video | r u freakin kiddin me

[takehisplace]

Who: Luke fon Fabre
Broadcast: Yes
Action: The Marsiva
When: The late morning

[video;]

[Luke is already up and running around when the feed snaps on. He's got bright red hair and a long white coat, opened to show a red gem at his collarbone.]

Hey! Is anyone here? Can anyone hear me? I'm-- uh, I think I'm trapped! Hello?

[Wait, there's a red light and some kind of screen! He rushes over, not really recognizing this kind of technology but he'll take it. The stuff in the ranches was a lot like this, just less polished.]

There has to be a way... Maybe I can pull up a map? What would Jade do... Wait, I know! [He smashes a LOT OF BUTTONS. And turns the feed off in the process.

Oops.]

Comments

[takehisplace]

... Oh.

[Well. He knows that kind of sickness personally.]

Well, I could tell you a story.

[nerdeology]

...A story?

[That's not something he expected, and- kind of out of the blue for a stranger. But he used to read for Sorey when he was sick, so... hmm. Not a bad idea.]

[takehisplace]

Yeah, a story. My-- my brother spent a lot of time in bed sick, so I'd read to him.

[A pause.]

Or is that too weird? I could, uh, tell jokes or something...

[nerdeology]

No... it's not weird at all, actually. I've done that, too.

[It's a bit comforting. If it's something that other people do, that means it's normal behaviour in human society, right? Which means he'd done right by Sorey.]

But don't feel obligated or anything. You don't even know me.

[takehisplace]

Oh. [The relief in his voice is tangible.]

No, I don't mind. There's nothing else for me to do except stare out the window, and-- I've done a lot of that already.

What kind of stories do you like?

[nerdeology]

[Well, he's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.]

To be honest, history is what interests me the most. Stories of the past are so much better than anything people can invent in their own heads.

[takehisplace]

I never thought about it that way.

[Probably because history is very heavily abbreviated on his world.]

I'm not really sure I can give you an accurate history of my world. I just found out a little while ago that there are two worlds instead of one, and we're still not sure how or why it happened. But I can tell you what I was told. It's still a good story.

[nerdeology]

That's how a lot of history is, actually- small pieces of an incomplete story. Research and theory is what puts it all together.

[Considering his whole life has been hashing out a long series of mysteries based on tidbits of the past, this is just par for the course.]

If you're willing to share, I'd love to hear it.

[takehisplace]

It really is incomplete. Asch always thought they left things out on purpose, but I'm not sure.

[He's more eager to believe in appearances. He's still not 100 percent convinced there really is a goddess, but he prays all the same. It's not like it hurts him.

He finds a place to sit down and stretches his legs out. If he closes his eyes and thinks for a moment, he can remember this book, this story, the way it was read to him after the incident. He takes a deep breath and begins:]

A very long time ago, there was a great tree. Its branches stretched up into the heavens so that each new leaf bore a star. This tree gave mana to the planet it grew upon, and with mana came life.

[nerdeology]

[There's nothing quite like a good story. Mikleo can remember the many, many times he'd settled into bed with Sorey, or curled up by the fire in Gramps' hut, and listened to a tale from one of the dusty old books they weren't allowed to read by themselves until they less rambunctious, more careful. It was one of the best things about Sorey being human, back then- having to sleep, for young humans, meant getting a bedtime story.

It's a pleasantly nostalgic feeling, and he settles comfortably in his bed to listen, soaking in every word.]

[takehisplace]

[He wishes he could see the person on the other end, but he understands sick people wanting to just curl up and not exist, too. While Mikleo is overcome with nostalgia, Luke struggles with how much he misses his brother-- his sick brother, who needs his help, whom Luke abandoned in order to save his life. How ironic.]

First there were grasses, then shrubs and trees and flowers. Then came fish and animals and people. Those who lived in harmony with the earth were called elves, and they used mana to fuel their magic. Their cousins, the humans, couldn't use magic in the same way, so they had to build machines. The elves secluded themselves and disappeared, fearing for their safety, but the humans continued to grow in power...

And then they turned to war.

[nerdeology]

[Sometimes sick people are also invisible. Them's the breaks.

And ah, creation story! Those are always interesting. Especially when so little is known about his own world's.

....

Somehow he's not surprised that it involves magic-using beings in conflict with humans. Seriously, again?]

War against the elves?

[takehisplace]

War against other humans.

[He lets out a sigh-- not at Mikleo, but at the state of things back then.]

The war dragged on for years, until it was all anyone knew. But the Great Tree withered and began to die. A hero and his companions went on a pilgrimage to ask the spirits for help; though the Summon Spirits were reluctant, they made their pacts to help preserve what remained of the world's mana.

But it wasn't enough. Something had to take the place of the tree... so the hero gave his own life.

[nerdeology]

Out of curiosity, what part of society were the hero and his companions from? Humans, elves, or a mixture of the two? Or something else entirely? And what are the Summon Spirits?

[It all sounds very interesting - and Sorey would probably flail about how romantically tragic it is - but he's all about the fine details.]

[takehisplace]

[Very good questions. Unfortunately, he hasn't met the Storyteller yet...]

The legends never said. I really doubt they were half-elves, though. Half-elves are hated and chased out wherever they go, but the hero Van is revered and known all over.

[Summon spirits, though! He knows them.]

Summon Spirits are-- well, they're powerful elemental spirits. They watch over the flow of the world's mana. There's one for each kind of magic, so... water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, ice, darkness, and light.

Their names are... Shadow... uh... Gnome... Celsius... Volt... [Crap, what were the others?] Efreet, Sylph... sorry, I never learned a lot of this until we met them in person.

[nerdeology]

[Elemental spirits making pacts to protect the world, huh... so they must be that world's seraphim equivalent. Interesting...]

It's alright. Better than nothing, right? Sorry for the interruption, anyway. Please, go on.

[takehisplace]

Right, sorry!

[He's kinda surprised that Mikleo has so much interest in this but he'll take it.]

Where was I? Oh, right... so the hero made his sacrifice to keep the world alive, but the Goddess was so distraught that she wept for seven days and seven nights. The hero's companions tried to reason with her, but they were struggling with her own grief.

On the eighth day, she disappeared into the heavens. She gave the angels one final command:

You must wake me, for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed.

And that was when the regeneration of the world began.

[nerdeology]

Do the stories explain why the world will be destroyed if she sleeps?

[He's wondering also if it's based on reality, or if it's all an elaborate metaphor. Some histories are like that. Entire societies hinged on metaphors, depending on how believable the truth is. History is weird.

And wonderful, but that much is obvious.]

[takehisplace]

[Six of one, half-dozen of the other.]

Yeah, that's part of the Journey of Regeneration. When the world begins to die, it means that evil is breaking free of the seals. The Chosen undergoes the trials and-- and wakes the goddess, and then the world is renewed.

[Or so they thought.]

[nerdeology]

Renewed how? What happens to it?

[takehisplace]

The mana comes back.

[nerdeology]

I see... so, what are the trials?

[Because that sounds kind of familiar.]

[takehisplace]

Fighting monsters, solving puzzles, and fighting a guardian of some kind at the end. [A pause.] The Chosen also, uh, becomes an angel.

[DID HE FORGET TO MENTION THAT? YUP.]

[nerdeology]

[WOW THAT SURE DOES SOUND FAMILIAR YEP]

Is that what the hero's sacrifice was? Becoming an angel?

[takehisplace]

[Oh, good. Mikleo isn't interrogating Luke on that particular aspect just yet.]

Yeah. And that's why an angel is needed to wake the goddess.