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abraxaslogs2022-06-17 09:35 am
abraxasmods) wrote in abraxaslogs2022-06-17 09:35 am
Entry tags:
- !event,
- aloy; the hermit,
- alucard; the hierophant,
- ches fields; the lovers,
- cirilla of cintra; the devil,
- claude von riegan; the wheel of fortune,
- cole cassidy; the hanged man,
- commander shepard; judgement,
- dante; the devil,
- dean winchester; the lovers,
- diana prince; the empress,
- fandaniel; the hanged man,
- geralt of rivia; the hanged man,
- goro; the chariot,
- himeka sui; the fool,
- hythlodaeus; the empress,
- jack townsend; the moon,
- jaskier; the sun,
- jasper; judgement,
- jayce talis; the magician,
- jesper fahey; the wheel of fortune,
- jon snow; the emperor,
- julie lawry; the wheel of fortune,
- kell maresh; the magician,
- lucifer; the devil,
- matt murdock; the tower,
- nadine cross; the world,
- nero (dmc); the chariot,
- peter parker (mcu); strength,
- prince wilhelm; the tower,
- rey; the star,
- rhy maresh; the lovers,
- ronan lynch; the moon,
- sephiroth; the tower,
- stephen strange; death,
- steve rogers; the hierophant,
- sypha belnades; the tower,
- thancred waters; strength,
- thor odinson; the fool,
- viktor; death,
- wanda maximoff; the hanged man
EVENT #8: MÆRE - IC POST (MAIN EVENT)
Event #8 - Mære
Sleep can be a welcome escape from the daily toils of life. No matter one's magical affinity or physical prowess, many succumb to the need eventually. While some find refuge in it, others prefer to avoid sleep for as long as they can, fearing what lurks in the corners. For the latter, perhaps what happens next is just part of their nightly struggle.
Beginning on the night of JUNE 18, characters will be met with unsettling dreams and their worst nightmares. It will build slowly over the course of the following week as manifestations of their deepest fears and regrets make themselves known.
Beginning on the night of JUNE 18, characters will be met with unsettling dreams and their worst nightmares. It will build slowly over the course of the following week as manifestations of their deepest fears and regrets make themselves known.
Night Walk
How does it start? Familiar, perhaps: experienced before or a recognizable concoction of events and feelings. Your old home, a town you've visited, a room you met an old friend in, a corridor where you faced off with a great foe, or a mosaic of the different pieces of your life. You don't yet sense danger. It's safe, you think. Or alternatively: you are consumed immediately by an unsettling feeling, finding yourself in a darkened room you don't recognize, falling endlessly, unable to move, already wounded in the middle of nowhere, or the growl of an animal. Whatever the recreated vista, you slowly get the distinct sense that you are not alone.
As you explore your dreamscape, this sense does not leave you. You may find a shadow looming over you, catch something in the corner of your eye, hear a sound far off in the distance. Wherever you turn, you seem to just miss it. Whether this unsettles you or not will vary, but you will remember this come the morning. If you are one of the lucky ones, it all ends here. Strange dreams are nothing unusual. Those happen now and again. But for many others this is just the beginning.
As you explore your dreamscape, this sense does not leave you. You may find a shadow looming over you, catch something in the corner of your eye, hear a sound far off in the distance. Wherever you turn, you seem to just miss it. Whether this unsettles you or not will vary, but you will remember this come the morning. If you are one of the lucky ones, it all ends here. Strange dreams are nothing unusual. Those happen now and again. But for many others this is just the beginning.
The Entity
If you are among those less fortunate, you will find yourself plunged into the same dream. It may not be the next night. Perhaps it happens later, when you're napping in the afternoon, or a few nights afterwards when you've already forgotten all about it. Regardless, it returns to you. The stage might be different, the details shifted, but the feeling of something watching remains. In your absence, it only seems to have grown. Each time you return to this singular dream world, its presence grows ever stronger. Oppressive, suffocating, you know you are being hunted.
When you finally see it, you know exactly what it is. The Entity that hunts you is born out of your subconscious itself, your deepest fears and traumas given form. A twisted manifestation of unshakeable guilt, a creature or foe you have fought with once before, a person you may have loved so dearly now turned against you - the sight of it chills your blood and you know in your heart that it is here for you.
When you finally see it, you know exactly what it is. The Entity that hunts you is born out of your subconscious itself, your deepest fears and traumas given form. A twisted manifestation of unshakeable guilt, a creature or foe you have fought with once before, a person you may have loved so dearly now turned against you - the sight of it chills your blood and you know in your heart that it is here for you.
The Guest
Should fate twist further, you might not be the only one. Instead, you'll find other Summoned with you. They might also be running from a presence of their own or maybe they're merely unlucky enough to have fallen into the path of yours. Whatever it is, they too will bear witness to that which haunts you - or you will see what haunts them, as well. Your respective dreamscapes might meld together, shift and change, or one might take over the other completely.
