tell all the princesses during the party. Maybe get them in the right mindset to go home and finish cleaning things up. I bet if you mingle with everyone and get them to tell you a story of the shrines they loved when they were younger, it will help us learn more about the kingdoms and get them thinking about how to help fix things when they go back home. You'll get to learn new stories all about their fond memories and I can stay nearby and take some notes for songs. I think the princesses will really open up sharing happy stories like that."
Who wouldn't find stories of happy princess childhoods engrossing? Kazelia's idea was very good and would give Ourania a great way to mingle. And if she just happened to get really focused on a good story and stopped paying attention to her surroundings it wouldn't be anyone's fault if Kyouko took that moment to strike! Kazelia couldn't remember the last time she had been this excited! She was going to get to see Alina and Adila, and prepare for her own wedding!
Dulcinea, as you round the corner towards the front side of Shokyu's house, which overlooks a small shopping street, you see an intriguing young woman just sort of standing there as another drizzle picks up. She looks deeply in pain and your InnerTurmoilometer is reading off the charts! Despite this clear reading of what should be massive internal crisis, you feel an odd connection to this person, like she'd be strangely easy for you to get along with.
[This is something you'd be able to get an even better read on if you were to spend Will on your weather sense skill to do a really good job of weather science for this situation. A 4+ result there might give you some significant scientific and personal insight into the lady in front of you and your broader investigation, and a 6+ would let you be showy about it.]
Jasper, you're a bit caught up in yourself at the moment, but the young woman who rounds the corner with her umbrella and her journal out seems like someone you could talk to about your problems. More even than normal I mean. Maybe she could help break your curse? Or at least help you feel better about being cursed forever.
*****
Rinley! Ask and ye shall receive. This is a lovely slice of life XP action. I can just see the rain starting to pool on your lily pad as you stay and reflect on your family. From above, it starts as a few drops gathering in the center, almost helping you keep the lily pad's balance. But it starts getting heavier and the shape isn't quite regular so the water makes the stem start to list to one side. You subconsciously adjust, but there's more and more and the stem of a lily pad isn't really known for its tensile strength. So...after a few moments it tilts and SPLOOSH!!! there's a big puddle of water splashing on your head. Take 1 XP. Oh and here, while you're at it, flings take this Silver Something to Deal With Issue. It's not isolation, you were socializing with Dulcy earlier this week, but it's clear you're really focused on your thoughts. The Issue bounces near you with a distinctive *dink* sound. You now know that Silver issues go *dink*
[As a reminder, you get +1 MP for that, and you've now got the thought You keep thinking about things you don’t want to think about. It’s uncomfortable. You want to distract yourself from it.]
You are immediately distracted by the sound of light, tinkling laughter carrying over the storm. It seems that at some point while you were lost in thought, that girl with the straw hair came up behind you to look at what you were doing. She's wearing a royal blue raincoat and holding what looks to be some kind of giant dandelion for an umbrella. It's sort of doing its job as the rain bounces and slides around the puffs and drips around her instead of on her, but it's looking sort of like it might get waterlogged if she doesn't find shelter soon.
"I think you forgot to empty your lily" she says with a laugh, but she's also reaching out a hand to help you up from your unceremonious soaking. Maybe it's time you both sought some shelter?
*****
Mila, the work is going well. Now that you've turned your attention to the corner, you've managed to dust things up without getting the lace on your dress dusty at all. You're working on replacing the boards, which is not too bad, you've found the studs in the wall easily enough to get the dry rot boards out and the supplies are safely out of the way in the corner.
Now, I do hate to break it to you, but there's someone at the door. Inside the door, actually. She's already opened it and is peaking inside at you. You and your thick maid's dress with its layers of poofy fabric and your lovely bonnet and all. She's got red hair worn loose. It's looking a bit windblown and it's hanging to just above her shoulders. Navy blue turtleneck and jeans, and a bright yellow umbrella.
