Voices from Heaven (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thespaceopera) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
driftfleet2017-06-09 09:55 am
thespaceopera) wrote in driftfleet2017-06-09 09:55 am
Calibration Post 1, "Daytime"
[ Not long after the shuffle, there's a ripple of static over the network - loud, sudden, and seemingly with no origin. It's puzzling, but there's no indication that it's going to happen again...
Until a minute later. Another surge of static comes in over the speakers, and then a voice - one some may find familiar, though not necessarily welcome, after all of this time... It's Diamond. Long time no speak, hmm?
Clearly, not all is well. She sounds very far away, for one. For another, she sounds... skeptical, almost alarmed. There may actually be real concern in her voice. ]
Again? Twice in one c--
[ Her sentence is cut short with a strangled gasp, followed by a moment of silence. What follows may be the sound of metal dragged across metal, but it's hard to place. When she speaks again, it's uncharacteristically monotonous. ]
... Bring them in.
[ A blip of lost time passes right after those words, before every passenger mysteriously wakes alone in their own unfamiliar room. The style of decor resembles that of the Marsiva's Hospitality Deck, if any passengers should remember what that's like. It sounds and smells the same as the host ship as well, all clean and chrome, but this set of rooms has only been used once, and for the very same purpose that befalls the fleet contestants now.
As for their hosts, there is no immediate sign of them, though some may recall a series of hideous, half-electronic screams before their memories begin to blur upon arrival...
Welcome back to the Marsiva, dear passengers. It's time for round two of calibrations. ]
[ This mingle will cover all non-calibration room interactions. Please continue to come back to it for the duration of the plot! You are, of course, free to post any other mingles/posts/etc. that you'd like. ]
Until a minute later. Another surge of static comes in over the speakers, and then a voice - one some may find familiar, though not necessarily welcome, after all of this time... It's Diamond. Long time no speak, hmm?
Clearly, not all is well. She sounds very far away, for one. For another, she sounds... skeptical, almost alarmed. There may actually be real concern in her voice. ]
Again? Twice in one c--
[ Her sentence is cut short with a strangled gasp, followed by a moment of silence. What follows may be the sound of metal dragged across metal, but it's hard to place. When she speaks again, it's uncharacteristically monotonous. ]
... Bring them in.
[ A blip of lost time passes right after those words, before every passenger mysteriously wakes alone in their own unfamiliar room. The style of decor resembles that of the Marsiva's Hospitality Deck, if any passengers should remember what that's like. It sounds and smells the same as the host ship as well, all clean and chrome, but this set of rooms has only been used once, and for the very same purpose that befalls the fleet contestants now.
As for their hosts, there is no immediate sign of them, though some may recall a series of hideous, half-electronic screams before their memories begin to blur upon arrival...
Welcome back to the Marsiva, dear passengers. It's time for round two of calibrations. ]
[ This mingle will cover all non-calibration room interactions. Please continue to come back to it for the duration of the plot! You are, of course, free to post any other mingles/posts/etc. that you'd like. ]
Nook
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Eithan's just gonna make his way right on over to that nook you're in, lean against a nearby bookshelf with his arms crossed, and nod in greeting. ]
Hey. Got a minute or two?
[ He's smiling, at least, politely. He wonders if he'll be able to tell from Yuan's response if Yuan even knows Eithan was in his... head space room thingy whatever... for a while there. ]
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It seems like I've got nothing but time, as long as we're stuck here. Did you need something?
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His smile turns a liiittle bit apologetic, and he makes sure to keep his voice down, just in case. ]
Kinda. Long story short, I... ended up in your memories. Room. Thing. [ Words! Aren't they great? ]
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I see. Was there something you wanted to ask me about? [Yuan has a vague idea that there is a great deal of terrible that Eithan might have run into there, though it's hard to remember specifics. If he's lucky, this is a horribly awkward offer of pity for the way he grew up.]
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Well, given a lot of it was completely out of context and really not great, yeah, I've got some questions.
[ He hesitates, just a second. His expression turns serious, but not severe - not yet. He wants to hear him talk, after all. ] I know it's not like we've talked a whole lot. So if it's seriously none of my business, then fine. But if you've actually got it in you to put a whole town to death over protectin' one of their own? Then, yeah, I kinda want to know that goin' forward.
[ One thing at a time, right? ]
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Yuan closes his eyes.] Do I have it in me? Yes. If I had no other choice, yes, that's something I could still do.
The rage I felt back then, which made it my first choice, is something that's a part of my past. [He opens his eyes, looks at Eithan.] I'll understand if you can't see it that way.
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On one hand, long time ago, I was given an order to burn down a house with supposed traitors in it. I made 'em think I did it, but I didn't. But watchin' everyone else burn everything down still sticks with you. You know? So, talk about bad flashbacks. Heh.
[ He holds up a finger. ] But, on the other hand... when that same group of people kidnapped and murdered a girl I knew, callin' her a foul-blooded curse and a slug, just 'cause she was a magic user from the islands instead of the mainland? Yeah, I had enough rage in me to blow up the whole tower and burn every guard inside.
[ And you didn't even have to go through his calibration room for that little bit of info! Congrats. ... He shakes his head. ]
So! I'd be a damn hypocrite if I couldn't see it that way. I just... wanted to know you weren't really workin' on a hair trigger like that now, I guess.
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...That was thousands of years ago. I've had plenty of time to come to grips with all the things I've done wrong in those years. [Ambiguous phrasing: has thousands of years given him plenty of time to come to grips with his crimes, or has he done more things wrong in the years since?