Though it's likely you won't realize you're trapped inside a dream, that doesn't mean you can't fight back. Gather your courage to face down your fears or try to help those you find yourself in the company of - you might just find your surroundings steadily shifting in your favor. A weapon here, a pathway opening there, a wooden door that transforms into steel. Be careful, though: should your awareness grow that things aren't real, the world will try to consume those thoughts and you within it, twisting things further in an attempt to make you forget that you're dreaming.
Though it's likely you won't realize you're trapped inside a dream, that doesn't mean you can't fight back. Gather your courage to face down your fears or try to help those you find yourself in the company of - you might just find your surroundings steadily shifting in your favor. A weapon here, a pathway opening there, a wooden door that transforms into steel. Be careful, though: should your awareness grow that things aren't real, the world will try to consume those thoughts and you within it, twisting things further in an attempt to make you forget that you're dreaming.
The Imprint
Luckily, you do eventually wake - unsettled, damp with sweat, but at least you're safe. It was only a dream, wasn't it? For some, that might be the case. For others, you'll start to hear the sounds of the dream in the waking world, glimpse the shadow of the Entity in a reflection, feel a breath against your neck. Marks or injuries might also follow you into the physical world: dirt staining your palms from where you fell, a cut from where you were struck, dampness in your hair from the rain. These occurrences could be obvious, but they might also be so minor you feel like your mind is playing tricks.
Still - what if it isn't merely a dream? As the week goes on, whether you experience the phenomenon for yourself or not, you'll most certainly hear of it happening to your friends, loved ones, neighbors. Word reaches you of fellow Summoned being stalked from the shadows, waking up with injuries they shouldn't have, possibly even suffering a near-fatal wound in their sleep. Clearly, there's more to this than uneasy visions in the night.
Still - what if it isn't merely a dream? As the week goes on, whether you experience the phenomenon for yourself or not, you'll most certainly hear of it happening to your friends, loved ones, neighbors. Word reaches you of fellow Summoned being stalked from the shadows, waking up with injuries they shouldn't have, possibly even suffering a near-fatal wound in their sleep. Clearly, there's more to this than uneasy visions in the night.
The Factions
While it is each Summoned who is the focus of their Entity's ire, they are not the only ones who seem aware of its movements. The factions will soon approach each Summoned with an offer: work with them to help contain the threat and aid the suffering of you and your friends - but the one thing they cannot explain is how they have come to know about the existence of the Entity.
Will you take the offer and try to convince your fellow Summoned this is a vital path to take? Or will your mistrust of those in power have you not only refusing, but trying to prevent others from making what you believe is a mistake?
The choice is yours, but the decision might impact more than just you this time.
Will you take the offer and try to convince your fellow Summoned this is a vital path to take? Or will your mistrust of those in power have you not only refusing, but trying to prevent others from making what you believe is a mistake?
The choice is yours, but the decision might impact more than just you this time.
A separate log located here will detail the reaction of the factions and so forth. You can tag in under the specific heading for each faction.
To thread out any arguments or conflict prior to participating, please do so in this event post. The IC Faction Intervention log should be only for those actively participating in the full process.
To thread out any arguments or conflict prior to participating, please do so in this event post. The IC Faction Intervention log should be only for those actively participating in the full process.
The Horizon
When dreams are no longer an escape, desperate souls might turn to the Horizon for safety - though they may remember that, previously, the Horizon was not safe at all.
It Follows
At first, the same doesn't seem to hold true. Things are quiet in the Horizon. There is no need for sleep or dreams here. You have full control over what's formed inside your domain. However, it doesn't take long for the remnants of that horrible dream to seep into your sanctuary. A field you grew may start to turn dark, becoming nightmarish corridors. Maybe the tower you placed so carefully begins to crumble, or perhaps the reflection you see of yourself in a lake isn't you at all. You will find that despite your best efforts, your Entity has followed you into Horizon and is corrupting your domain with it.
As menacing as the presence may be, the Entity will not be able to destroy other's domains. Within yours, though, it may twist the design to varying degrees, ruining carefully laid paths, staining blood on your walls, darkening what is most important to you no matter how much you might try to change it back. Conversely, its hold may only be strong enough to be a shadow in the corner of your eye. It all depends on the strength of your nightmares and how deeply its affected your mind.
Nonetheless, the message is clear: dreams are born of your mind and your mind is what the Horizon is formed from.
As menacing as the presence may be, the Entity will not be able to destroy other's domains. Within yours, though, it may twist the design to varying degrees, ruining carefully laid paths, staining blood on your walls, darkening what is most important to you no matter how much you might try to change it back. Conversely, its hold may only be strong enough to be a shadow in the corner of your eye. It all depends on the strength of your nightmares and how deeply its affected your mind.
