shadowsaint007

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

“Yeah, I guess it’s not much to look at,” Dana agreed when Penny noted the somewhat ugly aesthetic of the city. “But, when ya think about it, it’s really the people inside the buildings that count,” she added with a grin.

"You're hopelessly cheerful, aren't you?" Penny muses. "Eh, as long as they have a decent pizza joint in town, I'm fine with it."

Dana’s cheerful exuberance returned, when she learned that she would be sharing a room with Penny. “Awesome! Put ‘er there, roomie!” she said, while holding her hand up for a high five. “Or, uh, maybe we should just gently fist bump…” she added, remembering the bespectacled girl’s numerous injuries. “And don’t worry, there’s no one else I’d rather be stuck with! I think we’re gonna get along just great!”

Penny rolls her eyes.

"I'm not crippled, Dana, just wounded," she says, but returns the fist-bump with a smile. "And thanks for the vote of confidence, I'm looking forwards to rooming with you too!"

Her happy grin spreading from ear to ear, Dana listened as Penny “warned” her about a few things.

“Hey, that’s fine!” Dana reassured Penny after the later said she might be taking some extra long baths. “I totally understand! I like my showers nice and refreshingly chilly, so it’s no problem if ya use up all the hot water. I don’t think I snore too loudly,” she added. “At least, not as loudly as an industrial drill! I’m pretty neat myself, but if I don’t meet your standards, please don’t hesitate to let me know! Oh, and I can sleep through pretty much anything, so don’t worry about that! Feel free to crank up your study music as loud as ya like!”

“I’d love to know the kinds of games and music ya like, and all sorts of other stuff, but I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to talk about that later. Right now, we should probably hit the sack,” she advised, pointing her thumb at the bed closest to her. “After all, it’s gonna be a big day tomorrow!”

"You are an eternal optimist, aren't you?" chortles Penny. "Though we're going to have to leave the games and music for later. Right now, I just wanna lay down and sleep like the dead. It's been a long day, it's really late, and I think I've been up most of the way from Ciscia."

She tiredly gets changed into shorts and a tank top, sets her PDA's alarm, then flops onto the lower bunk in a way that wouldn't hurt her arm.

"'Night, Dana," she says. "Sweet dreams..."

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

Penny only managed to get some sleep before someone wakes her up again, announcing their arrival at Palmyra. Yawning, she tries to rub her eyes only to wince at the pain in her arm, reminding of the run-in with the Void. She sighs.

'And here I'd hoped it was just a bad dream,' she thinks.

Penny looks out to the city once they descend past the protective barrier, and finds the architecture (even in the low light) rather depressing.

"So there's the answer to 'what happens when you make a barracks into an entire city'," Penny quips. "And here I thought Ciscia's D-Fens Quarter was ugly and blocky."

When it's time for the tests, Penny is compliant despite her tired state, only too glad to get some proper treatment.

"Thanks, doctor," she says once she's had her arm in a cast and shoulder set. She downs one of the painkillers with some water.

At the Academy, though, Penny gives an appreciative whistle.

"Well, at least this place looks good," she says. "Too bad it's too dark to properly appreciate it. Probably look a lot better in the daylight."

Upon being escorted to their room, Penny thanks the escort for helping her carry her bags, and turns to Dana.

"Well, guess you're stuck with me, for however long we're here," she says. "Just a few things I should warn you about; I don't snore... too loudly anyways, though unless you have a snore like an industrial drill, I'm fine with it since my family can be a bit noisy when they sleep - well, okay, LiznLiz sound like someone starting up a racecar. I don't cause a mess, always clean up after myself - being around four younger kids and two lazy older sisters makes me a bit of a neat freak. If I stay up late, it's usually to study, so I'll try to keep it quiet. Also, for the next few weeks you might find me hogging the bath for up to half an hour; we have a shower to share between nine people and someone always uses up the hot water before it's my turn, so I want to enjoy a hot bath for once.

"Anything else you want to know, or do you want to share anything?"

Crystallis

Sarah

As they followed the paladin, Steph returned Sarah’s sympathetic smile. “Thanks, Sarah,” she told the pink-haired girl. “It was really nice to see her again, even if it was just a holographic recording. Mom worked on a lot of stuff, to be perfectly honest,” she added with a chuckle after Sarah had voiced her question. “As you saw, she even did some work on Project Prometheus, back in its early days, but her real focus was nanotechnology.”

@Ponn

Sarah nods.

"Just glad you're alright," she says.

