2017-08-26: The Way Forward

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=============================<* Baskar Colony *>==============================

Baskar Colony is the closest thing to a capital for the Baskar Tribe on Ignas. Nestled high in the northwestern mountains, this small village is where many of the Baskar elders dwell. The homes here are simple but imposing structures, often carved into the walls of the mountains themselves. The scant wood here he goes to providing fire and warmth for cold nights. Provisions are limited to what is given by families who live here, as there aren't any dedicated stores; similarly, no inns or hotels provide respite. However, the elders' knowledge will sometimes lure the determined and desperate to this place.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKKhBT0A1pE

<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.

Elder Halle has followed the events at the Guardian Temple with concern. Her faith is something often tested, and she is reticent to turn to outsiders. The Guardians may turn to humans, but the tribes of the Baskar -- and the others like them -- were their chosen followers. And yet, she has seen the need. She had the word spread carefully, as Drifters flooded westward into the Badlands.

The elder of Baskar would speak with them, and today, she would be making an appearance. They were welcome to come.

Baskar Colony is a rustic place, with few houses and simple food. The audience is held in the center of the village, where stone benches are laid out before a fire. The Drifters have been welcomed there; that simple food, consisting mostly of stone bowls with cooked potatoes, rice, and corn, has been issued to anyone who is hungry. The members of the Baskar here watch, nervously, eye the people who've found seats.

Halle is an old woman, short of stature, with sun-tanned skin and white hair. She has a green shawl on, and she clutches a cane. She walks, slowly, as she approaches the gathered. Behind her, a pair of taller Baskar carry a bundle of colorful wooden rods, painted with red-and-green patterns and studded with bits of obsidian and gemstones.

Halle stops in front of them, then strikes her cane down into the ground. "Ahem," she clears her throat. "Good afternoon everyone." A beat. "Good afternoon, everyone!" she repeats, louder.

It takes some effort to make her voice carry. She looks to be at least eighty. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

The stone tablet with the emblem of Noua Shax on it has been weighing down Talise's pack in a way totally unrelated to its physical weight. She stuffed it in there because she didn't want to deal with the implications of it, nor think about the Guardians. They pose theological problems she's not prepared to deal with right now.

What is not weighing her down is food. She's subsisting mostly on bread and the occasional soup these days because she sold most of her extraneous belongings.

The result is that Talise arrives in town tired and a little out of sorts, with a lot of pressures nagging at her. Nevertheless, there's something about the village that awakens a curiosity in her. Her eyes widen a little as she looks from hut to hut, watching a few of the people go by.

As she stops before one of the benches, Talise drives the butt of her traveler's stick into the sand and leaves it standing there. "Elder," she calls back, moving one hand over her heart and inclining her head deeply and respectfully. Talise may not like the Guardians very much right now, but the old are to be respected. "Thank you for asking us here... we're honoured."

(Something about her makes me think of Uncle Piet,) she reflects as she settles to one of the benches.

Perhaps unbelievably, she actually pauses for a moment and doesn't rush when she reaches for the simple bowl of vegetables. She's starving. Turns out selling most of her stuff to buy her stolen Gear a sword wasn't a good idea for her diet. 

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle, of course, is Baskar herself.

But she's a Baskar from the faraway shores of Aquvy, from a place on the rocky, uninhabited coast that is so isolated it may get no outsiders visit it in a decade. There's no reason to go that way, and so most people just don't. And as isolated as her home is, it's... not the same as the Baskar towns anywhere else, having gone its own way five hundred years ago and started to fade from history perhaps four hundred.

Which means everything feels just a little out of place to her. Things are just different enough that they feel off. It's vexing.

She's tried, though. She's spoken to people; she's done her prayers, though they weren't the same as the ones typically given here. She's practiced with her sword, which certainly isn't what is usually done in this part of the world. She's even helped out, without being asked; simple things like cleaning, moving the benches, assisting with the cooking.

But now Tethelle is back with the Drifters, though at one side of the group. She (uncharacteristically) said relatively little during the meal and was patient after it, and now that Halle is speaking Tethelle shifts to look at her more directly. "Elder," she says, politely. "Please, share with us your knowledge." 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.
Oh boy, a Baskar Village! Rena's never seen one before, being from the middle of bumfuck nowhere. But here she is, and it's for an Important Thing too! She feels so special! And look at this place! It looks so....
...so....
...Old.
Rena's excitement dials down a couple notches to being merely attentive. Thiss is sure to be important, so let's hear the elder out!
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius partakes in a side trip to help Cyre see to the return of stolen artifacts found at Gob's Hideout, among other reasons.
Ethius, for what of himself he makes visible, sure looks like he might hail from about these parts. Even being within the most probable geographical match of origin on Filgaia, carries himself as though he's as much an outsider as anyone else present.
Even he seems to be keeping a respectful distance from much of the goings on about him. He avoids looking any one of the villagers here in the eye too closely. He says little to anyone as he comes to the stone benches upon the guidance of those directing the people of interest here. He closes his eyes as he sits down before the fire, as though contemplative.
His Stone Medium, bearing the mark of the Star Guardian Rigdobrite, peeks out from the rest of the belongings on his person. He adds little colorful commentary prior to anything that the Elder has to share with the lot of them.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

A Beastwoman wearing the colors of the Ethos would certainly stand out in a Baskar settlement on an ordinary day. This is no ordinary day, and so today she's just one of a group of Drifters. The Church of Granas as an organization may have its disagreements with Guardian worshippers, but at least this particular nun seems to have absolutely no intent of rocking the boat.

She has followed Talise here, and is in a similarly tired and hungry state from her long trek. She hadn't had to sell possessions to have the Gear she found repaired-- one of the perks to being with the Ethos --but then she's never had many possessions in the first place.

She accepts the meal humbly, thanking the one handing it to her. She is nothing but polite in her interactions with the natives-- When she speaks at all, that is.

"Good afternoon," she answers the elder with a hesitatingly raised hand, very softly. 

<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.

After having braved the battlefield, and then undergone the much more harrowing attempts of Edna and Rose to learn how to pilot Gears, Sorey and his group had struck out across the desert. They had received word that there was something going on in a nearby Baskar village - some spiritual event, or a summons of some sort.

The Shepherd wasn't sure exactly what it was, but he had promised the Guardians that he would do what he could to help protect Filgaia, and thus Sorey had made the trip to speak with the elders here.

The village itself is interesting, if quite old. It has a sense of ancient history that he hasn't seen too often on Filgaia. Many places were old, but didn't have a sense of imbued culture like this village did. He privately wonders if this village predates the Day of Collapse.

But there are a lot of people here, and many of them are speaking. Sorey's more than content to remain in the back, stay quiet, and hear what was to be said.

His companions might be... less inclined in that direction, of course. 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

EARLIER

Asteroid the Kid is hosed off and given new robes and her old robes are burned because nobody wants her smelling and looking like she does before undertaking those tasks. "NGHAAAA!" she shrieks but it must be done.

NOW

Asteroid the Kid follows Ethius and Cyre into her hometown. She looks ill at ease. Her fanged mouth is tilted downwards and she has brought a large sledgehammer which she is dragging along the floor. She looks towards one of the houses as they make their way into the center of the village. Her hand on the hammer tightens, even as her face is shrouded in darkness except for her glowing eyes and very white teeth.

She has two tablets strapped to her side, one for Rigdobrite and the other for Aru Solais. A few Baskar look at her, noting that she has two tablets, but she doesn't say hello to anybody just yet. She helped Cyre with the returning of Baskar artifacts but is uncharacteristically subdued here. She keeps glancing at that one house. The curtains are drawn over the windows. She can't look inside.

What she can do is see Ethius's stone medium of Rigdobrite. Her eyes widen upon first noticing it. She steps closer to Ethius and will grab his hand unless stopped.

She's shaking. She's scared to be here. She does not say why, she doesn't clarify, she doesn't speak. She just breathes strangely and looks out towards the Elder Halle. 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

Cyre is also a Baskar! He's actually from a village... Not super far from here. Not super close either. They're on the same continent, at least. He's not from some weird backwater settlement out in the middle of the ocean or anything. Still, this is the first time he's made the trip to a Baskar colony since his arrival in Ignas, and it feels... Odd. To hear the language of his people being spoken by so many, to see customs and traditions so familiar to the landscape of his childhood playing out all around him.

It's disconcerting, knowing how alike and yet how different things between them are.

Well. Not that it matters all too much.

He arrives not long after the others in a thick, hooded cloak-- it seems he had at least a couple of spares stored away in the CaraKin. It does well to hide much of his face, and billows pleasantly in the wind when the breeze deigns to stir. There's a sack slung over his shoulder, filled with... All kinds of things. Relics and tomes that he's picked up throughout his travels. Random knick-knacks.