Nonetheless, the message is clear: dreams are born of your mind and your mind is what the Horizon is formed from.
The Looking Glass
Whether you see the manifestation of your Entity in full or whether your domain is barely affected by its presence, all who enter the Horizon during the course of the week will find that they are once again plagued by a flash of a vision.
This is nothing like the glimpses into another's past, however. There are no headaches, no recognizable faces. This time, the vision will flicker in and out of focus like an old television trying to find the right signal, staticky and not quite clear at first. The flashes are brief, lasting only mere seconds, if that. In fact, at first, one might even mistake it for a trick of the mind. For some, this may be all they see. For others, it may return in another burst the next time they enter the Horizon, becoming clearer each time. It might appear as soon as you step in, or it might take an hour, two.
What you see will not be anything familiar. The scene itself will never change. It is a soundless meteoric picture. You may glimpse heavy winds stirring some sand, but you will not feel it on your skin nor hear the wind. You may see a flicker of the sea, but you will not smell the sea salt nor hear the crashing waves. All in all, this image which appears to you is abstract, strange, and impossible to understand in their absurdity - except for one part: the appearance of a single Arcana sign.
Intriguingly, this sign likely does not match your own. It might not even match anyone you know at all. It is an undeniable fixture, though, appearing emblazoned on the scene somewhere, not always in the same place, but always present: seared into the ground, carved on stone, scrawled on a page.
CODE
This is nothing like the glimpses into another's past, however. There are no headaches, no recognizable faces. This time, the vision will flicker in and out of focus like an old television trying to find the right signal, staticky and not quite clear at first. The flashes are brief, lasting only mere seconds, if that. In fact, at first, one might even mistake it for a trick of the mind. For some, this may be all they see. For others, it may return in another burst the next time they enter the Horizon, becoming clearer each time. It might appear as soon as you step in, or it might take an hour, two.
What you see will not be anything familiar. The scene itself will never change. It is a soundless meteoric picture. You may glimpse heavy winds stirring some sand, but you will not feel it on your skin nor hear the wind. You may see a flicker of the sea, but you will not smell the sea salt nor hear the crashing waves. All in all, this image which appears to you is abstract, strange, and impossible to understand in their absurdity - except for one part: the appearance of a single Arcana sign.
Intriguingly, this sign likely does not match your own. It might not even match anyone you know at all. It is an undeniable fixture, though, appearing emblazoned on the scene somewhere, not always in the same place, but always present: seared into the ground, carved on stone, scrawled on a page.
The six available images are below and each one is labeled with the Arcana sign your character will notice when they glimpse the scene. Choose any image you like, but only one may be selected. Characters do not need to be experiencing nightmares or the Entity to see these images.
As noted, the Arcanum on the image itself does not need to match your character's. At this time, there are no real details on what the Arcanum itself means or why it's appeared, though the possibilities are endless. Everyone in Abraxas possesses one, after all.
If you want to be surprised and assigned an image at random, comment here and we will do so for you!
As noted, the Arcanum on the image itself does not need to match your character's. At this time, there are no real details on what the Arcanum itself means or why it's appeared, though the possibilities are endless. Everyone in Abraxas possesses one, after all.
If you want to be surprised and assigned an image at random, comment here and we will do so for you!
no subject
As he rounds a corner he drags a hand down his face at just the wrong time, because while his eyes are covered Claude slams straight into someone headed the opposite direction. Though he stumbles back a step mostly in surprise he reaches out instinctively to help steady the woman he's run into, just in case he knocked her off balance thanks to his carelessness. ]
Sorry, I wasn't.... are you alright?
[ Two obvious things here: paying attention for the first, and that it's clear she very much isn't on the second. Not that Claude has any room to talk; when he'd looked in the mirror that morning his face was every bit as wan with exhaustion written all over it so things for him are also quite obviously Not Great. It's while looking at her he realizes her from in passing other times - or her hair, anyway, because it reminds him of his best friend from home whose hair is every bit as pink.
There's something else that catches his eye, though. Something he'd rather the two of them didn't have in common here in Abraxas, and Claude slowly rolls up one of his sleeves just enough to to show the outline of a hand around his forearm outlined in a blotchy bruise. ]
You got a fun souvenir too, I see.
[ Despite what would be a lighthearted comment under any other circumstances, Claude's tone is far from it now. Maybe what's chasing her isn't the same as his, but he understands the feeling. ]
no subject
It's not his fault. In the haze of fear and sleeplessness, every hand that's not her own looks like his. Too long and dangerous, something that she knows instinctively will cause harm.
(Why didn't she see it back then? How could she not?)