“Aha! Here we are!” Sir Gravy declared, gesturing to a large map.

Steph couldn’t help but gasp at the sight. The land masses depicted looked nothing like the world she had known.

Could Harbinger really have changed the world this drastically…? she thought as she scanned over the map and its legend, committing their various details to memory.

“Hmmm… Even if the world’s geography has been completely altered, and taking into account that this map may not be scaled correctly, we can still use it as a rough guide,” Steph told them as she placed the holographic map atop the physical one. “If we use the complex my parents and I worked in as a starting point,” she began, moving the holo map to place the complex’s location atop where Tinkertown was displayed, “we can extrapolate where these other locations might be found.”

Sarah then spoke up, noting that potential Oracles might be found by following up on rumors of people exhibiting strange abilities.

“Good thinking,” Steph commended. “Although, I doubt such news travels all that quickly these days, unless you have some form of rapid communication I don’t know about,” she added, while glancing at Peter and Sir Gravy.

Sarah nods.

"That would make a good frame of reference," she replies. "Makes our search easier."

"Just one question," Peter asks bashfully, "what is 'Project Prometheus'? Both you and the image - your mother, that is - mentioned it a few times..."

OOC

Project Prometheus is basically the Oracle project. As for the rapid communication, I leave that to the GM.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

“No.” Victoria replies to Nicole’s question. “It was…unexpected.” It’s hard to tell how sincere the Ars Magi is, given her expression seems never to change that much. Yet there’s the slightest hint of a frown, a small note of displeasure with this fact that she shares.

Her frown deepens slightly when Astrelle speaks. Crimson eyes turn toward the dark-haired girl, the Ars Magi holding her gaze for a few icy seconds.

“It was an Ars Magi.” She replies. “Or something similar enough that I wasn’t able to tell the difference.” Astrelle manages to pry that loose, at least. “It shouldn’t be possible.” Victoria seems fairly certain about that. Regardless of the actual reality.

“That’s the transparency I can offer you.” She finishes, adding, “But Miss Cognoscenti has it correct. If you’re going to serve the Imperium as an Ars Magi, Miss Lennox, obedience is what’s expected of you.” There’s been very little indication that Astrelle has a choice in the matter.

“If you’ll excuse me.” The Ars Magi steps back, heading toward the control console. Soon she’s deep in discussion with the pilot manning it, and the surrounding soldiers after that. She doesn’t leave this time, but she makes herself busy enough to avoid further questions. The five girls are left alone in the meantime, with not much in the way of privacy.

@Inedible

Needless to say that particular revelation is a shock to Penny; Imperium propaganda and whatever information services she could access never mentions this sort of thing. Then again, it's clearly classified information, and she can understand why; it would hardly help morale if the amazing super-soldiers that Humanity's very existence depended upon could go rogue. People had enough to worry with rations and the ravages of Nox and Void to worry about whether their superhuman protectors would turn on them.

She wants to ask Victoria more, but she's clearly not getting the chance as the Wing of Justice goes off to check something. That leaves her with more questions; is there a risk of another attack? Were they the target or were they just collateral damage?

She should probably be madder about this, she's quite pissed off to be honest, but right now, she's exhausted and has broken bones in her forearm and a dislocated shoulder. She's been up since about the time they left Ciscia. She just wants to sleep.

"Well, that was... something," she finally speaks up wearily. "I'd argue this, but right now Vanna has the right idea, so I think I'll crash. Wake me up when we get to Palmyra, and just pray we don't run into any other surprises."

She picks a couch, takes off her shoes, and lays down on it, and is soon fast asleep, snoring softly.

Crystallis

Sarah

“Yeah, that’s right,” Steph confirmed after Sarah attempted to answer Peter’s question. “I guess you could say that it’s a bunch of very small artificial workers reassembling the basic components of things, like someone turning a piece of wood into a table or chair.”

"I think I understand?" Peter says in a tone that indicates he probably didn't, and begins trying to squint at the thing, as though expecting tiny elves taking apart things and putting them together. Sarah just giggles at him.

"I don't think you can see them; it's in the name after all," she explains. "Nanotechnology is too small to be seen by the naked human eye; you'll just strain your eyes."

A moment later, the holographic display flicked to life, and Steph couldn’t help but give voice to a small gasp.

“Mom…” she whispered as she felt her eyes begin to moisten. She watched in silence, while her mother described her work on Project Prometheus.

@Ponn

Sarah notes Steph's sorrow, and lightly puts a hand on the other girl's shoulder, squeezing gently to reassure her and give her a warm smile.

