2018-05-08: A Filgaian Sin
- Log: A Filgaian Sin
- Cast: Riesenlied, Amelia Rose
- Where: Meribia
- Date: 8th May 2018
- Summary: Riesenlied gets in trouble, which is a normal thing. Amelia tries recruiting her to Althena's ways, which is a normal thing. They collaborate together, which is not a normal thing!
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Meribia sees a lot of foot traffic, trade and incidents in just the span of a single afternoon's trade session; the city hustles and bustles with all kinds of unique individuals passing through, sampling the goods on offer within the city, and more.
It also attracts, unfortunately, ne'er-do-wells.
"Hey, get back here, you!" "Get 'er! She went thatta way!"
A figure in a white eared hood (the kind that houses Beastman ears) with yellow trimming gasps a little, cradling a crying girl of no more than six or seven years of age in her arms. Several goons are after her, probably bandits or pirates from nearby villages. They're pretty bold to strike in Meribia in daylight.
Soon enough, in a less decorated alleyway, the figure is surrounded. She glances around and pats the girl gently as she sniffles, expressing, "It'll be all right..."
"Just hand your money over and no one's gotta get hurt!" "Heh...? I don't know, I reckon we could have a whole lot more of a good time..."
An incident brews. What's an Althenan Priestess to do?
<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.
It's been a long day for Priestess Amelia, and it's about to get longer. She's been holed up in the nearest Guard station, handling reports, healing up Guard members that got stabbed, and all the little tasks a militarized priestess is known for. Still, she needs a break, and so she grabs Silver and heads off for a walk.
Only for dog and owner to get lost. She's rarely been to Meribia, and so she hardly knows her way around. After a block or two of walking, she takes a 'shortcut' a shadey guy assured her was real. Thus, she walks around a corner into this dingy alleyway. A sniffling child, and a bunch of skeevy jerks making noise. Silver lowly growls, and gives a few sharp barks. Amelia trains her ears.
A few more barks. Silver's a smart boy, and Amelia's ears are sharp.
She raises her cane, and then sharply slams the metal onto the ground. The crack fills the alleyway. "What in Althena's name is going on? Explain yourself!" Comes Amelia's voice, even sharper than the crash of metal. Surely a blind priestess isn't a threat though to such men, right?
Surely.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a soft gasp of recognition from the hooded figure, as the girl wails just a little louder. The figure huddles a little closer to go, "Shh..."
The men turn towards Amelia and Silver, one of them going, "Aaah? Hey, just turn around and walk away, this doesn't concern you!"
A more sensible part of the flock of ne'er-do-wells goes, "B-boss, this'... this' a Priestess of the Guard..."
"Aah? So what??" the 'boss' replies. "One measly priestess ain't gonna hold a candle to us six!"
Despite the 'six', only three of them on Amelia's side are marching towards her. They hold knives and batons. But... y'know, they're nameless mooks.
<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.
"Confident in your skills, then? That's fine. Althena has no love for thieves and bandits." Comes Amelia's voice, taking on metal to her tone. She raises her cane, Silver barks, and then she begins to spin her cane as it slackens.
Above her head is a tornado of spinning, sharp-edged flexible metal. Then she brings it's rotation around, letting it slash and flay towards a rough estimate of the men's knees. She's trying to literally cut their legs out from under them, the Priestess showing little mercy to such bandits.
"I am a Priestess of Althena. If you want to strike at me, by all means. You'll die if you touch the little one and her caretaker." Offers the small elf bluntly, and viciously at that.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Here comes a whirlwind of steel.
The bandits are no match, clearly overconfident as Amelia's tempestuous flurry slashes and gouges past them; the first one falls the moment his leg's cut, the other letting out a gurgling guffaw as he goes down a moment later. The third one tries to run--
"Be still."
And finds himself paused as he gently-- stands in place, seeing that the three on the other side are in a similar state of torpor.
A familiar coalescing shine of photons is emanating from a gem at the caretaker's necklet... could it be?
"It's okay now..." she whispers, her voice much more clear and familiar. She glances towards Amelia, and Silver, smiling at the dog.
<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.
Two fall, and the elf is already preparing to turn back around for another go. But then that voice commands, and the man stops. Silver knows those photons, and Amelia knows that voice. The woman smiles, and then?
Silver pads over, jumps up a little and nuzzles riiiight against the woman! Very gently! A happy little bark.
Just for a moment though, he walks over to one of the now frozen jerks. And lifts his leg.