Julie doesn't even look at the stranger's face until after she sees his arm, the marks, and there is terror in her eyes when she does. She doesn't know this man, doesn't know why someone might be after him, but wasn't that what Flagg had wanted? Anyone he could get, anyone who might serve a purpose? ]
I don't -- Sorry, I don't know who you are.
[ Her voice is still so quiet, but her brow is knit, her gaze searching for familiarity. She doesn't recognize him as a Summoned (she's been in Abraxas a long time, and many of the face start to blend), and she doesn't recognize him as someone Flagg would have known. So why? ]
no subject
I-- right. That would've been a good place to start instead, wouldn't it?
[ This time his tone aims for straddling the fine line between disarmingly casual and flippancy in an attempt to... well, nothing is normal about whatever's happening to both of their arms, but. No time like the present to back up and fix what he can, hopefully. ]
My name's Claude. I just got here a little while ago, and I'm hoping getting mauled by my former professor each time I fall asleep isn't a regular occurrence around here.
[ It's a joke, but a bad one. A glance over to across the street confirms he's where he thought he was with his new navigation skills: near a cafe he's frequented since arriving but even more lately what with everything going on. ]
If it'd make you feel better, I spend a lot of time in there and they could probably confirm who I am. I don't mind, promise.
no subject
No, it's fine, sorry. I'm usually -- I'm Julie Lawry. [ She offers her hand like an afterthought, habit rather than genuine desire to greet him. ] I don't think it's your professor doin' that.
[ There's no elaboration. Technically, she is pretty sure it's not his professor, because she is assuming his professor is just a guy and not something powerful enough to jump worlds at will. Most professors are just guys, from her understanding. ]
Normally I'm happy to play welcome wagon, but right now's not the best time. Please tell me someone already gave y'all the newbie intro speech.
no subject
Handshakes, though; Claude's getting better at anticipating these after being introduced to them (among other things) upon arriving and there's only the slightest delay before he returns it. ]
It's nice to meet you, Julie. Though I'm sorry it's under these circumstances and not nicer ones.
[ Offered up with a slight smile since really, being crushed under the weight of nightmares likely wasn't on either of their to-do lists any time soon. Though that smile grows a little wider - and solely at his own expense rather than hers - over the idea of any kind of welcome speech. ]
You mean the one from the powers that be not so subtly encouraging us to join the military? I've heard better ones. [ All said casually enough, though Claude eyes a soldier passing on the other side of the street for a moment to make sure they keep walking. Just in case. ] Plus I've had enough of wars for a bit. This isn't the first time I've shown up somewhere I've known basically nothing about so I'll get by.
In all seriousness - past the identity verification part, that is - I was thinking about heading to a cafe to get out of the sun if you'd like to join for a bit. [ A pause where Claude evaluates Julie for just a moment, debating his next words before adding with some sincerity beyond his usual nonchalance, ] I've found being in a crowd helps with... all of this.
no subject
Julie isn't exactly the kind of person who's generally all that wary about going places with men she doesn't know. It's kind of a hallmark of hers, actually. And as much as she knows she probably should be at her wariest right now, she's also just so fucking exhausted, and going somewhere that she can sit with a cup of tea or something sounds pretty damn good. So she just nods at the suggestion of the cafe. ]
No, not that speech. Don't listen to anythin' these people tell you, especially about a war. Did a Summoned tell you anythin'? The truth about Abraxas, what actually happened to us?
no subject
Er, no. But I'm all ears if you're saying there's more to it than just whatever lines they're feeding us about the war.
[ Or whatever 'what actually happened to us' means, since there's any number of ways that statement could go. When they reach the cafe Claude holds the door open for her to pass through first, and decidedly does not look at the glass in it lest Byleth appear again. Not that there's a lack of chances for that to happen anyway, but he gestures to a table and pulls out a chair for her to be seated before he considers doing the same. Some nobility habits die hard even when somewhere infinitely more modern. ]
I'm guessing this isn't the kind of thing one would hear around the barracks, since they seem pretty intent on recruiting as many people in as possible.
[ Said as neutrally as can be managed, since he's lived through that short of thing before. Or been on the recruiting end of it by proxy through said professor trying to save former students and Claude's one time classmates, but that's probably not the same level of altruism going on here. ]
no subject
Unfortunately for Claude, that does not appear to be the case. This mess is what he gets.
Taking her seat, she rubs one side of her face. God, she's so tired. ]
Yeah, never listen to anythin' they say. And you should probably get the fuck outta the barracks if you ain't gonna enlist, which you really shouldn't do. [ Straightening up slightly, she lowers her voice so that she isn't heard over the general din of the cafe. Her voice is pretty easy to pick out of the crowd here. ] There isn't actually a war yet. Or I guess it's a kind of cold war, and it's all over the Singularity. They want us because we have special powers they don't. We can get close to it, and they can't. I was in the second group they ever summoned, when only Thorne knew how.
no subject
Noted on the barracks, and I've already made it out of there for that exact reason. I happened to move into Mags' Inn right before this started. Back home we'd just ended a war that'd been going on for years, so if I have a choice then I'd rather not be involved with this one.