Why'd he bring it all here, though?

But soon... Soon, there's just no getting around it. The Elder who called them all here makes her appearance, and Cyre is there among those waiting for her. With Ethius and Asteroid. The latter of whom is trembling like she's more of a leaf than an asteroid. Cyre pats a hand atop her head and... Kind of ruffles the rock. It'll be fine, don't worry! They won't be too angry! Probably.

"Good afternoon, Elder Halle," Cyre repeats back as if he had done it dozens of times before. 

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia had her own reasons for visiting the Baskar Colony. The reason why she wanted to go the Badlands in the first place: to retrace her steps, to where her memories began. And this is it. Soon, she will visit the elderly couple who discovered her collapsed in the desert, and nursed her back to health, hoping to learn additional details that she failed to ask about before she departed.

Though, as always, rather impatient to move on to her personal business, this invitation sounded important, and is probably worth actually paying attention to, rather than just treating it as an excuse to travel here sooner rather than later. Besides, there's free food! Simple or not, it's the first food she remembers eating. There's some powerful nostalgia involved that she doesn't mind reliving.

Nobody who knows her should be surprised that she's already downed several bowls of food before the elder even arrives. The villagers are likely to remember Xantia's bottomless appetite, and are thus probably well-prepared for this.

But regardless of her actually already knowing people here, Xantia's greeting would likely have been the same either way. Just a little bit more casual than most would be. "Hiii, Elder!" Just a little bit. 

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

Cecilia Adlehyde had a magical adventure getting away from the Battlefront, on in which three Gears were reduced to two point three five Gears, but she's here, now, after an additional adventure with Bart that may or may not be chronicled at a later date. She didn't need to hear the rumors from Elder Halle. The Guardians made their will known to her.

And so it is that Cecilia Adlehyde is among the Drifters gathered here, her Mediums tucked about her but very much on her person. She hangs nearest to Tethelle, perhaps inevitably. Cecilia mostly sits around, because she is a princess and labor is for other people. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius turns his head towards the rock-headed young woman with that same eerie stare of his, for a moment. He allows for his hand to be taken, but he doesn't budge from his seat. If it is the initiation to a tug of war, his resolve there is clear.
Wordlessly, he looks back towards the fire anew. He'll give Asteroid as much time as she needs to calm down and tak her seat - if she's going to.
If she doesn't, it sure seems like he has a lot of time to give.
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.

A woman with green hair, held back by a bandana, and a yellow dress with patterned overdress steps through the village, looking to all accounts more like a villager (though not from this village) than a Drifter, save for the fans at her waist. She's been walking through the desert to reach this place since she heard, diverting from her friends' camp in order to do what she can for this.

But she was there at the Temple, and has a Medium in her back as she walks on soft soles, quietly. There are... some signs that she's not ordinary, and the quiet of her steps is one of them. But still she moves, and when she arrives at these benches, "Thanks!" she sas, with a bright smile, and accepts one of the bowls. She eats with great appreciation, sitting near the back of the benches--no, in the back of the benches. There's little to worry about from this ordinary woman to look at her.

Nevermind that that's part of the reason to worry.

She quiets, her earrings jangling in the light as she looks to this old woman with beautiful things. She pauses, and quiets to listen. "...Good afternoon," she repeats, respectfully, dipping her head. 

<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.

Baskar Colony is almost totally different from anywhere Lemina's been thus far, but she doesn't seem to mind; the overall... feeling, she supposes, is actually pretty pleasant. In some senses, it feels like home -- a sentiment that only increases when she sees the bowls of simple staple starches.

As it happens, Lemina is quite hungry.

She's right behind Jean when they sit down, and as she takes her first bite, whispers to her, "This... is pretty much what we eat in Vane, too, except..." She pauses and takes another bite. "... yeah, needs some soy or something."

The elder gets her attention, and Lemina looks to her instead of continuing the food conversation. 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

From what Layna had gathered, it was the Baskar who knew the most about the Guardians. Her opinion of them was generally pretty low, but there was one of them that had stood out among the rest. One of them seemed...more gentle, and carried an aura that put her at ease. A familiar aura, one that brought to mind some of the greatest joys in her life.

The aura of the sea.

The Medium Layna held in her hand was one aligned with that one. She was interested in learning more about it...but the part that concerned her most was that she didn't even know their name.

How could she form a bond with something when she didn't even know their name?

That was why she had come here with her friends, in the hopes of perhaps being able to figure it out. She sits with Talise and Rosaline, leaning back with her arms folded in front of her.

She isn't alone, as it happens.

"This area does not seem particularly bountiful...it is quite generous of them to put out such a meal, considering that." The Quartermaster Dahlia observes from nearby.

She was here just in case Layna got distracted and needed someone to fill her in on anything that happened later.

The Elder speaks, attracting both their attention forward. Dahlia does not respond, instead bowing politely.

"Aye. You've my gratitude, ma'am." Layna agrees, chiming in after Talise. 

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
For Avril and her friends, it's been one thing after another, ever since fighting broke out in the environs of the temple. But thanks to their still burgeoning skills, hard work, guts, friendship, and some old-fashioned good luck, here they are now out at the Colony, in one piece.
Lucadia's Original Medium has been very helpful for a large number of reasons.
The trip has been hard -- though hardly as difficult as crossing the battlefield had been.
In Avril's case, she had a vague sense that there was somewhere, out here, where she needed to be... and the swirling rumors had made it easier to pinpoint. Where else would one go to ask about Guardians but the Baskar Colony?
Right now, the young lady is respectfully quiet, hands clasped before her, as she watches Halle.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Gwen is no stranger to Baskar Colony, having made many deliveries to and from it to other villages dotting the Badlands. There was little money to be made in doing such jobs, but there's been many times a client has successfully bartered with some item or food stuffs, or just a simple meal and board when things were particularly dicey. She's gotten a number of the little treasures she wears on her person from such interactions, even if some went missing after.... a meeting with a certain Isiris.
Nonetheless, Gwen's still an Outsider, always sticking out like a sore thumb in the same ways any outsider would be. The customs and ways of the Baskar tribe were distantly appreciated the same way she'd appreciate any custom. Just, now, there's a tablet in her vest and the memories of Guardians speaking judgment, bringing her closer to the Baskar's world than she ever thought she'd be.
And it's definitely not something that's appreciated by many parties, for various reasons.
Sitting down to an offering bowl with a nod of thanks, Gwen soberly stays quiet, noting the amount of people gathered. It feels... weird. Like the Colony was never meant to hold so many in such a small area.
<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

Elder Halle eyes the assembled crowd with the cagey, analytical look of exactly the person she is - an older matron responsible for the lives of a people, who has found herself compelled to put her trust outside of her reach. But as the bustle dies down, she nods, once.

"Most of you have recently passed through the Guardian Temple," she says, working somewhat to raise her voice. "There, you were tested. You saw things, I am sure. You have borne witness to the power that sustains the world. For some of you, this will be proof of a faith long held." Her eyes hang on Tethelle, Cyre, Cecilia. "For others..." ...Ethius. Jean. "perhaps not so much." ...is she just guessing "There is much to know of the Guardians, and much of it important...but for you, I will keep it to this:"

"As goes Filgaia, so go the Guardians." Her eyes scan the crowd again. "This land is withering. The Guardians cannot take physical form anymore. Even the few kingdoms said to be truly protected by them - Arctica..." Again, for a moment, she looks directly in the direction of Cecilia's group. "Adlehyde." Eyes turn back to sweeping. "Have fallen far. Understand this, those of you who now wield power: The Guardians have no hands but you." 

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

The sound of Xantia's effusive greeting to the Elder gets Rosaline's attention. The nun's eyes widen at the sight of her friend, whom she hadn't seen since the very beginning of that ordeal at the Temple. And who is that over there? Gwen!

"Praise be," she says to herself, having to take a moment to wipe a tear. Two more friends confirmed alive and accounted for. Rosaline continues praying that they won't be the last.

She's noticed by now that several people have pulled out their Mediums, either as a motive for their presence, or perhaps simple conversation pieces. She deposits her bowl and reached into her satchel bag, where rests the Medium she was given, bearing a symbol of the Sky. She gingerly places it next to her seat, propped up, in a position making it seem like it can "watch" along with her companions and herself.

She listens. Elder Halle speaks of the power that sustains the world, of being the hands of the Guardians. Rosaline looks at her Medium with slight apprehension. She is already a servant of Granas. Can she truly heed both? Of course, the two are like in purpose, in that they want to save Filgaia... She wouldn't be here otherwise. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Part of Talise can't help but wonder if this feels as odd to Rosaline as it does to her. She feels a little like she's intervening in an alien religion.