"It's nice to meet your mother," Sarah says, looking at the fading hologram. "What did she work on... back then?"

In the archive the girls found a map of the world as it was known:

World Map

Legend

Circles are for villages, Triangles are for Castles

MAP LEGEND:

• Amazon: A City of all Women Warriors.
• Brynmaer: A Village in the center of a poisoned forest
• Goa: A Castle of Warriors who Study the Secrets of Martial Arts.
• Joel: A village of caves hidden in the sea.
• Leaf: A Simple Town of Religious folks. This is where the Mystics live.
• Nadare: Land of Ice, the people are fisherfolk.
• Oak: Poisonous Swamp land, it's people are strange and not to be trusted.
• Portoa: Land of Waterfalls, a paradise. The people there are prone to vice.
• Sahara: A Dessert land. The people call themselves the "Fremen"
• Shyron: The Castle of the Kingdom of Thunder. They are isolationists and their army uses strange weapons.
• Swan: A Harbour Town filled with Pirates.
• Castle Solace: The Capital of humanity.
• Draygon's Fortress: A dark and ominous fortress. The people of Solace have no knowledge of the inner workings of the citadel.
• Tinkertown: A village of Tinkerers and Archeologists who live in an excavation site where they seek to understand the mysteries of ancient technology.

Asra blinks into existence in Sarah's eyes. "The map of the old world does not correlate to the map of the new world," she comments in her pretty voice, "I am unable to decipher any patterns between the two. The number of Oracles which were created is uncertain too, whether or not they existed in the facilities which worked on the Prometheus Project is uncertain." Asra's voice took a more serious tone, "We should follow rumors of people using incredible powers like Kensu used the lightning. He was powering the battery with Pip's electro-energy and then channeling that through the sword. Someone else may have discovered the same use of such a power. If we find another battery I can talk to Stephanie as well. Tell her that it is good to see her alive for me would you please? I was dearly worried until she picked up the sword of stone."

@Maglar

Sarah wasn't expecting Asra to pop in on them like that, and looks around to see if anyone else can see her. Sir Gravy and Peter showed no reaction, which shows they probably can't see her, and Steph seems a bit busy - and maybe her 'receiver' isn't yet fully powered yet, and getting a battery will help her see Asra more easily.

Still, despite what Asra tells her, maybe they can spot a pattern. Even if the facilities had shifted in the meantime, they could still follow their general locations and narrow their searches down a bit.

"We should also be on the lookout for rumors of strange powers and such," Sarah speaks up, deciding to voice what Asra told her. "The Oracles and their equipment had powerful biogenic energy abilities linked to them, so we could follow such rumors on the road. I mean, some of them must have woken up already. Did every Oracle have a Wizard guarding them, or are there some Oracles still missing in the various ruins? Maybe they woke up a long time ago... and had to live by themselves."

The thought of being alone in such a world saddens Sarah as she thinks about it. That could have been her; lost in the wirlderness, not even a Wizard to guide her, and trying to figure things out on her own. It would be a lonely existence.

Crystallis

Sarah

@Ponn

"Well, will wonders ever cease," chortles Sir Gravy as Stephanie not only identifies the small crystal as the mysterious tome, but transforms a mundane pouch into... something that can hold it.

Peter is similarly wide-eyed and amazed.

"Begging your pardons, Ms. Or- Stephanie, but that's some wondrous magic there," he manages to speak up. "How did you do it?"

"It's... it's not magic," Sarah says, shaking her head, remembering something vaguely. She turns to Steph. "It's... nanotechnology, right? It's... well, it's complicated, but it's as though I know the basics of the process, as well as a lot of things I've never even seen or heard about, the moment I stepped out of my pod... Just enough to familiarize me with things, I guess..."

The makeshift 'reader' powers up, and the crystal starts flickering. For a moment, one could see bright flecks and glittering objects within the tiny frame of the crystal, as though it were an image of the night sky, with the stars themselves shining within. Then a spectral geometric shape appears a foot above the crystal, slowing unfurling until it forms what Stephanie could recognize as a holographic display. It glitches out a bit, but it takes form in sharp detail rather quickly, revealing what appears to the others as a scholarly woman in the garb of the Ancients, but Stephanie can clearly recognize as Julie Anderson, her long-lost mother, in a happier time.

Julie's Message

"...date today is... December 12th, year [STATIC] and here we are, working on Project Prometheus yet again. I swear, Dr. Logan's a freaking slave driver; he wants the miniaturized reactors ready by next week. And the cryopods. And his precious 'biogenic-sensitive' circuitry prepared. Why not ask for the Sun in the palm of his hand while he's at it?