[ As a server approaches he fixes them with a practiced smile and gestures for Julie to order whatever she'd like before putting in for some tea for himself. Claude waits until they're alone again before continuing that hushed conversation. ]
When you say you were in the second group... how many have there been and how long have you been here? And how'd the Free Cities figure out to do it?
[ That last question is asked more rhetorically than truly expecting Julie to have an answer, meant just so he can mentally bookmark it for something to look into later if the chance arises. He taps a couple fingertips on the tabletop idly while thinking, attention temporarily caught by some cafe-goers leaving before he looks back at her. ]
No wonder they wanted us to enlist so badly. Sounds a lot like they can't decide if they want us to be useful or expendable for whatever they have planned.
no subject
After ordering an iced tea (which she first makes sure comes with an entire sugar bowl), she watches the server leave before she continues. ]
Mm, I'm not sure exactly how many times they've all summoned. There's probably been close to... maybe a hundred fifty of us? Not everyone stays. Sometimes people leave and come back. Some people just disappear. [ The second question is actually easier. ] Free Cities figured it out when we got busted outta the dungeon. See, when it was just Thorne, they were throwin' some of us in the dungeon as soon as we got here. Said we were criminals and mistakes, but they never said what we did. No trials, nothin'. Then, they were gonna hang this one guy in public, and when everyone went out to do that, some guy that we'd never seen before -- and we ain't seen him since, either -- managed to do crazy impossible magic. He froze the whole kingdom except for us. Opened portals to Cadens and Solvunn, told us to make our choice within an hour, then disappeared. Some of the first people who went through the portals told the officials enough about the summoning to make it so they could replicate it.
[ She shrugs. She had taken an alternative path, run to another town in Thorne kingdom, where she hid and lived for six months before taking a black market portal to the Cities. ]
I think they want both. Some of us are more useful for knowledge or magic. Some people are better as weapons.
no subject
That's what they should be doing if they want to be smart about it. Might as well stack the deck as much in their favor as they can with whoever they can get to further whatever their plans are. It's not a bad strategy.
[ Not that it's meant to be praise; just a minimal amount of begrudging respect from a tactician looking at it practically. It's more than a little eerie to comprehend it likely wasn't pure chance any of them ended up here, that they might've been selected from afar in however the act of summoning them here works. If it wasn't for them now sitting here looking at each other across a table in some place neither of them knew existed before arriving, he'd be tempted to label it a ghost story made up to scare children into behaving. ]
If it wasn't for the fact that some of the Summoned were imprisoned for no reason, I'd say it sounds like Thorne almost wanted the summoning process to be known. Or maybe that they just wanted the other two to know they were doing it, and instead they got more than they bargained for when someone decided to set you free.
[ The server returns and sets a small teapot and mug for him, and places iced tea and... a sugar bowl down in front of Julie. Claude eyes the amount of sugar with considerable interest, but otherwise turns his attention back to pouring hot water into the mug before him and dropping in a sachet of mint tea he's come to favor. ]
You mentioned people leaving and coming back, or just disappearing, so it sounds like you've seen that a few times by now. With that many people who were summoned overall... I'm guessing it happens fairly often?
no subject
She misses Nott greatly. It's where she would have stayed, if it hadn't meant such complete isolation.
There's no hesitation when she shakes her head, furrows her brow. She doesn't believe that for a second. ]
No way they wanted anyone to know what they were doin'. Even the people they treated all nice were caged up like animals. No one was allowed outside the city walls except for a few, like... field trips? I dunno, it was stupid. But the whole thing was super hush-hush. Some of the folks upstairs didn't even know there were people in the dungeon.
[ The beverages are dropped off, and Julie begins what probably appears to be an extremely strange ritual to someone with a different cultural background. She opens the sugar bowl and begins spooning huge amounts of sugar into the glass, where it turns into a wet, sandy sludge. This doesn't seem to phase her -- once there's a solid quarter inch of sugar at the bottom of the glass, she sets the bowl aside. But then, instead of drinking it, she places one hand around the base, as if to lift it.
And then her hand, and the entire glass, briefly glow in rose pink, only a few shades darker than her hair. The liquid inside begins to bubble slightly, and the ice shows mild signs of melting. The sugar melts much more quickly, dissolves into the tea, and then she removes her hand. Her spoon clinks on the glass when she casually stirs it all together.