In truth she's grateful for a decent meal right now, even if there's no meat involved. She glances towards Layna, then through the little area in the centre of town, recognizing faces readily enough of people she's traveled with before.

Swallowing a mouthful of corn, Talise leans forward and plants her elbow on her knee, then rests her chin in her palm as she listens to what Elder Halle says. As the woman speaks of the power that sustains the world, her eyebrows arch a little.

"Okay, so I think I understand," she murmurs. "So it's not necessarily about religion...."

She looks towards Rosaline, watching the woman play with her Medium. Similar questions haunt her thoughts.

Can she really pay attention to the Guardians if she's already got a goddess back home? Even if the goddess back home has been a real jerk lately? 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid the Kid doesn't engage in tug of war, she does do thumb war though. Will Ethius fight back??? If not, Asteroid the Kid will give up eventually. She is just trying to create distractions. She doesn't look Elder Halle in the eyes.

She does, after Cyre headpats her (a high level technique), sit down though. You can see the embarassment blush stickers from behind the hood which is strange to see on a rock head or within an inky dark cowl for that matter.

She murmurs, under her breath, so only Cyre and Ethius can hear her with such a crowd. "I hope my parents don't show up." When Halle focuses on the obvious Baskar rather than the incognito Baskar, Asteroid can't help but look a little embarrassed.

She turns and sees Gwen there and those yellow eyes widen. She waves an arm at her to try and get her attention.

No hands but theirs, that explains part of her concern, but not all of it. They didn't just say they couldn't help Kaguya, they said nothing, they turned away.

She turns towards Rosaline. She stares at the catgirl nun.

She throws a small pebble at her to get her attention. She stares more.

Then she sticks her tongue out at her through the fangs. Owned. 

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle has not brought a Medium out. If she has one, nobody (except Tethelle's team) has seen it. But there's a certain ... attitude, or aura, she didn't have before. She's no longer faking being a priestess, instead of a priestess-in-training.

What Halle is saying accords with the teachings of Tethelle's village. She was taught that it was her place, as a Priestess of Equites, to go forth and be the strong arm of the Guardians... or that was what they had done, once upon a time, before the village started to fail and keep to itself. Nobody had left the village to do so in generations, except Tethelle. That she is to be the arm of the Guardians after all does not surprise or dissuade her.

She nods, looking as serious as she ever does, and doesn't interrupt with loud commentary. Tethelle does give the people she recognizes - Rena, Talise - a short smile. "I told you," she murmurs, leaning across to Talise. "The Guardians are a part of everything. The world." Sharp ears, apparently. 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

"Get wrecked," Asteroid is less kind about her 'I told you so's'. 

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

Claude C. Kenny has discovered that mission briefings are just as boring on Cow Patty Planet as they are in space.

<Some Old Guy> wakkawakkapointlessbastorywakkawakka

<Claude> Look just tell me who to punchshoot and who not to punchshoot please

<SOG> wakkawakkamysticsymbolismwakkawakka

<Claude> really it does not have to be this hard

<SOG> wakkawakkaenjoythesoundofmyownvoicewakkawakka

<Ronyx> Claude ur a failure

<Claude> no u

<SOG> wakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakka

This is why he has brought homework, in the form of a leather glove that is in his lap. Claude is currently threading a length of bright red thread of some kind into a thick needle suitable to leatherwork; the back of the glove indicates he has already been busy.

EFF U
GOESTS

Claude knots off the thread with his fingers and teeth, then sets to work. Cecilia and Tethelle can tell him who to punch later. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"I'm not used to that sort of thing," Talise admits, keeping her voice very quiet as she leans back towards Tethelle. "Althena's a singular goddess... she's not even very animist."

She reaches into her pack and pulls something out, right next to the place where she's been storing the memory sphere she picked up from someone else. It's the Medium she got from the temple. There's a symbol etched into it that seems to symbolize lightning. Running her fingers over the face of it, Talise presses her lips tightly together, then looks up to Tethelle again.

"Theology's hard," she mutters with a self-effacing smile. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.
Rena eyes the medium in her in hand and looks back to Halle. Listening as she speaks about the power it holds and how it's intrinsically linked to Filgaia itself.
And then she looks aside at Claude. He looks like he's... ... um. .... Sigh. Forget it.
She's going to have to tl;dr this later, isn't she?
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius doesn't partake in the game of thumb war either. Man, at his worst (like right now) he's so dull and boring and probably someone's responsible father figure in some family dynamic somewhere, maybe. He doesn't move his arm back, although a part of him seems to think it ought to.
He listens to the Elder's lectures, unblinking as her eyes pass by him. He gives the empty stare back, his way of saying 'yes I'm listening' it would seem like, but... is he? Is a fatalistic fairy tale really of interest to someone like him, he who professes being most keenly interested in lost technology and the people who wield them? Could someone like him really be trusted with something of great import like the Star Medium on his person?
His eyes track to Asteroid as she murmurs some words. He turns his head towards her. There's that stare again. (Then again that rock head is very stare-worthy.)
He doesn't get around to asking the question that is probably on his mind, perhaps out of respect of not interrupting Elder Halle.
<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.

Lemina sits down with Jean and Jean leans her way at the whisper, "Is it?" She hmms. "Not bad. Not as much spice as I'm used to, but sometimes you just need something filling too." Jean is... not that picky about her food.

"A beer would be nice," she admits.

But here is this woman, speaking to them, talking about the power they met, the faith... And Jean laughs faintly, self-deprecatingly, despite herself as she nods. "I'm not even from your world," she admits. "It's different for me. ...But I've seen that the Guardians are trying, even though they can't succeed on their own. It's... inspiring." A pause. "Someone should help them." 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
The power that sustains the world...? Dean still doesn't really get it, and he'd scratch his head if he weren't busy eating, but he does furrow his eyebrows as he slowly stops chewing. The Guardians have no hands but them... That makes sense, at least. So they really do need their help. In that case, Dean can hardly say no--especially since he accepted the Medium for Moor Gault, to match the copy of the Equites Medium he already has. He glances over at Avril, wondering if this makes more sense to her than it does to him or if her amnesia prevents her from really getting it either. Then he looks back at Halle to listen.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"Ahhh, well about that," Cyre coughs into a fist. "You know. I... don't think this is entirely in our ballcourt here, elder." He steps forward out of the crowd to be heard, giving Asteroid one more Senpai-Level Headpat. "Elder, I don't know if you got my letters, but... The Metal Demons are targeting our most sacred places. We can fight them all we like in the field, but the Baskars and our shrines, temples and monuments are all at risk. You know what happened to Adlehyde, so..."

He shrugs, frowning beneath his hood. "Well. I'm worried. We need to know where to go to protect what must be kept safe." 

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia nods a bit at the start of the elder's explanation. She doesn't know a whole lot about the Guardians, practically nothing before she entered their temple. But at this point, it all makes enough sense to her to not worry about it too much. She tends to roll with whatever comes her way - while this may be one of the more unusual things that did, she's already come to accept things at this point. It all became easier once she started to look at this as just having gained another friend, to join her in doing what she was going to do anyway.

She spots Rosaline looking at her with an expression she can't immediately identify as relief, but she smiles and waves either way. Doesn't look like Xantia was worried about anything, which wouldn't be anything unusual. Or if she was worried at all, she moved past it in short order. The power of optimism at work - if there's no confirmation of people getting hurt, then clearly that means they're just fine.

Turning her attention back to the Elder, she'd have to admit that she still doesn't fully get how the Guardians 'work', exactly. But the last sentence makes good sense. Of course the Guardian she's most familiar with has no hands. He has paws. Duh. 

<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.

Lemina smiles broadly. "Great! I'll add this to Lemina Ausa's Mega-Big List of Wars I Didn't Sign Up For And Am Stuck With Anyway," she replies to Halle in short order... though there doesn't actually seem to be any rancor there. She's kind of at peace with this -- she got all her 'what if we just surrendered instead?' out back on Lunar.

She doesn't seem committed to backtalk though, and after a moment, she instead says, "... I do want to help, though. I mean -- I can tell things are bad here... and there has to be a way to fix it." She crosses her arms and hmfs a little bit, "... though I hope I get something out of it, too..." 

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle Cirdian expects to have to explain it to Claude again later, it's fine. (She has background knowledge that makes the summarizing faster.) She did lean over to see if he fixed the spelling on the gloves.