(the answer is yes)]
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Thousands of--? Just how old are you? [ Beat. ] Not--! Tryin' to be rude. Just. That's. Not a thing in my world unless you're a demigod or somethin'. So that's. Wow.
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You know, I keep forgetting who I have and haven't had this conversation with. Yes, I'm something along the lines of four thousand years old. The reasons why are...complicated, but for all I know you might have witnessed some of them.
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I mean, if I did see somethin' that pointed to that, I guess it didn't click? It was mostly... out of context and kinda removed.
But... I did see, uh, Martel. In the end. The... goddess, right? But she wasn't always? And you said you were sorry. [ Which was a very contributing factor to Eithan coming to talk to him at all instead of either 1) avoiding him forever and ever, or 2) rolling right up and just going off in a rage. ] ... What exactly were you tryin' to accomplish? Why make her a goddess?
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There's a legend in our world, propagated by the Church of Martel which has existed as long as mortal memory: [He closes his eyes and recites.] "Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree that was the source of mana. A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero’s life was sacrificed in order to take its place. Grieving over the loss, the goddess disappeared unto the heavens. The goddess left the angels with this edict: 'You must wake me, for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed.' The angels bore the Chosen One, who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens. And that marked the beginning of the regeneration of the world."
[He opens his eyes to look at Eithan again.] It isn't entirely false. The Tree did exist once, and it died as a result of the ancient war, but it wasn't the hero Mithos who gave his life to take its place. In fact, no one gave their life on purpose: Martel was murdered by humans while working to sprout the Tree's seed.
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There a protracted beat as he hesitates, his eyes trained more on the book in his hands than anything else.]
Hello, Yuan.
[He can't bring himself to dismiss or completely ignore Yuan, though his emotions are a tangle of anxiety.]
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Felix. [He nods a greeting, keeping his own expression carefully neutral.] ...Not to be blunt, but you look like these dreams are getting to you.
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When are you not blunt? And frankly, I don't think there is any among us who are not feeling the effects.
[His expression is equally level, though there is a tiny trace of humor in his downcast smile]
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[Whatever it is, the fear that it's irreparable is fading, at least, and Yuan sighs, relaxes just slightly.] But you're right, everyone's been going around in a haze. ...I wonder if they bring us all together for this so we can't avoid seeing one another.
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[And he is still looking more down at his hands than at Yuan, though he chances a determined glance upwards, just once]
Shall we continue avoiding it? Powers know I certainly can try, as I have done for most of my life.
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There's also the fact that he still doesn't know exactly which of his own memories Felix might have seen.] I've already run into people who saw things in my mind that I didn't remember them seeing. ...I'd rather know about it, even if it's something I can't defend.
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[He will not at all broach what he knows Yuan has seen in his own mind, and he can't blame the half-elf from running from those thoughts as he had. It's somehow worse that that darkness has infected someone else. But he also will not lie.
Felix glances back at one of the nooks, then back to Yuan]
May we sit? Unless you prefer a more...private audience. [There's a trace of wryness in the last that he can't quite help]
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He isn't on trial, perhaps, but he deserves to be. Except, as he's been reminded here once before, there's no body of law on his world that could really claim jurisdiction over Cruxis, which doesn't actually make anything better.]
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[Feeling a little fragile, though outwardly there's nothing more than a light stiffness to his bearing, he leads Yuan to a nearby nook. Felix slides back into the shadows, what little there are, hoping to gain as much privacy as he can get without going so far as to hide in one of their tiny cupboards of a bedroom. He cards his hands lightly together and waits for Yuan to settle as he tries to collect his thoughts on the matter.]
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So what was it you wanted to know more about? [Or rather, what did you see?]
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[Which is only a brief summary of events, but little enough for what he understands of the motivations, and that's maybe why he isn't as angry with Yuan as most people might be.]
I'm confused as to how you went from one admittedly desperate act to another. I'm even more curious that your initial plan seems to have succeeded despite this.
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You see, when she'd died, her soul was...preserved, but only temporarily. It would need a great influx of mana to keep her from fading away beyond our reach...so we bound it to the seed of the Great Tree, the one she'd been trying to sprout when they killed her. The one that was currently providing the worlds with the mana they needed to live, and now would have to persist in that task until we could bring her back. ...It was the only option we had, but eventually I learned that if we did, in fact, bring Martel back to life with her soul so bound, she would absorb the Great Seed in the process, and the world would die from a lack of mana.
[He shakes his head, grimacing.] Mithos had known for a lot longer. He didn't care: we had Derris-Kharlan, we could continue to live, and the world hated us anyway. ...But I knew, I knew she would never forgive us for killing her world just to bring her back. If I'd voiced my objections openly, Mithos would have just killed me, or at best locked me up somewhere. So I started looking for other ways to stop the revival, and that's what you saw: I started a group of rebels called the Renegades, and one of the things we did to delay Martel's revival was kill the Chosen Ones sent to try to become her new host. [He glances away again for just a moment.] It probably seems cruel, but Mithos' plan was to drain away their souls piece by piece to leave them a shell that Martel could use for a body; at least dying by the sword is quick. [The explanation sounds a little hollow, a little rehearsed.]
As for the rest... [He smirks wryly.] If you find it confusing, think how surprised Kratos and I were. ...The original Great Kharlan Tree had a Spirit attached to it, an avatar that allowed it to communicate with mortals. What we didn't know or expect was that every tree of that kind has such a Spirit, born when the seed is first germinated. So the Great Seed did absorb Martel's soul when it germinated, along with the souls of all the Chosen Ones we'd sacrificed in our attempts to bring her back...and together, they became the Spirit of the new Great Tree. That's the being you saw.