Proper sweet tea's hard to come by. ]
Mm, I would say that, once you're here for a certain length of time, it's a lot more rare to just disappear. It does happen, and it really sucks, but once you hit a certain point, you're more likely to be around for a while. But the first couple weeks after they summon? New meat disappears all the time before anyone really gets to know 'em.
no subject
Including what has to be some variety of magic though it's not any variety he recognizes. But then again, not recognizing things has been the theme of being dropped into Abraxas and having to relearn even the basics, so what's one more thing on the list? ]
Does that mean I shouldn't be surprised if it takes a few weeks to get to know anyone? Nightmares forcing us into it aside, of course, since that's convenient in the worst way.
[ It's asked cheerfully, mostly because it would make sense if people wanted to keep their distance even just beyond not knowing the first thing about someone new showing up when there's been what sounds like a long cycle of just that. That bit of self-preservation is he understands just from life in general. Losing someone isn't easy in any capacity - a lesson he'd learned over and over again in war despite learning it long before that too.
'Disappearing' and its occasional permanence is still a topic he wants to dive into a little more despite it probably meaning exactly what Julie's described, nor is that the last thing he wants to ask about Cadens and the Free Cities as a whole, but. There's something more pressing on his mind now, something he's too curious about even for the sake of politeness, so - ]
I have to ask. Does that still count as tea at this point? [ He can't help a grin as he nods to her glass, teasing but also seriously asking in what's hopefully a lighter interlude to the much heavier topics hanging overhead and still lurking from the nightmares. ] Mostly I'm asking because I know someone who'd love to make exactly whatever it is you just did with her tea. She's a mage too, if that's part of it.
no subject
[ She looks down at her glass, like she had not really expected him to care. It's not that she's unaware that sweet tea is apparently a mystery to everyone in the universe outside of one geographical and cultural group in America -- of course she knows that. It's just that most of them refuse to engage unless it's directly to insult what is an obviously superior product (and she doesn't let them put the sugar in themselves because no one ever gets it right). ]
Of course it's still tea. It's just sweet tea. You're supposed to put the sugar in while you brew it, so it actually melts down, but that basic part of cookin' somehow confuses everyone else in the world. I don't even know how many times I been handed a glass of iced tea with a bunch of sugar packets, like that makes any sense. If I couldn't heat it with a thought, I'd just be drinkin' grainy cold tea. [ She sighs. ] But it was a problem in my old world, too, so I don't know what I expected outta this place. At least there's magic here.
no subject
[ Still - as he'd said, Claude's definitely making a note of that to take back to Lysithea since he's pretty sure the mage puts an equal amount of sugar in her tea. And in every single cup, at that. Not that he knows when that'll be since he's piecing together a rather vague timeline while they've been talking, and, well: it's not sounding like anyone who stays past that critical mark goes home any time soon.
That's something to dwell on later. There's a more interesting piece of information in there that won't cause him to have an existential crisis in the present. ]
Does magic not exist at all where you're from, then? [ Remembering his own tea, Claude takes a drink before setting his mug down and leaning back in his chair thoughtfully. ] There's different spells and applications for it where I'm from - like the ice for food, or some ones for healing since that makes up a large portion of medicine - but I haven't heard much about what it's like here yet. Or seen it, really, besides now.
no subject
[ Not that she's an expert on appliances or electricity or magic, but she knows that making ice can't be as complicated as he lays it out. Even before iceboxes, people managed to make cool drinks by putting bottles in rivers, right?
It doesn't matter. She's just curious. She also doesn't comment on the fact that she finds most hot tea rather gross, and tends to drink it only because this world doesn't seem to have coffee. ]
Nah, my world didn't have any magic. I mean, we had the idea of it, so it was in a lot of stories and movies and stuff, but it was, y'know, fiction. We did get a lotta stuff right, though, so maybe there was some magic thousands of years ago that died out. By my time, there wasn't none at all. We had to do everythin' with technology, so most of the things this world has are really old for me. Like they ain't invented TVs or phones or the internet yet. Not even cars. I guess there's less reason to push forward.
[ After all, if necessity is the mother of invention, it stands to reason that a world chock-full of magic would find itself in much less need than one without. She takes a sip from her glass and shakes her head a little. ]
There's a few different kinds of magic in Abraxas. Here in Cadens, they only like New Magic, where it's combined with their technology, but it's not as idiot-proof as most of the other kinds, and they don't like magic itself all that much anyway. They just ain't figured out how to wean themselves off of it completely. But I didn't always live in Cadens, so I learned a different kind of magic. That's all.
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[ It probably wouldn't do to get into any details about the Church of Seiros now - both because he's decidedly tired of thinking about said church and from what he can tell, it doesn't make a difference here either way. Except that maybe he shouldn't dabble in casual blasphemy without knowing a little more first, though that's less interesting than hearing about technology. ]
Am I telling on myself as also being really old if I don't know what any of those things are? [ Asked with a grin before he takes another drink from his mug, then shrugs one shoulder. ] Unless something in there is like trucks, because I did learn what one was thanks to the Horizon. The rest of the things you mentioned, or what I'm assuming are things, we don't have those either. Cadens seems more advanced than where I'm from just from what I've seen so far.