Tethelle's eyebrows raise when she sees Talise's Medium. Not what she would have guessed would be granted to her, but... "I should've known you would be involved," she says. She still does not dig out her own Medium; anyone who knows her already knows which Guardian would have spoken to her, and she doesn't really like to wave it around to show off.

Her gaze shifts to Lemina, but she doesn't object. She probably didn't sign up for it, so... 

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Rosaline's gaze crosses' Talise, and she has a nervous smile. She can tell they're thinking along similar lines right now. She looks at Tethelle as she comments. "Hm," is all she has to say on the matter.

She suddenly lets out a quiet wince, her ears twitching, as an asteroid is throwing pebbles at her. She turns around, her attention gotten. And then... is grimaced at?! Who is this woman?

She turns back again, tears beading at the corners of her eyes. "D-Did I say or do anything rude?" 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

"The power that sustains the world, aye...?" Layna repeats. With the behavior she'd witnessed from the Guardians, it was no wonder Filgaia was in the state it was in.

...Or maybe their behavior was like that because of Filgaia's current state? That was a possibility. Layna considers this for a moment.

"So what're we supposed to do, then? Just throw ourselves at anything that looks like a problem? Seems like a tall order to me, aye." Layna asks with a shrug. 

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia looks at Layna with a puzzled expression. She's acting like throwing yourself at anything that looks like a problem isn't a totally normal thing to do. Weird. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"I don't think you did, Ros'," Talise assures the young Etone, smiling at her but still keeping her voice down to avoid interrupting Elder Halle. She does, however, plant a hand on Rosaline's shoulder and squeeze tightly, as though to assure her companion that in her book at least, she's all good.

Her other hand lingers over the medium, thumb tracing across the pawprint carved into the thing's face. Smiling patiently, she looks up to Tethelle with a slight dip of her lashes. "I thought you knew... you were with us when we escaped from the temple."

At this point Talise figures most of the Drifters here ended up in that weird room in the temple. It leads her to wonder if anyone actually answered the question.

Or at least answered without pulling a sword on the nature spirits of the planet on behalf of a couple of Metal Demons, anyway. 

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
There's quite a crowd gathered here in the colony. Perhaps Rebecca is just elsewhere in the mix, listening where she stands rather than make a fuss or get in anyone's way as Halle speaks.
The Guardians have no hands but them, the people here who have been selected to bear their will...
Avril straightens where she's seated, ever so slightly, her expression grim in profile. Still silent, she nods at Halle's words.
This isn't a task to be shouldered lightly. Her glance shifts, sidelong towards Dean. Their gaze meets.
Is this something he's willing to take on? It's a lot to ask, to essentially sign up to save the world. Still, if anyone would...
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

It is generally a safe bet that Rena, Cecilia, or Tethelle will have to explain things to Claude later, for most values of 'things.' He doesn't mind, though, because this is part of what being a unit is all about - relying on your companions to compensate for your weaknesses, and using your own strengths in the same way. Which is why he is still working on gloves.

EFF U
GOESTS.

For a guy from space, his leatherwork is surprisingly good. 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

Wow this is seriously a lot of foreigners shoved into the middle of a Baskar town. Cyre kind of wonders why there weren't MORE Baskars at the temple to protect it, but hey, you know, whatever right? 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

Wow this is seriously a lot of foreigners shoved into the middle of a Baskar town. Cyre kind of wonders why there weren't MORE Baskars at the temple to protect it, but hey, you know, whatever right?

"Yeah," he gestures vaguely in the direction of Layna and her astute observation, "That's the other thing. We can guide them only so far, Elder. But Filgaia's a big place, and there's a lot of ground to cover. I'd love to say that we could do it all, but without proper guidance, we're going to be stretching ourselves thin."

"Of course, uh," the wind shaman scratches at his scruff. "I... Really don't think you would have called us all here just to tell us that it's our job to help the Guardians? So maybe my concerns are unfounded." 

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

People speak to Halle as if she is actually capable of hearing them all amid the din. Her lips quirk briefly, but it does seem the message got through. But Cyre, she catches, eyes cutting to the obvious Baskar as he steps forth.

"As well you should be worried. Filgaia is on the precipice. Fortunately...there is a great deal that you may do. My grandson Shane informs me the Guardians have told you of their statues. They form a sacred seal...points of power that, together, keep the Demon Queen, Mother, sealed away. In times long past, the sacred Statues were at the hearts of cities. For those cities that still stand...though perhaps they no longer sit at the heart, they will still have statues within. But many cities are now lost to the ashes and sand." Her eyes turn. She seeks out eyes in the crowd. "The statues are not. Each Guardian statue forms a knot in the seal holding Mother asleep. She must not be allowed to wake. If she does..."

...She shakes her head, grimly, and closes her eyes. "We have not the means to defeat them at their full strength again." 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Widening her eyes, Talise sits up a little straighter. "The statue of Zeldukes in Adlehyde!" she exclaims a little louder than she intended to, nearly dropping her bowl in the process. "That must've been one of the statues...."

Talise never saw what happened to the statue after the attack. She still has a sick feeling beginning to build up in her gut. Lowering her head, she sets her jaw and runs her thumbs along the edge of the bowl in her lap, Medium resting on her thigh for now. Her eyes are on the stone tablet.

The Guardians had infuriated her back there in the Temple. The way they'd treated Zed - and Kalve - had been the sort of thing she'd have punched out a flesh-and-blood person for. "...But it's more than just bullying a dummy, isn't it," she murmurs. "They didn't just kill him, either...." Her brows furrow, and she looks up towards Tethelle, worry and uncertainty flickering behind her eyes. 

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

"I knew you had been there, but I didn't know you had been chosen," Tethelle says, nodding her head toward Talise's Medium once more. "I spoke to them too, but I didn't realize there was so many." Seriously, just look at this crowd.

Tethelle picks up her spoon as if she was going to eat the remnants of dinner. She does nothing with it because there is no dinner left to eat (she ate it already) and ends up spinning it in her fingers before she realizes she's doing it and sets it back down.

"The statue of Zeldukes in Adlehyde," she says, suddenly. "I believe it was damaged during the attack. I didn't think much of it then, but... I wonder if that was something they made sure to do while they were there." It never occured to Tethelle to look for power there. And now - well, it's not like she can just dot over to Adlehyde to check on it. "We'll have to find the others, before they do. Because you are right, Elder; we can't fight them forever." And it hurts to say that.

Tethelle makes a fist. Talise appears to have come to the same conclusion. "More than just bullying?" she asks Talise, having not put her words together to make anything that makes sense.

She adds to Claude, "You've spelled 'ghosts' wrong," because she assumes that even he knows that the rest is spelled wrong. 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid looks at Rosaline. "This is our biggest city. Why do you think I did that, heeh... Isn't it obvious, 'heretic'. This is what your people taught me to do to heretics, hehehe..."

Sheis more concerned with this than saving Filgaia aparently. She doesn't bother Ethius and she doesn't stop staring at Rosaline.

She licks her lips after a moment and adds, "I was nice. My rocks are small, heeh heeh..."

She keeps her voice just loud enough for Rosaline to hear, not trying to really drown out Halle or otherwise impede her message.

There's some kind of resentment there. Not at Rosaline specifically.

She still sticks out her tongue again though. 

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Rosaline relaxes a bit at Talise's shoulder squeeze, coupled with the sight of Xantia being her usual cheerful self. She holds up her own Sky medium for Tethelle to see, too.

Layna and Cyre raise a good point, and Rosaline listens to the answer. The explanation of the statues' purpose elicits a gasp. "So this is why..." She trails off, as a few pieces click into place.

Talise's blurted out conclusion has her nod vigorously. The cogs in her head turn. Finally, some idea of what the Metal Demons are trying to accomplish beyond senseless destruction. Finally, a semblance of reason for all this bloodshed. Somehow, this only makes the thought of it feel worse.

Her train of thought is interrupted as Asteroid explains her reason for pebble-throwing. "I-I'm sorry," is all she has to say. She hasn't even done anything, but that's never stopped her from apologizing before.

She flinches as Asteroid sticks her tongue out again. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius continues to be quiet throughout the lectures, which is nice and respectful and all. He's already heard similar words about statues and the like. What the Elder says corroborates much of it, but, how much of it truly is of interest to someone like him? He sure looks like the sort of boring fellow who might have sat down and listened in class (but still grew up to be a weirdo vagrant who stares, hitchhikes, and vandalizes with imputiny).
His gaze turns way over to Claude and his leatherworking misadventures, for a time. It... lingers there more than is probably polite, or comfortable.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Xantia frowns a bit at the notion of protecting statues. She more or less understands why it's important, but... smashing things is a lot easier than keeping things from being smashed. "So... what are we supposed to do? Find statues, and then just keep sitting next to them and keep people from smashing them? That doesn't sound very fun." Somehow, she expected something more exciting than that.

