The Verge of Waking

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 1 year, 7 months ago

 Beneath a broken fortress on a windswept shore, under dark stone that muffles the incessant crashing waves, a dream slumbers still, on the verge of waking. In this deep cavern, only a single beam of light pierces the darkness, emerging from an opening in the rock high above, where the dense cloud cover has parted to reveal a scrap of clear blue sky. Yet despite the dearth of sunlight, the hidden sanctum is overflowing with living plants. And at its center stands a tall, stout, thick-rooted tree with a strangely segmented trunk, its broad branches like wings and its layered leaves like feathers.
 "Even after removing the fourth arm of the Crux," Ivo murmurs, gazing up at the tree from below amidst dense foliage, "the plant life seems no worse for wear. The power of Creation is just that embedded here."
 This place, after all, was the final bastion of the druids of Vaeltrandia in their catastrophic battle against the rebellious Star-Crowned Emperor, Arcas. It was here that Kernunnos was forcibly summoned by the high druidess to tragically lay waste to his own people and the enemy alike, shattering the light-bridge to the floating city of Arcadios, meant to be the platform from which the druids would reach the sun and now the prison of the last of the Star-Crowned. It was here that Fox's father, warrior-king of Vaeltrandia, sallied forth to die in battle against Arcas; here that Arcas's boon companion Erato chose to die rather than be consumed by hunger for living souls; here that Arcas slew the one who allowed Erato to die, the creator of this tree, the Sol Ascent, the final remnant of the druids' aspirations.
 A tree with the power to take to the skies, one last time -- if not to reach the sun, then to reach Arcadios, its secrets, and whoever, more than a century later, still survives there.
 "Nais!" Ivo then calls up to the tree's lofty branches. There is an opening into the tree's vast hollow, room enough for a crew, though crewing it is an esoteric matter, entirely dissimilar to modern magitech like the Romancing SaGa, with which Ivo had returned the party here. "How goes it up there?"
 With the Crux of Creation fully reassembled and empowered at last, in theory, our heroes have all that they need to activate the Sol Ascent and travel to Arcadios despite the absence of the bridge. But practically speaking, only a descendant of the druids is likely to be able to activate or control the thing, and that means their old ex-bandit, ex-prisoner friend.
 "Shouldn't be long," Ivo says lightly, expressing confidence rather convincingly before flashing a smile at his accompanying allies. "Well? We're going to visit a lost city in the skies and, with its treasures, at last save a friend. Excited?"

• Character: Argent
• 1 year, 7 months ago

  Along their way here, Argent has found herself rather distracted. With all the still vibrant plant life here the homunculus has found herself spotting something interesting at every turn, resulting in her pausing every now and again to pluck up some colourful flower here or dig up an oddly shaped root there. Despite rooting around in the dirt, somehow not a single bit of it ends up on her.

  "I believe I have achieved a sufficient level of excitement." she says tonelessly as she puts another exotic plant away in a handy pouch. "I believe that these ingredients will yield interesting results." ...she's totally going to eat them later, isn't she?

• Character: Reize Seatlan
• 1 year, 7 months ago

  Walking along side with Ivo and the group, emerging through the cave to the great light leading to the dense foliage, Reize has both arms raised, hands hanging behind his head. He gives a thoughtful look, "Hopefully, we'll be able to weaken its effects..." He closes his eyes, looking up at the sky.

  "...We're close." He offers a smile, "Just hold on, Lily."

  For the adventurers, it is their next destination.

  For one individual...

  This is the path of his lineage.

  The former bandit, accepting his role as the remaining druid and aid the Star Chasers. It was not long ago that he was at odds with them, but he owes his freedom to them. Beyond that, he owes the chance to accept something that he once rejected to them.

  The tall, lanky man emerges from the hollow, draped in a green cloak. He still retains a bit of the light-weighted clothing that he had in his days as a bandit. In his hand is the wooden staff. His appearance, to match the acceptance of his fate, is accented with signs of his hair grown out. Yet, he remains beardless on purpose.

  "Heh! Don't worry too much about me! This is my home!" He cracks a grin, looking down towards the group. "Do you all think that you will manage?" He looks at his staff, "I am feeling more confident that my friends and I can get everything activated."