"Oh hey, um, sorry if I'm...uh...intruding..." she says when she realizes you noticed her. "I just, I was walking over to Shokyu's cuz I figured she'd need some help, but I heard something here and I thought this place was abandoned, I mean, you know, because I've lived around here for a long while, like a long while, and it's been abandoned for most of that while, which is a thing I would remember. So, I mean, I figured I'd check it out when I heard somebody here. And um...I didn't know the owner had hired a maid! My name's Seizhi, it's very nice to meet you!"
She extends one hand while kind of working at lowering her umbrella one-handed with the other one.
[I'll note that your scene is invoking a Fortitude region property. If you wanted to do something here, mundane or miraculous, it might be better than normal. Or if you see a way that your hard work gets you into trouble as Seizhi enters the scene, you can pick up an extra MP for your future use.]
"We've decided on Cavaleria for now. Same idea, but we wanted something that sounded new. And besides, we didn't want to get confused for Rowan!" Kazelia helped Kyouko off Shiva and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before she turned to Jessamine with a warm smile that quickly became an even warmer hug. Kazelia returns it enthusiastically. Even Shiva neighs in appreciation, it's been a while since Jess got to ride her!
Kazelia's not dressed as she was before. She's kept the Argossian silver-birch for her cape, but she's clearly had a special one made for the occasion with embossed gold stitching in intertwining leaf patterns all along the back blooming upwards: almost a stylized image of the stone tree of Argossa that announces Kazelia's connection to her world.
Above that, her long hair is tied in a braided ponytail styled so it comes up and then falls over and past the left shoulder rather than straight down her back. The braid is woven with a fiery red thread, the brightest piece of color for the outfit along with the matching red swirls for the inner lining of her suit jacket. If she buttons it, you can't see the color, but she's got it open so that as it moves in the wind the inside flaps and makes effect almost like intertwined magatama stones in that same fiery red.
The rest of her suit is a more subtle black wool, not too thick but suitable for a damp Illumina. There's a single-breasted jacket with two gold buttons left open and a lower cut exposing some chest below the shoulders. She has matching pants in the same black wool, no pleat and slim fitting to reveal the contour of her legs. That ends with a pair of black rider's boots (shined for the day) to complete the effect and give it a practical air. Her blouse is a charcoal gray, notably lighter than the suit but still subtle to bring out the reds and the silver-birch of the cape. The blouse has wide cuffs at the wrists fastened with matching salmon pins to Kyouko's hairband. The blouse is low cut in line with the suit, and around her neck Kazelia is wearing a gold necklace with a single bright oval ruby hanging at its center, a gift of her fiancée for the occasion.
Jessamine might notice how comfortable Kazelia and Kyouko look with each other, the ease with which they manage the dismount even with Kyouko's voluminous kimono indicating no small amount of practice at the task. Not to mention that kiss, it's like they're already married, though surely Jess would have heard about it if there were a ceremony, so there must not have been one yet. Perhaps they could have been married back on Argossa when Kyouko had proposed, but Ourania had been in such a state that Kyouko wouldn't hear of kidnapping her (and Kyouko herself had been somewhat dazed after flying halfway to Axonia and back at high speeds). So they had decided to delay and now Kyouko was looking for the perfect opportunity to kidnap Ourania for the ceremony. Kazelia had insisted, out of politeness to Alina, that any moves wait until after the ceremony, but the many pockets of Kyouko's Kimono had a number of opportunities. All of this meant Kazelia couldn't quite hide her grin as Jessamine took the two of them in, and she hoped that Jess would simply attribute it to happiness for Alina's ceremony.
"You'll be happy to know that we've been to nearly all the queendoms and there's no sign of rot anywhere in Argossa's roots" she says before Jessamine exits with Shiva. "I'm confident in its strength...and ours." Then she lets the wise veneer slip and shifts into another grin, this one sincerely for Alina and their shared family. "I'm so excited! I can't believe we're all here already! This is going to be beautiful and Illumina looks ready for a celebration! Where do we sit?"