Leaning back, she tries to come up with alternatives to suggest, but doesn't get any further than 'find the bad guys and punch them a lot', which while of course a great plan, probably is the first thing anybody would think of. After all, who doesn't like to punch bad guys?

So she ends up not saying anything about it, engaging in an even better plan instead: eating more food. That's getting to be a pretty impressive stack of empty bowls over there. 

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

"No I didn't," Claude C. Kenny says reflexively in response to Tethelle, then frowns. "Oh," he says. "Oh, I see what you mean. I made my first pair of these when I was five," he explains. "I know this spelling works, so it's the one I use." With another pull, a quick not and a twist, he turns over the glove to reveal--

EFF U
GOESTS!

Claude puts aside the needle for a moment, then picks up another glove - already stitched - and drops both in his lap. That done, he raises his left thumb to his lips and bites down on the edge, then rubs a drop or two of blood into the leather of each glove. Claude sucks on the wounded thumb for a second, then holds his hands over the gloves and closes his eyes, missing Ethius's glare in the process.

Two things happen at more or less the same time.

The first is that a faint blue glow surrounds Claude's hands as he channels his chi into his palms and then into the gloves, which have been smeared with a drop of his blood.

The second is that Claude starts humming a tune under his breath. Claude thinks that this melody is the theme song from an ancient documentary series about a pre-World War 3 invasion of New York City by ghosts.

Claude is not humming that theme, however - he is actually humming the melody from Huey Lewis's 'I Want a New Drug'. 

<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.

Jean is used to a different sort of meeting than all this by now, one that involves a bit of give and take. ...But before that, of course, meetings where she wouldn't have bothered even trying to talk back.

Jean rubs Lemina's hand as she talks about getting something back. "Maybe..." BUt she's not so sure, admittedly, something clear in the way she talks. This is... Not something they do for a real reward.

"But it'd be nice to help Lucia like this, wouldn't it?"

Jean keeps listening, about statues and cities. Mother...

"Is there a map?" she wonders aloud. 

<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Layna leans back, arms folded in front of her. The Metal Demons were after the Guardian Statues, that kept their Mother imprisoned. With a title like 'Demon Queen', she doubted her plans were anything good.

Really...this situation wasn't a good one. She'd overheard Xantia's comment...and she wasn't wrong, really.

Internally, she's thinking much the same - destruction was a whole lot easier than protection.

Not only that...there wouldn't be any room for failure for them, whereas the demons could keep throwing themselves at them as many times as they could.

Things were weighed against them. 

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

"Oh." Tethelle doesn't really have a response for Claude beyond that. She doesn't recognize the song as either from a documentary or about drugs, at least, so she can't rib him about that one. "Well, if you're sure." He does seem to be doing something useful, though, judging by that blue glow; she leaves him to it.

Tethelle doesn't know Rosaline as well as she knows Talise, but at least knows the two work together. She gives her a nod, too - she'll have to talk to her along with Talise - before her gaze carries on to Asteroid.

Okay, she makes Tethelle do a double take. Why does she have something like Rigdobrite for a head? Whyyyy this doesn't make any sense at all. Is she a mon - no, she's not a monster, she's in Baskar Village and not doing anything worse than being a pest. While having a weird head. Which, last Tethelle checked, is not a crime.

She sinks back down in her seat, having not consciously realized she half-raised herself out of it. 

<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.

Jean appeals to Lemina's better nature, and Tethelle gives her a look; between the two, Lemina's selfishness seems to be pacified, for the moment. She scoots a little closer at the hand-rubbing, too.

"Well, like... Ignas only has so many big cities, right? We can't really -- cross, the battlefront again, but we can at least start here. There's those two big ones in the south... November City... that one HUGE one up north..."

She doesn't think too hard about it, for now. ... she kind of does want a map. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"Oh. We, uh. Zed followed us down there. The Guardians got pissed at him," Talise murmurs back to Tethelle, blushing with a guilty little smile. "I might've yelled at them a little."

She's lying, of course.

She yelled at them a lot.

Setting her empty bowl down now that she's eaten most of the food - and boy oh boy, does she wish there were more - Talise cups her Medium in her hands again. It's still a lot to process.

She covers for it by turning her train of thought momentarily elsewhere. Again looking to Rosaline, she follows her gaze back towards Asteroid. Clearing her throat faintly as though to get the strange rock-head's attention, she shakes her head, silently urging her to leave Rosaline alone.

Unlike Tethelle, she doesn't seem to be startled by the fact that Asteroid has Rigdobrite for a head. Maybe they've met. 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"Right, the statues," Cyre agrees, he knew about that part, but... "Problem is... It's like that strange ginger pugilist says. Even if we find the statues and protect them, it means that the Demons can just go and attack a different statue and destroy that instead. We can't be everywhere at once, and they can kind of... Teleport?"

He shakes his head, setting his great sack of knick-knacks on the ground next to him. "Unless we can take the fight to them and finish this, or somehow put some kind of protective seal over the statues we do find, it's... I can't even say it's fighting uphill. It's a little worse even than that."

"We also need to hope they don't already know where the statues are. The situation's pretty bad, Elder. Is there anything more you can do for us?" 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid the Kid looks towards Rosaline's medium. "..." She stares back at Rosaline. The truth of Halle's words hit her. They have to be the Guardians' hands. She looks at her own Sky Medium. Why, she wonders, why does she have to work with GRANAS.

But she does remember Rigdobrite's words and she lowers her head. "...Okay. Sorry too. I am...nggh...." She doesn't like feeling like the bad guy either. "...I mean, whatever, we have to work together...I guess..."

She sighs and just curls inward, feeling just awful. She wants to rush Halle, ask her for help, cry at her even but she can't bring herself to with such a large crowd. She would scold her, probably.

"hhhhhhh.." She manages. 

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Rosaline doesn't immediately understand the shift in the asteroid-headed woman's demeanor. She looks down in the same direction she does, however, and the reason becomes clear.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry," she repeats. That seems like the only thing she can do right now. She has a small smile at Talise's show of support.

Meanwhile, Xantia shows surprising insight. "I suppose we wouldn't be Drifters if we weren't facing impossible odds," she says, softly but grimly. 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid's head snaps to Tethelle (she doesn't visually react to Talise). She is now staring at Tethelle, flinching back at first, but then smiling broadly at her with her many teeth.

She pulls her hood more over her head to make her face even more hidden. 

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

Cecilia speaks, largely toward Tethelle and Talise. "Zeldukes was Adlehyde's emblem. He held the Castle together even against the Quarter Knights' attacks." Cecilia says it like fact; it is belief. "But his statue was in disrepair even before. We may have no choice but to mend it...or...however that works...."

Xantia'swords do reach Halle, and the Elder can't help but grin. "Practical. How like a Drifter." She chuckles. Was that a compliment or not.... "Do not worry about that. You have two things on your side. First...the statues don't actually have to remain where they are." She holds up a finger. "The cities will not fall to dust in a day. The geometry is not important, only the statue itself. If it comes to it...move the thing. The Guardians will handle the rest." She chuckles. "For the rest, we have a plan." She half-turns, looking to one side. "Shane, please step forward."

At the name, a younger man, handsome, perhaps more like beautiful, with his long blonde hair up in long ponytail, and wearing Baskar garb approaches. He is holding a single wooden box. He sets it on a table in front and releases the lid, revealing an ornate brass rod with a shimmering crystal at its head. He pulls it out with delicate hands. "Thanks to the forewarning of our Baskar brother Cyre Lorentz, we have had the time to prepare this Sealing Rod," Shane explains. "It is an ancient tool from the very foundation of the Baskar Tribes. When used on a statue, with a ritual I will instruct your spellcasters in later, the statue will be infused with the power of the Western Wind."

The Baskar all tip their heads for a moment, silently, in unison at the invocation of the name of the Guardian Lord of Hope, Zephyr.

Shane does not lift his head before he says, "They will be empowered against the Demons' evil. No power in the universe will be able to destroy them for a period of four hundred and forty-four days."