• Character: Fox
• 1 year, 7 months ago

COSMOPOLIS MARKETS, THREE WEEKS AGO:

 The merchants of a lofty sky city of the elite are certainly not to be trifled with when it comes to haggling or bargaining. But the raw fact of the matter is, if you're an Adventurer(tm) and your sidearms for combat just happen to be magically-imbued pistols that are technically centuries old, it's not as if you can pop on down to the Hansel's House of Guns and Patio Furniture for replacements on the cheap.

 This is certainly why a certain fox-haired alchemist grimaces and wheedles and eventually hands someone a rather large-ish stack of coins before accepting a parcel and walking off, whistling a tune. A tune that dies in her throat right as she walks to the mouth of an alley and almost bumps into Ivo Galvan, who is emerging from it.

 "Oh, COME ON."

NOW:

 "I truly do not know how you convinced me to follow you here for this," says Fox, lying through her teeth. The truth is that her encounters with Reize and company have been... at the very least, USUALLY amusing (except that one time where all her trauma was on display but whatever) and she's acquired an almost big sisterly feeling toward the group. Plus, well...

 If someone's gonna dig up and reactive an artifact that basically ended the civilization you were born into, you'd probably want to be there just to be SURE, right?

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 1 year, 7 months ago

 "That's the spirit," Ivo gamely replies to Argent, as though convinced by her show of enthusiasm or lack thereof. His mood seems especially bright today. Perhaps it is the prospect of adventure, to which even the playful ironist is not immune. "Say, mind saving some of those for me?" Maybe he wants a snack too. "Our experiments in Cosmopolis measuring the quantity of domain aspect in the soil surrounding the outlying sprawl could use a strong concentration like this as a benchmark." Oh.
 A more advisable motive, at least.
 "Indeed," Ivo then says, more softly, at Reize's remark, his typically lively smile turning gentle as he looks back to the boy. "We'll find what she needs there, I'm sure." His smile broadens into a grin, eyes narrowing. "And no one will be able to stop us from bringing it to her. If we can make it to a sealed floating city, we can make it into some sealed Cosmopolitan archives."
 When Nais emerges, Ivo can't help but emit a little sigh of relief, the slightest hint that his confidence in their upcoming success might have been just a little overblown.
 "Thanks to you, I'm sure we will," the magitechnician replies to the druid, out of his depth in matters that require a more personal magical touch. "I hope your lovely assistant has been of some help."
 "Bacach! Don't touch tha--"
 A woman's voice can be heard calling out from the boughs of the trees, followed by the loud and keening shriek of a bird of prey. Moments later, as the party looks on, a sonorous hum begins to fill the room and, before their eyes, threads of light trace through the trunk of the great tree and into its many leaves, which begin to rustle as though in an unseen and unfelt wind.
 "--oh. Good job, Bacach!" Moments later, a flush-cheeked face emerges to peer down from the tree's peak, a young woman dressed in traditional Vaeltrandian druidic garb of whites and reds waving down at them. "Sorry about the noise!" This is Aoife, a traditional dancer of the Central Plains and a member of the tribe that hosts the Festival of Blessings and keeps the burial mounds of all Granse's peoples, where the party had been granted permission to explore the tomb of the Vaeltrandian royalty. She and her boisterous bird had been present in Zerhem when the party foiled an assassination plot on Granse's young prince.
 "She owed me a favor," Ivo asides to his allies. (Cut to Bacach stealing the meat from Ivo's skewer as he sinks beneath the surface of Zerhem's river and, later, Aoife bowing repeatedly, sweat flying from her brow and soaking the young man's already sodden cloak.) "And while she's not a descendant of the druids, her people treated with them long ago and have kept, as oral tradition, some of their few remaining records."
 But of course, the greatest living remnant of Vaeltrandia is by their side.
 "I know how," Ivo replies to Fox, grinning up at her. "My incomparable charm, poise, and, of course, devotion!" His Affection Meter for her *is* very high. "And you probably wanted me to stop groveling in public." He just casually says it, practically beaming the whole while.
 Wait. Is *Fox* why Ivo is in such a good mood?