Okay, let's fade out for a moment. Let me toss around some XP while I'm at it [Rinley: I got an "oh no, Rinley!" from Dulcinea there, take 1 emotion XP. You also proposed a theory about your underlying situation, so that's an Adventure Get! XP. Dulcinea: You got Rinley involved in your research. 1 Outside Stirs XP Jasper: 1 emotion XP for DANCE CONTEST! Mila: 1 emotion XP for being the recipient of DANCE CONTEST. Poor thing.]
*****
So, we started on a nice warm day, let's jump ahead. It's now the middle of the week, let's say Thursday. It's still spring, but the weather is looking foul today. Threatening clouds and a sporadic drizzle, plus there's been this flare up of Outside dust. It's ruining things near the docks especially more fragile and less well-maintained things. The wood's holding up, but old rope is fraying and giving out entirely, books are getting ruined if they aren't inside behind some good quality glass, produce that was left out is inedible, and rust and stains are appearing on metals and paints. Even clothing isn't totally safe, though if it's nice clothing that you've taken care of, it's probably holding up well enough.
Some places, it's acting extremely unfairly. Shokyou's little room in Fortitude seems to have drawn quite a lot of it, even through the closed windows, and her terrible agony at her lost comics ring out through the block.
Mila, your little shop that you've started working on seems to have gotten it badly as well. The dust snuck in under the door and found some old dry rot where you hadn't gotten around to refurbishing yet. Turns out it was weaker than expected and a whole set of shelves with at supplies gave out, dumping everything unceremoniously onto the floor near the back. The Archive where you're staying is pretty okay though, but you're going to have a lot of work just to get yourself back to how things were for your project.
*****
Jasper, the weather is terrible. Water fell from the sky earlier today! Is that supposed to happen? Maybe the sky is broken and it will just keep happening forever? Your stuff is pretty okay though, the dust just can't really get to you in a personal sense (and if it could, you have this uncanny feeling that you could just fix that and probably manifest some new power to go with it). But the world around you seems a bit the worse for wear. How in blazes are you going to manage a dance off with conditions like this?!
*****
Dulcinea, this is worse than normal and your equipment is picking up spikes that indicate the outside dust is behaving in a targeted way. This is two data points of unusual behavior. TWO! Do you know what you can do with two data points? You can draw a line! A LINE, Dulcinea. Lines have slopes and they indicate things like trends that predict future results. Any more data points and you might need to do Statistics.
You've got a couple pretty good leads. You're close enough to notice the impact on Shokyou and you can tell even from a distance that the Archive is weathering this better than normal. Either one could provide you with not only more data, but better data! You might even get some proper thaumaturgical readings for your notebook. Moreover, the odds of this being connected to dinosaur shrine maidens are low, but you can't rule out that possibility either without some investigation.
So, where do you go?
*****
And lastly, Rinley. I get the sense that not even an outside storm can really keep you down. You could intervene in any of the goings on of your friends (the new girl with the sunny disposition is definitely going to hold a dance off sometime today, you can feel it). But, if I had to guess, I think you're looking for that girl with her straw hair in the twin braids. The one you didn't quite manage to connect with because Dulcinea impressed you into making graphs. But now you've got the chance to look and a couple days of exploits with which to regale a new friend! Where do you think you'll find the lovely young lady?
The World Seed. It's a misnomer, it doesn't sprout into new worlds. Instead it's a huge, perfect diamond that Oberon infused with his essence ages ago that it holds forever (at least so long as the diamond is perfect). It's a source of corruption. Place it somewhere and the area around it becomes cold and dark, like Oberon at his core. Place it somewhere like a central place in Argossa, itself infusing the whole world with magic and you get...well, you get what's happening with Ourania and Argossa right now.
It's been a long time since Oberon used this. It was rarely needed on most worlds and it vastly accelerates the process of the world becoming cold and barren, meaning in the past it was something like a failsafe for him: if he couldn't take what he wanted and properly loot a world, he'd use his World Seed to ruin it. If Oberon couldn't have something, then nobody could.