He does look up now. "That will be the time in which we must find a way to turn back the Demons for good." 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius brings a hand to his forehead, somehow keenly timed to whenever Claude opens his eyes up (if he ever does). He looks away, as Asteroid's distress seems more apt to pull him out of whatever train of thought he seems to be having behind the standard measurement unit of awkward silence that passes by him.
He gives Asteroid another look. Is there something he wants to say? He never gets around to it, as Shane's actions call forth his attention.
He tips his head about three-quarters of a section later, as if attempting to fit in and otherwise not quite hitting the mark, since he doesn't know when to properly lift his head after the fact so it's like that for another three seconds.
By Ethius' own reckoning, he's been without a clear clue of what he's doing for roughly five-hundred and forty days, plus change. What would be four-hundred and forty-four more be, then, in a worst case scenario?
"I am to assume, then, that this time limit cannot be renewed?" Ethius asks.
<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid the Kid leans into Ethius.

"That's Shane." She tells him. "He is super hot and I had a crush on him since I was seven."

Aren't you glad you have a native here to provide proper analysis of the situation? 

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Rosaline returns to listening. Moving the statues is an option. This would buy the planet time. And then Halle speaks of the power of the Western Wind.

Rosaline is certainly a spellcaster, and might be able to learn the ritual, though meddling with ancient sorceries like this makes her nervous... And then again, there would be no harm in just learning it, right? 

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Four hundred and forty-four days. As if in contemplation of that number, Avril bows her head, staring pensively down at her hands, still folded in her lap.
A tall order, indeed.
Other people have asked about locations, so this is a question she doesn't voice. Instead, Avril asks, sitting up straight again, "The statues. Are you aware of whether or not any have fallen?" From Cecilia's words, the status of Zeldukes does not sound promising...
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

The power of... The Guardian Lord of Hope?

But that's-- Zephyr is said to have gone silent years ago. To be able to reawaken his power now...

But, well, maybe that's the point? This staff is obviously a source of hope, so to infuse the statues with Zephyr's strength is right up the Guardian Lord's alley. There might be some kind of conceptual resonance there? Still, the concept has Cyre briefly stunned in spite of himself. His jaw snaps abruptly shut as the crystal at the staff's tip seems to glint in his eye. "You... Actually listened? Ahahaha--" He chuckles sheepishly, "Well... Wow, I don't know what to say. The power of the Guardian Lord..."

Cyre inclines his own head meaningfully. To carry a fragment of Zephyr's power is... no small task. Well.

"We'll do our best, Elder," he says, then, lifting his head. "A year and a half... I hope it'll be enough time to put this Mother Demon of theirs down permanently."

After all, if it's a tossup between Filgaia and the Demons, that's a pretty easy choice for a guy like Cyre to make. 

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle Cirdian is afraid of...

Well, not nothing, but also not Asteroid the Kid. She stares right back, almost challenging. Her hand is suspiciously close to the hilt of the big sword she carries on a carrier strap (currently very curved, very heavy, and almost crude-looking).

She rests her hand on the table instead when Asteroid pulls her hood back up and lets Halle - and Shane - speak. She lowers her head, too, and seems to be doing something complex with her other hand - some sort of gesture, though it's short enough to be unclear what. She mouths the words that go with it under her breath.

Then her head rises. "I'm not much of a spellcaster, even if I'm a Baskar priestess," she says, speaking loud enough to carry instead of just to the group closest to her. "I'll try to learn it, but that's not where I'm strongest. But - I made an oath." To herself, and to Equites. "I will do whatever I can to end the threat of the Metal Demons."

Tethelle pauses a moment. "The Photosphere, where the Demons live, is protected by the dark spear Glumzambor. The Azure Knight's weapon. It stopped the Guardians from sending us there. It needs to be destroyed, too. That I can try to do. After all," she adds in a more natural tone, with a wry smile, "he broke my temple's sword, so it's only fair." 

<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.

Cyre's definitely speaking Xantia's language in this, even if she has no idea he was directly agreeing with her. She sure doesn't identify as a 'strange ginger pugilist', since she's not strange at all and doesn't know what those other fancy words mean.

But at least she gets complimented! Yes, Xantia sure is nothing if not practical - if that makes her a good Drifter, that sounds like a compliment to her, and so she beams appropriately.

Thankfully, there are other ways around this. Applying a magical seal isn't her area of expertise, but should it come to having to move heavy stone objects around, that's definitely something she'll be able to help with. "Oh, that's good! I'll be able to carry the statues around, then!" She may be one of the few who'd actually look forward to the prospect of lugging around such heavy objects. She's just happy to help, and physical strength is by far what she contribute the most of to any effort.

About the other solution, she can only comment, "444 days... that should make things easy, that's a very long time!" Of course it would be, from her perspective. That's more days than she can consciously remember. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"I don't know anything about magic," admits Talise with a blush.

It's an old point of shame. Most of the Lunarians who have made it here seem to have some understanding of how to channel the blessing Althena gave her people. Talise, though, can never seem to figure it out - she seems to have all the magical ability of a brick.

"I didn't promise the Guardians anything," she confesses, tucking the Medium back into her pack. "I'm not even from around here. And I don't hold any prejudices against Metal Demons. But the ones in charge don't exactly seem to have our best interests in mind. I'm not gonna be able to help you with any of the spellcasting or anything."

Lifting her head again, she nods to Tethelle slowly, then reaches back to pat the hilt of the sword slung over her shoulder. "I'm just a fighter. But I'm one who grew up learning about how we all once came from the Blue Star, and that's what this place is. So long as that's true, I'll do what I can to help. Besides, Siegfried and that Berserk need a swift kick in the seat of it." 

<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.

"Does it?" Jean asks Lemina. "I'm not really... sure," she admits with a little laugh before she eats more of her food. "Is that where they are? I guess I'll rely on you to set where we're going!"

Jean pats Lemina's back as she goes back to eating, because it's not like she's reading the map.

But... Adleyhyde, and what happened there. Jean remembers that, looking at Cecilia, that it held together. But all of this...

"The Western Wind...?" Jean doesn't know ths sobriquet, but she knows, "If there's any spellcaster who can do it, I know it's Lemina. She's super talented."

Yes, Jean just volunteered her friend.

"But it's not... empowering against evil..." Jean shakes her head.

"All right, I guess that's what needs doing. We can discuss it with the others, too." Maybe... 


<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"The Guardians have been here a long, long time," Gwen finally says, after having been silent for a while, thinking over Jack's comments to her the other day. "And so have many of those Metal Demons. In comparison, we're newcomers in all of this. As much as I like many of them, I bet the Guardians are still nursing scars back from the last time Mother had to be sealed."
Jack was a knight, when there was an Arctica. Something snuffed that country out- presumably the Metal Demons, judging from the context of Jack's actions. "If we wanna give any individual Metal Demons the ability to have a choice in their future, this Mother not wakin' up would be a good idea. Them attackin' Adlehyde in the first place was probably to try to gain some ground in getting Mother to wake up in the first place."
Those quiet, apologetic words Jack said to her, after trembling in anger as he recounted the events of that one night... It gave Gwen a lot to think over, last night. It's one thing to *want* a world that has room for all, but how do you create it? "... We can curse or yell at the Guardians, but it doesn't really change the fact that they came to us. Ultimately, our actions'll determine how this conflict is resolved. Whatever future we get'll have to be the one we create ourselves. The Guardians are just givin' us the only tools they can rely on. If we want a future that includes Metal Demons in it, we're gonna have to create it ourselves and show both sides it's possible. Because as it stands, I doubt the likes of those Knights that attacked Adlehyde Castle would really care if we all withered away. And those people are the ones in charge. The Guardians are at least willin' to listen."
"444 days? That's... well, that's over a year." She rubs her chin. "May seem like a long time, but one year is, what. 365 days? Roughly a year and a half, maybe."
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle Cirdian does not want a future with Metal Demons in it.

She looks at Gwen as if she is slightly mad, but holds her tongue. She's already said what she needed to, and nobody can argue that Siegfried is anything but a threat to Filgaia itself. 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"Eeeeeeeehhhhhhh," Cyre wiggles a hand. "Do we reaaaallly want a world with Metal Demons in it though?"

"I hear they're kind of... you know..." He leans in ever so slightly, holding a hand to his face in that distinct Stage Whisper-y way. "...Deviant." 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"Like," Cyre says, "I've seen what people used to write about them. Things get weird when there's a Metal Demon involved." 

<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.

"Yeah, I got a map when I was poking around -- not, like, a great one," Lemina replies to Jean -- shortly before she's volunteered. "E -- eh?!"

She looks to the elder, then to Jean again, then back. "So, uh -- about this, spellcaster, thing. Do you mean, like, any... spellcaster? I get the feeling I don't... dooooo things, the same way, you guys do... Like I don't have to carry around any stone tablets, or get weird tattoos, or anything!"

