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year 5, quarter 3
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Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Oct 1, 2020 15:32:41 GMT -6
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For a moment, everything had been going so well. It seemed that Quistis had solved the puzzle of the strange room (following Garnet's suggestion, which made her feel significantly less useless), and they were making progress. But then they realised Bartz was gone, and everything suddenly felt more solemn. The boy had seemed completely out of place, but no more out of place than an Alexandrian Queen, Garnet thought. But with him gone, they had the option to push on or turn back, and Aerith chose to turn back. Garnet felt a knot of guilt. She liked to think she was compassionate and kind, she should have gone back too. It felt like Alexandria all over again, when they fled and left Steiner, Beatrix and Freya to defend her. To fight for her. To maybe even die for her. She hated that feeling. She hadn't wanted to feel it ever again.
But here she was. Aerith and Bartz staying behind so that they might press on. They had to make it worthwhile.
"The boats appear magical and we do not know what we shall face up ahead. We should take one boat each," Garnet suggested, climbing into turtle boat, similar to the one Tellah was in. For a moment, she remembered Madain Sari, and sitting in the small boat so much like the one she had ridden to the Mist Continent as a child, and all the memories that came back with it. Zidane had joined her as it drifted. She wondered if she'd have made it back to land if he hadn't. Boats were common transport in Alexandria, but she had never had to control one herself. "I suppose we'll see where they take us. We should be ready for anything. There are only a few of us left, and if we are attacked, we are all mages..." Garnet fretted nervously. Quistis at least was a mage, she thought. Tellah definitely was. And Garnet knew she was, and worse, Ramuh would be useless with all this water around. Her only hope was that they found their way across.
Through the wind, and the chill, and [break]the rain And the storm, and the flood
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It seemed that they lost a party member during the climb. Bartz fell into the tumultuous water in his toad form. Quistis felt panic well in her. The blond woman wanted to comfort Aerith and aid in her search. It was going to eat at her for not going to help her. But how many lives would be at stake if they didn’t do what they came for? How many sailors risked their lives to get them here for hope they could save their own families? Quistis felt herself quiver in her own softness. She made the hard decision to stay and not help Aerith search. It would make her worry the rest of the adventure.
[break][break] Quistis realized she did not need her flame to light the way. The magic stones on the wall lit the way in its soft blue-green haze. Even the water had that softish blue glow to it. Was it magic or bioluminescence? It didn’t matter for now. Perhaps there would be time later to find out. The smell was fresh from the flowing of the endless water. Which was odd. Weren’t they originally in the ocean? So where did this fresh water come from?
[break][break] Another mystery to be solved later. For now, their primary objective was to stop the storm and the horrors it brought.
[break][break] She found herself holding her breath as she looked up into the eyes of kings and warriors. The mosaic itself must be absolutely priceless. She needed to get the scholars in here at some point, once she secured the way for them. The sea serpent reminded her of Leviathan as well, hearing Tellah whisper its name. She could not help but wonder who this lady in white was. Was she or leviathan the primary dedication of the shrine? “Leviathan, indeed. Is it the guardian spirit of this place?” Or was it a weapon used by the woman. As a guardian force, Leviathan could be used as the wielder saw fit. Once they proved their worth to the guardian force that is.
[break][break] She would have to live to find out.
[break][break] She walked treaded carefully following the water way to the lake. It was massive and still, with neither the channel not aquatic life to break its purity. It was almost like an unmoving mirror that extended out into the darkness. How exciting it was to go into the unknown. Quistis’s curiosity wanted to know what secrets the lake and the darkness held.
[break][break] Tellah had already picked the dolphin boat and pointed out the crystals that moved the boats. But it seemed there needed to be two people per boat, since the contraptions were spaced so far apart. Both he and Garnet were already picking their own boats in hopes they could move it on their own. “Maybe we could each take one on our own, but it will require some way to have access to both ends of the vessel without two people. Let me see if I can find a way to make this work for one person...”
[break][break] She quickly jogged to the edge of the water and reached into her leather pouch at her hip. She pulled out an empty glass vial and filled it with this bizarre fresh water. Maybe it’s properties could be studied at the University. She re-corked the vial, and stuck it safely back in her leather pouch. With a few splashing steps, she hopped over the edge of the fish boat - a beautiful silver and gold koi. She studied the button with swirls and then the rudder in the back.
[break][break] She was unsure if this would work, but it was worth a shot.
[break][break] She removed Save the Queen from her hip. Made from the finest golden malboro tentacle leather, spikes, energy crystals and star fragments one could offer and fashioned to look like a golden serpent. And now she would merely use it to control a rudder. How quaint.