"Okay, okay, I kid. Dr. Logan is... driven, and to be honest, it's hard to not get infected with his enthusiasm for the project. He just seems to tied up in his Biogenics lab and only pokes his head out once in a while, so it's hard to get across that a lot of this stuff takes time, especially at the crazy purity levels he's asking. We can make stuff sturdy, reliable, and effective, only 82% pure, and it'll last centuries, but nope, he wants his precious pieces at 95% or higher. It'll take more time, so tell him to cool it a bit. All the time we're telling him this is for just prototypes, but damn it if he isn't persistent.

"Still, I know what it's like to be a perfectionist, so can't blame him for it. Hopefully Dr. Westfield will help mellow him out a bit. She's got his same spark, but I had coffee with her once; she seems like a friendly sort.

"Anyways, moving on, here's the list of the facilities where the equipment is being sent. Some of it's supposed to arrive right about now, others are going to be there within the next two weeks, so tell Drake to get off our case, we're doing the best we can. The files and records will be on servers designated PANDORA-4 and higher, though as I said Bob, I always make copies of my work, so I'll be sure to send you something secure.

This is Dr. Anderson, signing out."

A three-dimensional map of... somewhere forms in the hologram, and Stephanie can recognize it as the land masses of old, prior to the Harbinger Incident. Several dots appear, marking what appears to be the facilities her mother was talking about, with small percentages next to them indicating completion rates of various items.

"Forgive me Stephanie, but... I don't think I understood much of that," Peter apologizes.

Pip similarly looks at the map, and tilts his head at Stephanie with a curious whine. It's almost as if he's curious too.

Crystallis

Castle of Solace

@Ponn

After a while, the King took his leave of the girls. He wanted to hear more from the Oracles, but alas, the state calls. Also, Bandersnatch seems to have strangely withdrawn his siege. The citizens of the castle were elated and began celebrating, but the King remains... unconvinced.

"Draygon's men have a way of being cruel and cunning," he tells the Oracles. "Even if Bandersnatch had no way of ending the siege, we must remain vigilant against an attack by treachery. I'll see to the defenses and the men, in the meanwhile Sir Gravy will lead you to the royal archives so you may find what you seek there.

"Take care, fair maidens, and may fortune smile upon you on your journey..."

With that, the knight Sir Gravy guides the two girls to the Archives, whereupon they find endless scrolls and books, some new, others old, some even older than the castle itself. The good knight offers his aid, but he can't seem to find anything by Julie Anderson.

Sarah take the opportunity to turn to Stephanie.

"So what was your mother like?" Sarah asks curiously. "She seems to be a dedicated sort, if we're reading her works this long after... whatever happened..."

"My sincere apologies, dear maidens," Gravy says, "it appears I cannot find the tome, though the scribes assure me it's here somewhere; Master Tornel referred to it quite a bit, so it must be here. Give me a second..."

He tries looking again, in a shelf, but something small falls out.

"Hmm? What is this?" he says, picking up the small object and holding it to the light. "How odd, it seems to be a gem - nay, merely a crystal. Rather shiny, but it doesn't seem to be worth much... Shouldn't this be in the Royal Treasury instead?"

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

“The Void that knocked the ship off course was much more dangerous than the one you faced.”

@Inedible

Penny's mouth twists into a scowl, but decides to leave the sour remarks to Astrelle. While it seems like everything on this trip seems to trying to kill them, it can be excused that the presence of Nox and Voids made all contact between cities near-impossible, so maybe they just had some bad luck.

She's clearly not happy with it, though.

“I-It looked like you were fightin’ another Ars Magi… W-Was it some kinda Void that could shape shift?”

Victoria’s gaze turns to Dana when she broaches the subject of the other Ars Magi. The Wing of Justice is quiet for a moment, considering before she replies. “That was...” A pause. “An enemy combatant. I couldn’t tell you any more than that.” She doesn’t clarify if it’s because she doesn’t know, or if it’s some other reason she’s declining to speak further. “Regardless, what you saw is not to leave this ship.”

“Understood?”

"Wait, what?!" is Penny's only response. She looks from Dana to Victoria and back again, having not seen whatever it was they're talking about. The fact that Victoria is neither denying or ignoring meant Dana was right and had seen something. Or maybe the other girls had seen something too. Penny looks at Nichole and Astrelle, trying to see if they could confirm.