Say it a little louder for the Geblers in the back, why don't you. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"I must remind you again, Mister Cyre," Ethius says, straight-faced, with closed eyes, "it proves valuable research material in consideration with the present situation."
...
Go him, then.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Gwen, seeing Asteroid, gives a wave over to the young woman, then looks back to Cyre with a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, well, I meant, like- some were talkin' about people like Zed and all that, right? If we wanna make sure that those who really wanna have a life of peace can do so, we need to make sure Mother's subdued, and that the Metal Demons as a whole don't get what they want."
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

Cyre stares right at Ethius.

He looks to the Elder for help.

And then he decides that she's probably heard it all before and honestly there's nothing to really lose here.

"Weeeeelll in that case--" Cyre reaches right into his sack and pulls out what looks like an ancient leatherbound tome, "Let me just... Turn to the relevant passage here..." 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"I dunno. I think we're kind of missing something if we assume all the Metal Demons are monsters," Talise muses, scraping a heel in the sand. "I mean, I draw a distinction between, say, Zed and Riesenlied, and someone like Lady Harken, or Berserk. They may fight for the wrong reasons, but part of me thinks there's got to be some of them whose hearts aren't in it."

She scratches at her cheek with a little grimace. "But then again, I'm also a weird alien, I guess, so I might be wrong. I'd hate to be, but...." 

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Rosaline continues to remain mostly silent, but when Gwen speaks, she listens. Until a few days ago, she was sure she didn't want a future with Metal Demons in it. Now? She doesn't know anymore.

People speak of deviants, of research material. Rosaline may not have decided where she stands on this but she's at least sure of one thing enough to actually voice an opinion...

"I wish they wouldn't talk about people that way," she says, quietly, not loud enough to be heard above the din of the crowd.

She nods slightly when Talise speaks, and smiles in Gwen's direction. 

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle Cirdian suddenly stands up. She walks over to Cyre and, from behind, attempts to close the book while he's holding it open.

"I don't think this is the time," she says, calmly. "Not while we're talking about defending the planet from people who would destroy it." She leaves the rest of her opinions of the Metal Demons out. For now. But really... 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid stands up and walks towards Gwen. Huh. What's going on there?

She glances at Cyre, ducks down, picks up a pebble, and flicks it at the back of his neck.

Then she keeps making her way towards Gwen.

"Hey," Asteroid says to Gwen. "Keep your voice down, but do you remember me...?"

She leans in and murmurs a name to her, then back.

"I have been beyond, heeh heeh...I met them, I've been to space, the aliens. They were not gentle, but I met them."

She then finally adds to Cyre. "I have met one metal demon. She was not as cruel to me as some humans were, heeh heeh." 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"Ahem!" Cyre says, beginning his reading, "From Thews of Steel, Hearts of Fire, Volume T--"

Tethelle happens.

"Ugh," he sighs, "You're... Probably right. Well, I'll save it for when I need a distraction later, I guess."

But rest assured-- the world will know, someday.

...Someday. 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

Beat.

Something is chucked at his head! Cyre winces. "Ow! That's not nice!" He gives Asteroid a look. He huffs. "Well, that's nice and all, but most humans aren't actively trying to kill the planet. So... I mean if they don't do that, it'd be fine with me, but otherwise..." 

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

Cecilia has complicated feelings about a future with Metal Demons in it, but the look she gives Gwen suggests it is not particularly positive at the moment. She says, with a bite like arctic frost, "My father is dead." And then, with a sudden, growing strength, adds, "They did come to Adlehyde with a reason. They were seeking its sacred treasure, the Teardrop." She glances to Tethelle and then to Rena and Claude, drawing in a breath. "They plan to use it as part of the resurrection of Mother." With a bit more stress, and with a sudden, heated look at Gwen, she says, "They killed my father and countless others to do this!"

Halle holds up her hand. "Enough!" she barks. She focuses first on Lemina. "You need not concern yourselves with..." ... "Whatever it is you're getting at." harsh. "The Guardians will answer the call if you have the tools. Those, we can provide you."

Shane is the one who speaks to Tethelle. "What Siegfried blocked was a spatial transfer within the leyline network," he says, sounding very briefly like Claude. Also how the HELL does he know that? "The terrible dark spear, Glumzambor can repel their powers. But if you go on foot, that will not be a concern. Certainly, stifling Siegfried's power would be of benefit, but...do not consider it a necessity. It is a dangerous path to walk."

"When the time comes to go to the Photosphere, I am sure you will know it," Halle says. "For now...the statues, should be your concern. Thanks to brother Cyre, we have had time to prepare enough Sealing Rods for all of your parties. Shane will provide them to you when he teaches you the ritual." 

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

"I have a question!"

Claude C. Kenny has his hand up. This can only go well. 

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

Cecilia and Halle make the exact same weary groan.

"Proceed," Halle says. 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid the Kid says, "Is it better," after a moment. "If they are inactively killing the planet?" She laughs weakly to herself. "Well maybe, but we have to touch on the issues behind the issues eventually."

At least their job seems set. Well, their job. She has to consider her own goals which yes involve space. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.
Rena freezes.
Oh no.
Claude has a question.
She watches. She waits.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

"Like, okay," Claude C. Kenny says, holding his hands (now wearing ghost-punching gloves) up in front of his chest. "Just so I get a sense of what kind of margin of error we're dealing with here, like, how many of those Guardians can bite it and we still save the world?"

He pauses.

"I ask because most of the ones I met were mega-dicks," Claude explains. 

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle Cirdian has done her part by stopping Cyre. She returns to her seat afterwards.

Tethelle agrees with Cecilia. She has never had a positive encounter with a Metal Demon and thus has no particular desire to live with them. And she, normally, would be the one getting mad - but by the time she starts to speak, Halle is already drowning them out, and she's not going to talk over Halle. The rest of the people here, sure, but even Tethelle knows better than to speak to an Elder of the Baskar that way.

"I see," she says to Shane, instead. "Well, I'll still try. Otherwise how will we know if it can be done?" That with a slight grin. "It's worth a chance, at least. Otherwise, we can walk." Tethelle actually understood... part of what Shane said. Enough to fake it.

But then Claude asks a question. Tethelle looks at him with growing horror. "Zero," she says, absolutely firm. "Definitely zero. It's - they're part of the world, that's not even a question!" 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid the Kid reaches down and picks up another, larger rock. 

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's a question," Claude says to Tethelle. "Like, I put a question mark at the end of it, so it's a question." He pauses. "That's how questions work."

Claude C. Kenny: scholar. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.
..... ..... ..... ...... ......
Rena smiles.
It is a most radiant smile. She looks so pretty right now.
She takes a couple steps over to Claude's side.
"Claude, dear?" She starts, still smiling. And then, her arms snap up and loop around his neck. Squeeeeeeze. Not too hard, but enough pressure to be worrying.
"Excuse us. Please continue."
She drags him away.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius has a hand to his forehead again.
He looks up from this. He seems conflicted as to why this question wuold affect him to such a degree that he feels compelled to do this. Rather than inrospect on what other things he could be asking about himself by this standard, he concerns himself with reaching an arm out towards the big rock and trying to pull it closer to himself.
There's an even bigger rock behind it anyway.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle Cirdian cannot argue that, but she'd very much like to.

She lets out a sputtering sound instead. "It's not a question that can be asked!" If she didn't know, now, for sure, that he was from space, she would be going at him with even more vigor. 

<Pose Tracker> Jean has posed.

"I've met Metal Demons who don't want to harm everyone," Jean speaks up. "Who don't want to harm anyone if they can help it. That doesn't excuse the things that they've done, but it's still true." She looks over to Lemina for a moment, "...I guess you're fine if you have what you need."

She hshakes her head. "Either way..." She sighs. Claude asks a question, and gets dragged away for it. "So Siegfried can deflect things, Sealing Rods can help. All right." She shrugs. Something about this she doesn't entirely like, as it's all being discussed, but... She's uncomfortable with more organized religion in any case for various reasons. "But maybe don't think about margins of error? Yes, we might fail at some of these... But the more that are intact, the stronger this seal. Even if it doesn't hurt the Guardians directly... It's important." 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

Cyre stares dead on at Claude.

He watches as Rena just straight up puts him in a chokehold and drags him offscreen like he were some kind of jobber running out his script.

"Wow," Cyre says, "That's a hell of a lady. Lucky guy." 

<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.

"...uh, I'm pretty sure it can be, because I asked it," Claude C. Kenny says to Tethelle. "That's how asking wo--

(ok rena remember the basics of CQC)

"--URGKHLE--"

Claude makes a vague strangled noise as he's dragged away, his face turning interesting shades of red. 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid misses the big rock thanks to Ethius so she picks up the even larger rock with both hands.

But Rena moves. Asteroid watches this. She leans into Gwen.

"She is super hot too." She says. 