[break][break] She took the head of the snake and hinged its neck to lock it against its body. The roughness of the spikes and star fragments held it in place. Quistis stood at the head of her boat near the crystal, and gave her whip a test pull. As long as she pulled left or right, and not directly forward, the rudder would shift the opposite way.
[break][break] She pressed her hand to the crystal’s swirl to try to activate the boat. If that did not work, she would try a whisper of the water spell to activate the boat.
[break][break]
If she could figure out how this boat worked, maybe she could help the other two with theirs.
[attr="class","tlbody"]Only after he sat in the boat did Tellah notice that one of the women, Aerith, had turned around. Apparently she was searching for the boy. The sage scoffed inwardly, assuming there was no way she’d find a single frog in the entire ocean. Then he turned his gaze to the remaining party members and adjusted his glasses. Three. That’s all that was left. There were plenty of boats, but Garnet’s words struck true with him too. All three of them were magic users, it appeared. They had to hope that whatever lay in wait ahead wouldn’t be too much of a challenge for their magic. [break][break] Garnet got into her own boat but Tellah quickly noticed that wasn’t going to work out too well. He was about to comment on the need to partner up somehow when Quistis began to fiddle with a third. He raised one thick, bushy eyebrow and watched as she worked with her whip, managing to control the rudder while standing at the helm. She pressed the crystal swirling at the head. Something magical activated at her touch and hers began to drift forward through the placid, dark lake. [break][break] Tellah did not have a whip. A staff wouldn’t exactly work the same way. Given enough time, he probably could have come up with a solution. But there was one that was far easier. He climbed out of his boat and sat in the back of Garnet’s instead. “She can pilot hers alone. We’ll go together. If you command the crystal, I’ll steer us with the rudder.” [break][break] Assuming the girl agreed, the second boat was in motion following Quistis through the eerie cavern.
The party arranges itself, the boats glow with light, and you start forward into the unknown.
The lake parts for you in silent ripples as you sail over the water. The engine is silent. The crystal hums beneath your palm as you urge it onward. The rudder steers without resistance. The boat’s glow lights the space above and below as you journey into the darkness. For a time, the view gives you nothing to look at, and then you see it -- an underwater city.
You see twisted spires reaching towards the surface and domed buildings piled atop each other like stacks of coral. Worn stone links the sections in elevated paths. All around it is life. Kelp, jellyfish, and a school of glittering fishes pass below you. From the city’s center is a strange, ethereal tree that glows with a brilliant blue light. Its ghostly branches curl on themselves. The algae lining them says in a nonexistent current.
You sail above it all like a bird in flight, and as you pass over the tree, you hear a strange sound. An echoing sound. A song.
It’s in no language that you’ve ever known or could ever comprehend, and yet it seemed to reach towards you and embed itself into your heart. It’s sweet. Intoxicating. It muddies your mind and gives you a strange sense of longing and loss. You know what it is to lose a home -- a home like the city below. It calls to you.
’Won’t you stay? There is nothing behind you. Stay, stay, stay.’
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Oct 11, 2020 5:29:58 GMT -6
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Garnet looked a little sheepish when Tellah climbed on board her boat, pointing out they both needed to work together to drive it. She had assumed it would run on magic, and realised despite her experience with boats, she didn't actually know much about piloting one. She sat at the front, with the crystal, as the boat slowly made its way into the darkness...
The waters were eerily calm and still, and something about the complete quiet reminded Garnet of Terra. The water hadn't flowed at all on Terra, it had been utterly still as well, and not for the first time, she wondered if there was a connection between the two places. This place didn't look like Terra, but interdimensional travel? How they had all come to be here? That sounded like Terra...
And then slowly, something appeared, just below the surface. At first, Garnet thought it was just a rock formation in the low light, but as her eyes adjusted, she realised it was the spire of a building. And then she saw another. And another. She leaned over the edge of the water, and saw through the crystal clear surface the remains of a city below, flooded and devastated, hidden beneath the water. She could make out the domes and the passageways and what must have once been houses as fish swam between them, glowing softly. Her mind instantly tried to imagine people living there, walking among the passageways, living their lives... All gone now. It reminded her of Madain Sari. Looking between the devastated buildings and trying to imagine the society that had lived there; her society. Trying to combine her imagination with memories to get a picture of life there...