• Character: Argent
• 1 year, 7 months ago

  "Ah." Argent says, pausing her speech as she crouched down with a small vial in hand. A little digging later and she has a sample of the local soil, a small cork sealing the little glass vessel safely shut to store away in her pouch. "While it is permissible for you to utilize some of my samples, I cannot allow you to take a large amount. I require the majority of these for my own uses."

  With her next meal sorted, the homunculus turns her placid gaze to the rest of the group in turn. Fox in particular gets a long look, followed by her eyes moving from the woman to rest on Ivo.

  Somehow, without even the slightest change in her expression, something about her stare is accusational.

• Character: Reize Seatlan
• 1 year, 7 months ago

  The former thief pauses when he notices the arrival of the true living legacy of Vaeltrandia. He closes his eyes, then he greets her with more of reverance, "I'm glad to see that you've made it here." He looks over towards himself, "...While you say that some things are better left buried..." He considers, "...Maybe it's worth keeping the legacy alive."

  Upon the activiation of light from the trunk of the great tree, Nais cracks a grin, "Bacach has been the most dependable of the bunch." With the arrival of Aoife, he finally decides to meet down with the group. He takes a moment to stare at Argent, "Good to see you too."

  With a glance at the boy, "Solved your bad date issues, right kid?"

  "Oi!" Reize's eyebrow twitches irritibly, "I patched things up! We're back as a team and she'll be joining us on our journey to Arcadios!" He does look Nais over, "Do you really feel ready? Aren't you a bit nervous?"

  "A bit! However, I have good company." He sweeps a hand across the group as well as the living flora around. "Let's just get you guys sorted!"
 

• Character: Fox
• 1 year, 7 months ago

 "It would be a real shame if you came this far just for it to end with me holding your head under the surface of a river," Fox says to Ivo with as neutral an expression as she can manage. Does she actually have any intention of drowning the Cosmopolitan? Probably not, but you know, this is just How Banter Goes, right? Someone calls you charming, you casually suggest asphyxiation. And that's how babies are born.

 Then of course there's Reize and, over slightly farther, Argent about to get her Skyrim on with plant life of dubious origins. What better place to find palatable, non-dangerous flowers than a tomb. As for Reize's serious expression when he speaks to her, Fox waves a hand dismissively. "Look, I've had time to come to grips with all this, so it's fine. I just want to be here to say 'I told you so' if you finish all this and we're immediately killed by a city full of angry homunculi." Should you have said that last part aloud, Princess Etienne? Probably not!

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 1 year, 7 months ago

 Ivo blinks as he feels a powerful stare upon him, potent enough to raise the hairs on the back of his neck and even to distract him from Fox's radiant beauty, if for a moment. Glancing to Argent, he meets her gaze, their expressions almost equally unreadable for a long second -- before he winks, grinning. She hasn't checked him out like this in a while. Well, beautiful women notice men who have the attentions of other beautiful women. That's just science.
 "At least you'd be holding me," Ivo cheerfully replies to Fox.
 Maybe his morale is a little too high.
 "Well, worst case scenario, maybe Argent here can negotiate for us." He pauses, his energy abating a little as his curiosity is piqued. "Have you had many other dealings with homunculi, Argent?"
 As Bacach, the loveliest assistant of all, caws loudly from amidst the branches above and Aoife attempts to soothe him with, from the sound of it, dried chunks of fish, the Cosmopolitan's gaze is drawn back to the Sol Ascent, eyes drifting upward.
 "The druids of Vaeltrandia created the Star-Crowned to achieve iteratively greater capacity to channel the power of Creation," he murmurs. "It seems that every achievement of theirs was marked by a homunculus's sacrifice. If the remnants we saw spoke true, then even the Sol Ascent was only completed when Erato gave up their life for it."
 His gaze is pulled still upward, toward the opening in the cavern above and its attendant beam of light.
 "I wonder if Erato's spirit lingers still. If so, will our ascent to Arcadios be a final reunion with Arcas?"
 He is silent for a moment.
 "Romantic, right?" he asides to Fox. "Doesn't it remind you of us?"
 Ivo, please.

• Character: Reize Seatlan
• 1 year, 7 months ago

  Rubbing the back of his head, Nais looks a bit weary, but he shakes his head. "Well, at if you say so..."