Right now, though, she's tired, sick, and has a broken arm, and wants to just sleep. Already, she's struggling to keep her eyelids open. She keeps silent, but she's not happy about it.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

Penny tenses for a moment, preparing her elementum in case Vanna's strike fails to finish off the Void. However, this time, the thing stays down - and then melts into an ugly mess. It's over; the thing is dead and gone. They're safe now, she can breathe easily again.

"Vanna, that... that worked!" she tells the noblewoman in exhausted elation. "Of course, it left an ugly mess on the carpet, but I'm guessing Void aren't big on manners. Come on, let's rejoin the others, they must be worried sick."

It's then she realizes Vanna is out cold; the fight must have taken a lot out of her. To be honest, Penny feels about to crash herself; a long trip followed by a short but intense, harrowing fight. She seats herself carefully next to the taller girl, and lays back, breathing out as she feels her exhausted body ache all over, especially the arm.

"I'll be honest," she talks to the unconscious Vanna, "I wasn't expecting this, but hey, a story to tell the other girls at the Academy right? We took out a Void before we got our awesome Ars Magi powers and weaponry, bet the other girls will be jealous. I think we made a pretty good team there.

"Also, thanks for saving my life - I really pulled some boneheaded moves there. From now on, though we'll fight as partners, I promise. No more harebrained moves."

Nichole's arrival brings Penny back to focus.

"Nichole, how's everyone else?" she asks, trying to get up. "Vanna got it with one last hit, and I think that tuckered her out. To be honest, I think I'm about to crash myself.

"Here, help me carry her; you take the left side, I've got the right. Watch that spot, that's what's left of the thing."

Upon finally arriving at the control room, Penny is relieved to see the crew and the other girls safe and sound, and helps lay Vanna down on a sofa before she herself collapses on a chair, letting the medical staff work on her broken, dislocated arm.

"Oh sweet mother of God I wanna just go to sleep," she sighs wearily. "Are all flights like this, or did we just book the horror experience express?"

She turns to the other girls.

"So what the flying fuck happened here? And where's-"

Her protests were cut short upon seeing Victoria rather beat up.

"Christ, lady, did you get into a fight with an industrial mixer?" she asks the Wing of Justice.

“The ship is clear and back on route.” She informs the girls. “When we land we’ll have each of you examined and treated. This level of Nox shouldn’t be overtly harmful to you, but the doctors will want to be sure.”

Crimson eyes pass over the five girls, the older Ars Magi silent for a pointed few seconds before she continues: “As you’ve guessed, we ran into an area of heavy Nox.” She doesn’t comment on the battle that some of the girls caught a glimpse of, continuing instead: “I neutralized the worst threats, but you were left to deal with the lesser on your own. Admirably--but unfortunately.”

“We should be landing within the hour. Until then you’ll be kept under guard here. If you notice anything abnormal, report it to the crew members immediately.”

@Inedible

"So what exactly happened here - ma'am?" Penny asks the Wing of Justice. "I know that was just a lesser Void, least compared to some of the real prizes out there, but what happened to you?"

Crystallis

The King listens intently to the description of the harpy, his face drawn and grim.

"From the description, it seems you're talking about the one known as Jubjub Bird, one of Draygon's Lieutenants," he says solemnly. "I have heard of her exploits, and she was a cruel being who reveled in the suffering of others. While I hold no love for her or her ilk, and her loss is no sorrow to the world, I fear that Draygon's interest may be drawn to the loss of one of his chosen. Be careful in the world, Stephanie. It is not only a less advanced one than your own, but dark forces stir in it, more's the pity."

Stephanie's explanation of Sarah's origin is clearly interesting him, though her technical talk leaves him confused.

"To hear this," he muses, "it's as if we talk about the powers of the gods themselves. To create humans from nothing, it seems so... fantastic. Then again, these are strange times, I suppose, and there are stranger things about.

"Though about your mother, forgive me, but I do not think I know her name," the King continues. "And if her tome was important, it would be kept in safe-keeping. Normally, such important tomes - especially those of the Ancients - would be Master Tornel's responsibility, but I'll check to see if we have it."

Sarah's response to being a person created from scratch is... conflicted. On the one hand, it does give her some idea of where she's truly from, and would explain her absent memories. On the other, it means that unlike Steph, she has no roots, no past, no identity. She might be an Oracle, but even the lowliest peasant in this world has a claim to something she would never have; family and a past. She just turns her attention to Pip even as she's deep in thought.

OOC

Basically a quick response to Stephanie, feel free to put in a timeskip here.