She thought back to the images they had seen before building the boats. Leviathan had been there... "On my world, Leviathan was... an Eidolon so powerful that the people of Madain Sari... summoners..." She paused. "...my people... sealed it away because they couldn't control it. I... awoke it eventually. It aided me in my battle against the forces that wanted to harm our world. But it would... destroy its enemies with a tidal wave. Do you think.... Leviathan did this?" she asked, peering into the water. Was Leviathan capable of such destruction in the wrong hands?
Slowly, the sense of longing, the thoughts of Madain Sari, of her life lost, began to grow in her. She looked down, her eyes unable to be drawn from the city below. She thought she could see the people, moving between the buildings. She thought she could see the market and hear the sound of alien voices and even smell the smells of food drifting up from below. She thought again of everything she had lost. Not just Madain Sari, her real home, but Alexandria when it had been devastated, her father when she had been young, her mother more recently, and now her home once again... Zidane...
She felt she had spent her life losing things. Losing homes. Losing places she felt comfortable. Maybe it was why she had only really ever felt at peace when travelling with Zidane. Maybe she didn't really have a home. But down below, she sensed that this could be home. This was somebody's home. They could stay here, couldn't they? Make it their home.
She knew something was wrong. That feeling... That longing, yes she knew it, but not for this place. She'd never been here. This place was under water and destroyed. Tainted by a deep sadness, but this wasn't her home. This wasn't where she belonged. And yet she couldn't shake the feeling. This was a place she'd return to some day. Wasn't it? With great effort, she tore her eyes away from the city below. Nothing else. She would forget it. She would push it away. A place to call home.
"We have... to keep moving. Don't look at the city..." she advised, with great difficulty, as if she could tell it had some magical hold over them. As if she knew they had to keep moving forward...
Through the wind, and the chill, and [break]the rain And the storm, and the flood
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Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Too smoothly. There was an eerie stillness to the water and the boats were very quiet. It seemed the other two had taken to sharing a boat, which made it easier for Quistis to watch over them in this unsettling peace.
[break][break] But it seemed they were not the one that needed watching over.
[break][break]
At first, there was nothing but darkness and the pale blue lights of their boats that reflected off the water’s surface. It almost felt like time had no relevance here. There was nothing to mark its passage as they seemed to be floating through an abyss. It made noticing the underwater city so much more shocking. [break][break]
It was beautiful and strange. Primal and ethereal. It seemed that what appeared to be a dead lake now teemed with sea life. A promising new world was below them and Quistis’s curiosity was piqued. Her eyes spotted the tree and it seemed to beckon to them.
[break][break] There really was nothing behind them, was there? Her hand left the crystal as she moved to the edge of her boat. Her blue eyes glew in the light, glazed over in the city’s trance. What did she have left at home? What did it look like after a sorceress’s rampage? Would the Garden be the same and would there be room for her? Had working there really been her calling?
[break][break] Had she not already admitted to herself she didn’t want to return to her original home? That maybe there was some place for her to find herself here?
[break][break] The strange beckoning crept into her heart. She felt a pull to the city below. It seemed vibrant and full of new mysteries and discoveries. It couldn’t hurt to at least stay a little while just to have a look.
[break][break] Garnet broke the silence. Her voice seemed to roll across the water and get lost in the distance. “Hm?” She had felt this sleepy feeling before hadn’t she? When she was pulled into the dream world back when she worked with the others. She could not resist its pull then either.
[break][break] “I don’t know if Leviathan did this. But the guardian is capable of great forces.” She tried shaking the blissful haze out of her head. Did talking help? Her own voice seemed an echo in her head.
[break][break] Her eyes fell on the surface again. The city was still there.
[break][break] Garnet advised that they keep moving. Zell was counting on Quistis to get him back home. Those men outside the shrine were hoping she’d help their families too. The University of Magi was also hoping for positive results. And she still had to help Balthier with renovations on his ship. Could there be someone else out there depending on her to get through this?
[break][break] She had to stop being selfish of her own needs. She did have something behind her. People who were relying on her.
[break][break] She closed her eyes and pressed a hand back on the crystal of her ship. Though she had a feeling the city would not let them ignore them so easily. “Be on your guard.” She warned.