<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle Cirdian just throws up her hands and lets Rena deal with the problem. 

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Rosaline, who has no idea what bullet was just dodged by stopping Cyre from reading. Cecilia's outburst is sobering, a reminder of the fire and carnage Rosaline had been working very hard to put at the back of her mind.

She shrinks, however, as arguments start in earnest. "I... I think I want to learn this ritual, but I hope we can leave soon," she comments in Talise's direction. 

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"Let's stay long enough for you to learn it," Talise says, reaching over to lay a hand on Rosaline's shoulder once more. She flashes the Etone a quiet smile.

Her eyes harden. "However I feel about Zed and Riese... and Kalve... we can't let the Metal Demons get away with hurting Filgaia anymore. If you learning the spell can help, then let's make sure you learn." 

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

"Yes," Rosaline says, staring at the ground intently. 

<Pose Tracker> Cecilia Adlehyde has posed.

Cecilia's currently bad mood very nearly gets turned into actually decking Claude Kenny, but fortunately Rena steps in. Cecilia echoes Tethelle's, "None! Zero! Actual not one!"

... "Thank you, Rena," Cecilia calls after them.

Her mood seems to have broken from wantint to talk about murdering Metal Demons, at least. Halle grimaces. "The kind of question I'd expect of my other grandson," she says, flatly, and then segues: "The Guardians cannot be killed so simply. They arise from human hearts and natural powers. So long as love exists, so too will Raftina. So long as the sea exists, so too will Lucadia. If the Demons do destroy a Statue, its Guardian will not suffer." .... She grimaces. "Much, anyway."

"But, to answer the spirit of our foolish friend's question...each Statue that is destroyed will weaken the seal on Mother. There is no precise number at which a battle with her would become unwinnable."

"So try to save as many of them as you can!" Shane chimes, and waves goodbye to Claude and Rena as if Claude didn't just speak mega-blasphemy. 

<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.

"Okay then," Lemina says, actually pulling back a little bit and then scooting even closer toward Jean. "Okay, that makes sense." She does not comment further on the magic issue -- and is honestly, for the moment, inclined to let Jean take point on talking about the issue at hand. 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"In such a fashion... their existence, by definition, is perpetual is long as belief holds," Ethius muses to himself. Still, an idea forms in mind concerning the statues themselves, if they indeed serve as a mechanism for holding back something else (which is what several have said in earshot of him by now). He'll file the idea for later - even if the ultimate solution seems to be one the Elder before him is keenly aware.
He supposes he may yet be able to confirm that much for himself, at a later date, en route towards...
...whatever it is he is here at this point in time for.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.

Tethelle Cirdian knows that destroying the statue wouldn't kill a Guardian. The statues are accessories, but that doesn't mean a Guardian can't be killed... somehow.

She's still kind of irritated by Claude's very casual question and says nothing else for the moment. S 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"That's about how it works," Cyre says. "You can't kill Fengalon unless you kill the wind itself. It doesn't really work the other way around, but it'd be bad if they got hurt too bad in either case. If what the stories say are true, then that Demon Mother's about as bad for the planet as anything can get. So as many of statues as we can save, we must. The alternative is that we all die with the planet."

Beat.

Wait.

There's a... A disturbance. A strange reverberation. Cyre perks up, peers around, finds...

...Finds...

...

"Ohhhh heyyy," Cyre grins Cheshire-like in Rosaline's distinct direction, "It's that nun I met in the woods that one time. Wow, never thought I'd see you here of all places." 

<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

Rosaline is still listening, despite wanting to shrink out of the ground. It's honestly hard not so, with such large ears. Guardians arising from human hearts and natural powers. Everyone dying with the planet. A nun he met in the woods.

Wait, what?

"H-H-Hello," Rosaline answers to Cyre, her head rising, with a tiny wave. She shoots Talise a quick, desperate look. It says, possibly in morse code, 'Oh no I'm fairly sure this guy while nice is going to hit on me it must be the ears oh God it's the ears isn't it and doesn't he realize what my habit means or oh maybe he doesn't that's a cultural misunderstanding isn't it'.

It's an intricate message, but she should get the gist. 

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
'My father is dead.'
"..." All it takes is one look from Cecilia- one look from the same young woman who comforted her when the courier drunkenly cried.
Gwen promptly falls silent, wincing.
.... This is a part of it, isn't it? To openly speak of a future for some Metal Demons as if it was a possibility for all? Of course there'd be consequences.
Jack was gentle with her. Cecilia, less so. And for good reason.
When Claude asks his question, Gwen blinks, momentarily dazed. "... None of them? My point was that the Guardians have their reasons for hating Metal Demons. And... we have our own reasons for how we feel. If the Metal Demons get what they want, the sacrifices everyone's made to help us all get to this point'll be lost. That'd be the biggest tragedy of em' all. We got this narrow window to win. Let's make the best of it, and make sure there's a future for us."
She'll have to apologize to Cecilia later. But not right now.
There's work to be done.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Talise longs, for a moment, for more vegetables in her bowl.

As Rosaline shoots her that look, Talise blinks a couple of times. Then she nods back at Rosaline gravely and brings a hand up to the neck of the linen tunic she's wearing.

She undoes a couple of laces.

Easing forward on the bench she's sitting on, she crosses a leg over the opposite, an arch smile curling across her face as she holds her hand out towards Cyre and beckons to him with a couple of curled fingers. "So it's you again, huh? Funny how we all keep ending up in the same place."

Her eyelids lower ever so slightly, and she reaches out to give Cyre a firm pat on the hip. "When we're all done with this, we oughta get to know each other a little better," says the lady who looks like she could probably break Cyre in half with her thighs if she so chose to. 

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

Gwen blinks as Asteroid leans into her. "Oh, uh, I wasn't payin' attention. Sorry, heheh." 

<Pose Tracker> Asteroid the Kid has posed.

Asteroid the Kid doesn't care about Cecilia's dead dad. He was probably a dick. She picks at her teeth with a finger and then turns and adds, "Careful," to Gwen. "If you don't pay attention in the badlands..."

She gnashes her teeth together, laughs to herself, and carries the rock towards the house from earlier since her earlier target left. She hefts it up, staring at the window, and then raises it as if to throw it...but stops. She lets it drop.

Instead she slinks off to the rear of the building and sits there, stewing in her growing negative emotions. 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"Heeeey, Rosaline, right?" Cyre waves, sauntering on up with his Sack O' Artifacts slung back over one shoulder. "It's probably best that you're here instead of that one other priestess. You know the one. She was at the temple, outside?"

Elena, he means.

"Yeah, this is way better. How're you d--"

Talise!?

"W-woah woah, hold on there lady," the tiger man jumps like... Well, like a spooked cat. He laughs, grinning... sheepishly? "I appreciate it, really I do! But uh--" Oh no, he's being bashful!? What is this!? Cyre is not used to being the flirtee instead of the flirter. It's a strange, vulnerable feeling being eyed at like he were some kind of slab of meat. It's... It's not a bad feeling? Oh no, is this the awakening of a strange new desire in Cyre's heart!?

...

N-nah, probably not.

"W-well, Elder Halle's kind of like... everyone's grandma, you know?" He hisses a quiet whisper, "So... Maybe not the best time, hey? Eheh." 

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"It's a bit... Awkward??" Cyre gestures, vaguely. "You know?" 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"I am appreciative of the wisdom you have bestowed upon us, Elder," Ethius says, bowing his head in kind of an exaggerated fashion that seems to be more an educated guess as to how someone addresses the Baskar Elder and not that of a native around these parts, so... that possibility can be scratched out, maybe?!
He gives a sideglance as Asteroid runs off to collapse into her ill feelings, but he does not follow. He watches for a while, but says nothing as Cyre gets into all sorts of mischief with the ladies nearby. (Maybe he should take the time to bail him out? ...Nah.)
He takes a hold of his Medium for a second, giving glances about to everyone that seems to be carrying one, taking internal note as to how they're holding them. Failing to find any consistency or standard in which to follow versus the character of remarks witnessed among the gathered, he just stands there with it in his hands for a while.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.

"I hope she's all right," Rosaline says regarding Elena, looking worried. She's another one of those at the temple she lost track of.

But Rosaline's silent plea to Talise is transmitted, and...

The nun's eyes go wide. Whatever she was expecting, well. It wasn't that. Rosaline blushes, averting her eyes, then promptly covers the lower half of her face with her hands. This has the bonus effect of stifling the small laugh she can't hold back at the sight of Cyre's reaction.

"I-It is," Rosaline agrees, on awkwardness, with a tiny nod, before stowing away her medium. "But now, about that ritual..."

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