When Jessamine takes off with Shiva, Kazelia gives her a short nod of respect and gives Shiva a special whistle. Jessamine has flown on Shiva a few times now, they're a good pair, but Shiva is careful with a new rider. The Pegasus has to be careful with one who hasn't been carried by her through the void. But this whistle, it's the one to go fast. As fast as she can. Fast enough to race through the great darkness beyond the worlds and come out the other side. Fast enough to catch a princess thrown even with the strength of devils.
Hold on, Kyouko! And hold on tight, Jessamine! [Shiva is damaging her Flight to ensure a perfect catch happens.]
*****
Back atop Argossa, Kazelia pulls back as Jessamine goes for a decisive strike. She smiles at Alina with a pride that shines in her eyes. [Adding a new bond with Alina: She overcame her fear and shone more brilliantly than any rainbow. I'll always believe in her.]
Kazelia's smile is cut short when Oberon makes a last, desperate effort and grabs Ourania, sending cracks through the corrupted Argossa. Kazelia is caught, unwilling to risk Ourania, knowing that if Oberon harms her to spite them all, it's still a victory for him. Only...there's Alina again, and Rita! Kazelia's breath catches in her throat and there are tears in her eyes as she watches Alina leap off the edge, the ribbon fluttering out and Rita making the perfect catch. And then they're enveloped in a supernatural darkness and surrounded by a blazing heart of flame as Adila strikes and Oberon hurtles through the pillars formed of Argossa's branches that reach towards the heavens. The sky lightens and a little bit of sunshine peeks through the clouds.
Kazelia takes a deep breath as she slings her spear across her back. She gathers her hands together at the base of her stomach, palms facing upwards, fingertips almost touching as she holds her strength at the center of the body where the weight of the breath gathers.
It's been a long time since anyone has seen Kazelia fully unleash her magic. Only Alina (and Eska) saw it back in Askaia, when shadows gathered and it seemed as though a tear opened in the world and the void reached out for Eska. The fear that Kazelia had seen that day had made her hesitate to ever use such powers again.
She's not the same person she was back then. Mother Void's power courses through her, but she is completely and fundamentally herself. Some of the power she channels is Mother's and there is a vague and menacing sense of becoming larger than herself that rolls off of her as she takes in her breath. But that sense of herself is why the magic that forms is not the magic of the dark. It's a flowing magic, like a great river of her heart, roaring and hissing, rising from her like steam and cascading down towards Oberon in a vast waterfall. In a little nod to her time with Eupheria and her friendship with Alina, it swirls with all the colors of the rainbow. Because of her friendship with Adila and influenced by that incredible, breathtaking display, at the head of the flow leaps the silhouette of a great dragon racing up and up and then rushing down towards Oberon.
It strikes him and lifts him as the dragon of water and rainbows surges forward, beyond even the strength of the devils to stop. Kazelia takes another breath and a step forward. Slowly, calmly, a rainbow wave cascades around her carrying Oberon at its crest. Kazelia walks up to Adila and puts a hand on her side, and walks the two of them over to take Alina's hand as she's finished gathering herself near the edge of Argossa.
There is a moment where it seems uncertain. He struggles at the edge of Argossa, trying with all his strength and fury to claw himself downwards, grab the princesses, and hurl them from their perch. It seems perhaps that the magic will run dry, that this hateful old man wielding the power of the great devils is unstoppable and immortal. Only then, there is a single perfect ringing crack that rebounds through Argossa and with a laugh and a finger wag, the grandmothers burst from the gemstone at his breast and scramble or fly away from the magical stream. Oberon tries to let out a final curse, some last pronouncement of his hatred, but his strength flies as quickly as the grandmothers fly from him. Before he can have his last word, he is engulfed and torn away, lifted up and off, fading into the stream of magic until there is nothing more of Oberon to be seen.
Only then does Kazelia let out her breath and sag into Adila's side with an exhausted smile.
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