[attr="class","tlbody"]Tellah steered the boat carefully across the placid lake. The cavern was nearly silent, save for the gentle hum of the crystal at the stern of the boat. A soft light illuminated the area directly around them. There was nothing to see, not for a while. Until their little boat passed over something that caught both his and Garnet’s eyes. A city beneath the surface of the lake. It was beautiful and ethereal, with crumbling architecture that hinted at a once glorious civilization. The simple denizens of the water, fish and coral and a kelp forest, had taken over the ruins. Tellah stared down into the depths, enchanted by the sights below them. There was something that pulled at him, beckoned him beneath the waves. [break][break] He barely realized he’d stopped steering the boat. They’d stopped over the ruins of the city and both he and Garnet peered over the side. He was vaguely aware that Quistis had stopped moving her own boat as well. The two women seemed as entranced as he was by the watery city. But Garnet spoke softly, about Leviathan. That named jarred Tellah back to reality, ever so slightly. So… Leviathan existed in both of their worlds? The Eidolon sounded much as she described, though he had no idea who the Madain Sari were. The sage tried to think of something important or useful to say, but the city drew him back in. [break][break] It seemed to offer him a home and a sense of being. Maybe even hinted at happiness long forgotten after the deaths of his wife and daughter. There was promise beneath the lake’s surface… And a longing so intense he almost jumped overboard. But… no. Even as Garnet cautioned them to keep moving, Tellah was dragging his eyes away from the twisting coral-encrusted spires below them. This strange magical city wasn’t home. Amira and Anna wouldn’t be waiting for him. There was nothing there… [break][break] Next to their boat, Quistis seemed to be having her own struggle against the magical pull of the city. “Onward,” Tellah agreed gruffly. He didn’t comment on the tears that leaked from his eyes at the effort of returning to steering the boat. He didn’t even try to wipe them away, just focused his gaze forward and waited for Garnet to activate the crystal once more. He was on his guard, waiting for something to burst from the deeps to claim them as they turned away from the pull of the city.
The boats sail quietly over the water’s surface. The city below passes by -- a brilliant, ephemeral memory. The song echoes with a haunting melody, continuing on until it is but a whisper on still water.
You continue into darkness.
After what could be minutes or a quarter of an hour, you see a mist rising from the water’s surface. It rolls from the cave’s endless black ceiling in a foggy veil. Once again, there is a sense of magic. You can see nothing beyond that veil, and as you approach, it seems to whisper a song of its own. This time, there are no words and no emotions which reach you. Only a shiver of power as you pass beneath the mist.
You have reached your destination.
The far bank comes into view, lit by more of rune stones which set the scene in their blue-green glow. There is a dock for the boats leading to a smooth stone landing. A set of double stairs rise up and join together at the entrance to a temple set into the cave wall. An archway frames the shadowed entrance, and as the party approaches, each sigil along its edge lights in turn.
Inside is a circular room made of impossibly smooth stone. Six small staircases frame the room’s edge, equidistant to each other. At the top of these steps are six rectangular borders similar to the opening gate. These are currently shut and cannot be opened.
At the room’s center is a well. It is filled to the brim with clear water. Beyond that is a stone dais, ornate and crumbling. Steps lead to a center pedestal, but that pedestal is vacant.
This is the heart of the water shrine -- the resting place of the crystal. And yet, the crystal is missing.
As the party approaches, the well water lights with its own strange glow. Looking inside reveals not the user’s reflection, but a view of the same circular shrine as though from above. You see the well below you, the six staircases, and the dais. However, this mirrored dais holds a brightly shining crystal lit in pure and vibrant blue. Though you don’t see yourselves in this faux reflection, you do see three shadowed figures standing vigil at the crystal’s perimeter.
One is shapely and feminine with a strangely spiked head. One is heavy-set with what looks like horns protruding from both sides of her head. The last is an indistinct woman with long hair grown to her waist. Together, they form a barrier to the crystal in their mirror world.
The water isn’t wet to the touch. Your hand passes through, and though you can see the water ripple, you feel air below.
Post by Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on Oct 14, 2020 14:20:17 GMT -6
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Garnet didn't quite know what to think as they made their way into the temple. Her heels echoed on the stone floor despite the distant sound of haunting song, but apart from that, the temple seemed so deserted. It felt cold and damp, and Garnet began to wonder how far they had travelled, how far they were from the boat, from escape, whether or not they were somewhere far beneath the sea, all alone. She began to wonder if Bartz and Aerith had been the lucky ones, heading back, but she knew in her heart luck had nothing to do with it. This was a thing that had to be done, and she was intending to do it.
Slowly, she realised that oddly the Water Temple didn't remind her so much of the Water Temple back on Gaia, but rather, Ipsen's Castle. Mysterious, somehow difficult to understand, and filled with mystery. She hadn't explored Ipsen's Castle much; it wasn't friendly to magic users, but it still reminded her of how she pictured it. Especially how Zidane had explained it to her. Again, thoughts of Terra came to her. Was this Shrine not of this world? That would make so much sense, but she didn't want to imagine...