[ Though Claude does spare a glance around the cafe, partially to check that no one is casually eavesdropping on them as patrons have continued to shuffle in and out from tables around, but also because there's some comfort in cafes being just about the same everywhere. For olden times, anyway. ]
That's an interesting thought about magic making its way out of a society after there's no need for it thanks to having everything else available. If that's the case, Fodlan's a long way from that. [ Though the potential need for clarification registers with him a second later, and he adds: ] That's the continent where I came here from though I'm more specifically from one nation on it. Even Derdriu, the capital there and of my House's territory, was considered advanced since we used the seas surrounding it to our benefit but that's not saying much in comparison.
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[ She knows it's not the same for everyone who's from a modern world, but the Horizon is the only place in Abraxas that she's truly comfortable. Being thrown into a world that's centuries behind her own is disorienting and frustrating. In the Horizon, she can have all the things that she had spent her whole life relying on. ]
I think most people come from worlds where different countries are kinda at different places. Everyone I've met from modern Earths, like mine or real close to it, is mostly from America. It was one of the biggest, richest, most powerful countries in the history of the world. But it was so big that it was more like fifty kingdoms all smushed together to make one country, so things got pretty complicated all the time. My world had lots of countries that were way poorer and behind us in like, technology and military and stuff.
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Fifty kingdoms all together in one place sounds... daunting. [ That gets a short laugh to go with it since he's pretty positive that's an understatement. ] Fodlan just had three sharing one continent and we still ended up at odds for years. Technically only one of them was called a kingdom before but the whole continent is united as one now after the war, or was when I was last there.
[ Not a lot he can do about it while here in Abraxas either way, so Claude idly spins his mug on the tabletop slowly as he thinks over the rest of what Julie's told him. ]
Even without really knowing anything about it, it'd be hard to think your country could be anything but powerful with that much contained in it size and otherwise. There's only a handful of other countries known to exist around Fodlan, and only one other rather powerful country plus another smaller one actuallly shares borders with it. The rest are all across different seas, but from what I've researched they're all farther ahead in technology, magic, you name it, compared to Fodlan.
The main religion there discouraged information being shared across borders, not to mention it didn't particularly want visitors from anywhere outside it either. So compared to your home, the situation's almost the reverse in mine. [ A slight pause as Claude realizes something else. ] Though not unlike here, it seems, based on how much the Free Cities made it clear at the outpost that we'd better stay within their borders.
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America basically ran the whole world. We had our military everywhere, all over different countries. Everyone listened to our music, watched our shows, paid attention to our government. If somethin' bad happened in America, people all over the world felt it. We had lots of tourism and immigration, too. They called us a "melting pot".
[ Not that Julie had ever seen much of that, given where she grew up and what happened, but factually, she is aware that most places were not quite as homogenous as what she had experienced. And she grew up in an internet-connected world, obsessed with the idea of New York and Los Angeles, well aware of the kinds of diversity those places were home to.
She shakes her head a little, takes another sip of her tea. ]
No one is allowed to cross the borders here without permission. [ Not that that had stopped her. Cross-faction travel is possible, but you need plenty of gold, a willingness to break the law, and someone who's willing to risk opening that portal. ] Mostly only merchants and politicians get the go-ahead, but even that's pretty rare, and usually things go through Solvunn first, since they're more neutral. I think they're the only place with lots of religious people, at least that I know of. The religion in this world ain't anythin' like the kinds back in mine, so I can't really say.
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I like the sound of it being a melting pot. Plus the tourism and immigration, since that's what I'm hoping to achieve in Fodlan someday though it'll... take a while to get there, I'm sure. There's no reason for borders to be closed so tightly when we're all better off by getting to know people who live elsewhere with different ways than the ones we might be familiar with.
[ It's not lost on Claude that this also applies to here, in its own way. Or maybe just for him since he's learned a great deal not just from talking to others, but in this conversation. Most of it he's filing away for later as questions to ask the other Summoned so as to not overwhelm her with everything he wants to know, or as topics to tackle in one of the libraries.
As Julie describes the ways things travel around Abraxas, Claude glances down and tries to picture the map of the continent he'd studied to commit where everything was to memory. For an added visual - a holdover from planning war tactics - he shuffles a few things around the tabletop for an extremely abstract interpretation: his mug for Solvunn's rough location, the teapot for Thorne, and a saucer for the Free Cities. Now the route makes more sense to him, that Solvunn would act between the two in a function much as the Alliance had served while Claude had crafted their careful veneer of neutrality in the war. ]
It makes sense Thorne and the Free Cities would want a filter for what goes where instead of accepting a direct delivery. And I assume so that no one goes too close to the Singularity without any of the three knowing about it first.