 Reize, on the other hand, is cheery while looking at Fox. "Glad that we can count on you!" Reize was totally ignorant (1 Perception) check on the comment of them getting killed by a city full of angry homunculi. Ivo's comment, however, earns a thoughtful look, "...Could there really be a city full of homunuli?" He furrows his eyebrows, "I figured they're more rare, but I suppose a mediator would be helpful." He looks at Argent.

 Of course, while Ivo has been having his talk with Fox, Reize is now growing impatient. "Okay! Let's just get ready, already! We have a unventured site to make our way towards!" Nevermind that they will inevitably cause some great catastrophe.

 That hasn't stopped them before, right?

• Character: Fox
• 1 year, 7 months ago

 'Doesn't it remind you of us?'

 "Does... the magical sky bridge to the murder-y homunculus emperor's palace christened by death remind me of us?" Fox asks, slowly puzzling that one out. Is she doing this on purpose? She must be.

 Her answer, after a brief pause: "Absolutely."

 She seems perhaps a LITTLE bit reserved compared to normal, banter aside, but in the way she's standing, the crossing of her arms under her chest, even little flickering movements of the eyes: some part of her actually DOES expect this to go wrong, is looking for it to do so. It is, quite legitimately, one of the reasons she gave into Ivo's... 'incessant' is maybe a strong word, but 'persistent' surely isn't... requests for her to do so.

• Character: Argent
• 1 year, 7 months ago

  "I have little experience with others of my kind." Argent admits, still holding her gaze on Ivo. Somehow it seems even more judgmental, as if she knows exactly what he's thinking behind that wink and grin. Then her eyes flick towards Reize. "As such, I do not believe that it would be optimal for me to perform this task." That neutral expression breaks ever so slightly at the mention of 'sacrifice', her pale eyebrows furrowing just the tiniest bit.

  "I must request that you refrain from sacrificing a homunculus in order to achieve your goals. In addition to myself, this includes any other homunculi we will encounter." Oh, looks like she does feel some kinship with her own kind after all.

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 1 year, 7 months ago

 "Well, considering that we possess the Crux," Ivo is replying to Reize, "I don't think there would be any source of aether which with homunculi could sustain themselves. But if we do encounter any," he adds, turning to Argent, his playful demeanor receding and taking on a sincerely reassuring tone, "we'll be certain --"
 "It is."
 The young man, startled, looks to the source of the familiar voice that has interrupted him: Reize's pendant, long dormant, which has flickered to life, its crystal dancing with light from within.
 "The spirit of the one you call Erato," Kernunnos says. "It is here, just as the vestiges of my devoted have lingered where they perished." His voice is clear yet distant, inscrutable. "Their desires unsatisfied, their hopes unfulfilled."
 All trace of a smile fades from Ivo's face. Finally, he's speechless.
 "This Star-Crowned, born to hunger and to serve, chose to reject that hunger and accept that service, chose to die," the eidola and demigod continues. "And they would not have been born or have suffered so without my own choice to lead a people to that fallen star, which began all this -- to lead them to the heavens. And here I am, leading people to the heavens once more. Perhaps this is my nature, my hunger, to which I am condemned. Perhaps this Erato was right to reject it. Perhaps I should do as they did."
 Silence reigns a moment.
 "But I hope still, despite the tragedies I have begotten and the pain I have caused," Kernunnos says. "Dear mortals, my champions. I hope that you will redeem the sacrifices of those who came before you. I hope that, with your courage, with your earnest conviction, you will end this story differently than I."
 The pendant sparkles on the boy's chest.
 "Reize, everyone," the voice adds, softer. "Thank you for coming this far."

> Kernnunos's Affinity Rank has increased to 7.
> When Reize summons Kernunnos, any of Reize's party members may perform a Summoned Surge. This depletes 20% of the Summon Gauge to add a +5 bonus to any roll of their choosing.
> Reize has successfully unlocked the Special Summoned Surge "Conatus Modicus." This depletes 30% of the Summon Gauge to perform a flash dodge that adds +10 to attempts to dodge.
> Kernunnos's Affinity has reached its maximum Rank.