She peered into the well, staring at the strange reflection within. She could see the crystal, but the room below as well. Or the same room? She looked up to try and see where the water was looking from, but she couldn't make it out. She looked back at the figures below. Shadowy and indistinct though they were, there were three of them. Three that looked very familiar. "They're us..." Garnet said quietly. "Maybe not... really us, but some kind of... reflection. A shadow?" The spikey hair was Quisitis's hair, Garnet was fairly sure, as were the 'horns' on Tellah's head. "Do you think...?" Garnet tried moving, somewhat robotically, holding out a hand and then another hand to see if the shadowy figures copied her. "Perhaps the Crystal is really there, and it's an illusion. Or maybe we need to lower ourselves down through the water?" she suggested. She removed one of her gloves, and reached in to touch the water, not feeling it at all. As if it was a portal they could pass through. But... it seemed quite a fall. She wished Zidane was there again. He'd have leapt in without a second thought, but Garnet was afraid the fall would be too far. "Was there any rope with the boats? Perhaps we could tie it somewhere and climb down?" Garnet wasn't entirely confident climbing down a swinging rope, but she was fairly confident she could do it. She'd done worse, hadn't she?
Wait, she had forgotten. She was being a fool. She still had her float spell. That would carry them down. "Wait, I could cast float. We could jump in, it would carry us down safely. If... that's the right path. And not a reflection. And not a trap. What... do you think?" she looked to the others for confirmation. It was a plan, she thought. Quite a good plan. But it wasn't fool proof. It could go very wrong. Zidane would have just leapt. Garnet thought that perhaps she should. Usually when she got an idea, she went for it, whether it was right or wrong, but recently she seemed to be second guessing herself a lot more, and she was much more cautious. It came with the burden of being a Queen, she liked to think, but the real truth was it came from her adventures. So often she had made the wrong decision, she felt, she had made a mistake and had to be saved by Zidane, she wasn't sure she trusted her decisions anymore. Not without checking with the others, at least...
Don’t know why there’s no sun [break]up in the sky. Stormy weather.
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The whispered song of the sunken city caused everyone to fall into a melancholic brooding. Even when the song seemed to fade off into the distance, Quistis’s mood still had not lifted. But she had to push her feelings aside for now. Though, seeing nothing but darkness made her wonder if they were supposed to go into the underwater city. Had they missed their chance? [break][break] Then, when doubt was upon her, there was something in the distance. There seemed to be a rolling mist that caused shivers down her spine. It was an unnatural fog that felt electric with its magical power. This had to be it. [break][break] The mist cleared to a vision of ethereal beauty. Her eyes followed the blue-green haze to see the entrance of a temple before her, as they pass under an archway. The architecture was beautiful and well designed. The runes provided them light and she could not help if they needed and it felt that each of the six stairwells held what were dormant gateways. But what made Quistis’s heart sink was the missing water crystal. Were they too late? [break][break] But much like the crystals, the well seemed to signal them to it. With not much more of a lead to go on, Quistis silently obeyed its summon. She took note of the differences of the shrine in the reflection and found it curious. Her hand passed through without so much of a resistance and no moisture soaked her gloves. [break][break] Though she was surprised Garnet pointed out the figures in the well were them. “Is that what we look like to you?” She teased softly to lighten the situation. She hummed thoughtfully as she studied the well. “I left the ropes I brought with me at the ladder.” Quistis said softly, and she gave a small shrug. “Didn’t you say you had…” But Garnet was already remembering she had float magic. “I think it would certainly help if you wanted to jump in.” [break][break] Quistis was already lifting herself over the edge of the well. She was unafraid. With the power of her guardian forces, her magical stores available to her, and her blue magic, she was confident she would be fine. “I can dual cast, so I will jump in first.” As she said that she made arcane gestures to wave magic in front of her. First, was a whisper of an aura spell. Her skin began to glow and pulse with an unnatural light. She could feel her adrenaline rise with her spirits. A soft breath left her at the invigorating feeling. This spell would allow her to trigger her blue magic more frequently, if needed. She began the weaving of her next spell, “I can cast float on myself. If the image the well shows is what’s beyond the portal, you should be able to keep an eye on me and see what happens.” [break][break] Her second spell cast, and she found herself lifted off the well with her own float spell. Quistis dealt with real sorceresses with odd time and space distortions. Jumping into the unknown and seeing what happens was merely part of her job then. Sometimes even forced upon her in dreams and sleep spells. This was just another one of those blind jumps. [break][break] “I’ll see you on the other side.” She gave them a reassuring wink and a smile to help boost their spirits. [break][break] Then she pushed off the edge of the well and entered the image.