[ But even with those enforced borders, Julie was still able to travel from Thorne to here, from the sound of it. Claude contemplates that while studying his questionable map and debates asking. Then again, maybe that's a 'don't ask the first time you meet someone' topic. Instead he gestures to a pocket of empty space roughly meant to signify the mysterious formation. ]
Shame it's not any closer. I'd be interested in seeing it in person sometime but it sounds like getting there is a bit of an ordeal.
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[ She looks at his little model, her brow furrowed and her nose wrinkled. ] No one goes to the Singularity at all, not really. The natives are like, disintegrated if they get too close. We had this summit thing out near the Singularity a few months ago, in the neutral territory, but good luck gettin' through the fuckin' desert without portals and official help. Thorne took the first group of Summoned out there once, too, but never again.
[ Setting the sugar bowl where the Singularity should be, she shrugs. ] But you don't need to go to it physically. If a summoned goes in the crater any time other than the Dimming, we just get sent to the Horizon. But if you go to the Singularity in the Horizon, it's the same thing. You can walk right up to it. No reason to sneak on a long-ass, hot journey when you could be there in a few minutes.
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[ Claude says it slowly, and repeating someone isn't really the best impression to give of understanding what they meant, but - that description is oddly fascinating. More so when paired with being told about the summit and Thorne once taking a group there, though he definitely understands physically going to it is out of the question as Julie sets the sugar bowl down to complete the map. Mostly. ]
That's probably a sign I should spend some more time looking around the Horizon. I've only been back a couple times since... [ He trails off, unsure of his exact feelings on it existing. Just one more mildly overwhelming part of ending up here in the end and yet another thing to tackle at some point, so eventually he shrugs one shoulder with an at ease expression back in place to gloss right over it. ] Anyway, it being a much shorter trip in there is reason enough to go look at it instead of trying to plan some long journey. I've had enough trips crossing entire deserts there and back at home to last me for a lifetime, I think. And that was without portals but flying on wyverns to make traveling faster, but I've learned they don't exist here. Or if they do, not as I know them.
[ Better to not think of anything left behind; looking forward to the present and future only has always been a handy coping method of Claude's and it'll factor in again here. Talking all of this out's been enough of a distraction to forget part of the present for time being too even as he's sure the nightmares are still lurking waiting to sink claws into them both at the first opportunity. But something else occurs to him while he studies the tabletop and he looks up to Julie again. ]
Thank you for telling me all this, by the way. Especially since you didn't have to after I, [ with a wry smile, ] accidentally accosted you out of nowhere.
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[ She sounds blasé. Mostly, she just thinks it's a dumb idea anyway, and if a bunch of people want to kill themselves over some stupid theory, that's their business. Human sacrifice didn't satisfy the Aztec gods, but that never stopped the Aztecs, so.
Her brow furrows a bit. Julie has never understood those among them who distrust the Horizon. For her, it is the safest, most comfortable place in this entire world. But then again, most people do not have the same connection or abilities there that she does. ]
I don't know about wyverns. My world didn't have monsters. But there are plenty of monster hunters skulkin' around the city, you can ask one of 'em. Anyway, best I understand it, the only difference between the Singularity in the Horizon and the one out in the desert is more about the land around it. Not the Singularity on its own.
[ Julie frowns and shakes her head a little, taking a sip from her glass. ] You don't need to thank me. It's better for all of us that y'all newbies hear the truth than eat up their official line of bullshit.
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[ To say the least.
Monster hunters existing is an interesting tidbit, though he's mostly piecing together what that could mean in context considering bandits and the occasional demonic beast are most of what he's familiar with. If there's monsters about here then at least the Free Cities wasn't exaggerating (maybe) about what's out in the desert when trying to keep them on base, but that'll be something else to confirm whenever he crosses paths with one of those hunters. For now, at the idea that he doesn't need to thank her, Claude studies Julie for a minute before shrugging again. ]
Maybe so, but I'll thank you anyway. You're right that it's good for more information to be out there than whatever they want us to believe, no matter who the 'they' in question is, but that doesn't mean everyone would share it.
[ Like Claude himself, maybe, if they were talking about something back in Fodlan where it might prove to be an advantage instead of somewhere that they're on a mostly even playing field of disadvantages, and intentionally so from the Free Cities' view if they don't cooperate with the military. ]
When you say it's better for all of us... does that mean everyone tends to work together here? Of everyone brought in from somewhere else, that is.
[ Either way - whether they or don't - makes sense to him, but. It'd be nice to know if he'll have to rely mostly on himself when it comes to things beyond the basics. ]
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