"Good boy Silver."
Guard members, even when doing something altruistic, are jerks. Silver is no exception. With the immediate threat done, she snaps her cane back into place and walks over. A frown grows, the Priestess sighing. She takes her annoyance out by stepping on one of the men she cut.
"You really do have a talent for finding trouble, Riesenlied." There's quite a bit of chide in her voice in the way only a religious zealot can give.
"Are you and the little one alright?" Her hands glow. Her first concern is making sure the child, and Ries, are in one piece. From the look on her face, though, she has Words for this particular Metal Demon.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a soft gasp and-- Riesenlied can't help but giggle gently, as Silver pounces against her. The little girl seems cheered by this as well, who expresses, "W-waaah, good doggie...!" "Hello again, Silver..."
She sets the girl down gently, inspecting her for a moment to say, "Will you be all right?"
Amelia asks as well. "Uh huh! Thank you so much, miss, and miss priestess... and doggie!" she hugs silver, before running off enthusiastically.
Silver relieves himself on one of the frozen thugs, Riesenlied letting out a bashful clear of her throat and-- bows her head. "I'm sorry, Miss Amelia. I'm... trying, I honestly am, but I couldn't just sit by..."
Well, that's Riesenlied for you. Hasn't changed one bit. "I'm glad to see you here, in Lunar..."
<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.
"Go with Althena, little one." Offers Amelia, listening to the girl go. Once she's gone? The priestess sighs. She fixes a frown in Riesenlied's general direction. One hand rubs her temple.
"No, you couldn't. Because you care about people. You made a city for the lost and unloved. You would throw yourself into a fire to save a dog. You're a fool."
Her words are harsh. Scowl. "...And it seems, that I'm one as well. Maybe you wouldn't have such a bounty on your head if you exercised some restraint." Offers the woman pointedly.
She waves her cane. Silver is back over to her side. "I wish I could say the same! You realize I should be arresting you right now? If I didn't have an /actual/ mess to clean up, I would be." Deep breaths Amelia.
"Let's find somewhere more private. I need to talk to you." She then...offers her arm? Rather insistantly.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's horns flutter just a little -- in a flagrant defiance of what horns actually do -- and wilt as Amelia chews her out. Well, it's true that Riese would throw herself into a fire to save a dog... b-but wouldn't Amelia? She'd save Silver!
Or maybe Silver would relieve himself to put the fire out. Anyway.
She reaches out gently to Amelia, not even thinking for a second that Amelia's about to lead her to the local Guard station to arrest her. "... maybe... but I likely couldn't live with myself then. Penance is not something that I can choose days for, and make excuses for inaction..."
A soft, little sigh. "It was... not very long 'til the Guard renewed their bounty here, on the land you came from. ... it has been an experience being here..."
She follows, though. No qualms about that. So trusting!
<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.
He /definitely/ would.
"Coming from anyone else, I'd think you were trying to weasel your way out of trouble. You really are a headache. Do you have any idea the position you put me in? I would've been happier if that bounty died in Filgaia. Just make sure you can't be identified."
The elf really doesn't hold much back. Still, after some wandering, the pair come to a restaurant. It's a hole-in-the-wall type place, and the owner calls out to the Priestess. Some blessings later, and the two have a private booth in the back with a decent meal with a closed door.
"I heard about Wayside." Starts Amelia. Her tone is...one of apology. She makes a holy symbol in the air.
"Listen, Riesenlied. I want to talk to you bluntly. Whether you agree or not, this isn't to pass beyond us. Can you do that? You've proven to me that you and the Ebony Wings aren't like the rest of the Metal Demons." A small nod of respect.
"But first I need to know your intentions on Lunar." A pause.
"...Also you /do/ realize I could have led you straight into the arms of my companions if I had no use for you, correct?" Reeach. She tries to bonk the metal demon on top of the head!
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's idea of not being identifiable seems to be... a hood that, due to her horns, makes her look like she has giant cat-ears, what with the pockets on it. Given how pointy they are, they fill the space up nicely! At least it's... cute...?
Never ask Riesenlied to do anything stealthily. Or deceptively. Or... or... anything in that sphere of influence, really.
Riesenlied's ordered simple fare, even here; she seems to prefer to keep her meals without meat, even in a land where meat is more plentiful and probably less monstrous than on Filgaia.
A little pause, as she smiles warmly. "... of course, Miss Amelia."
"... it was unfortunate... but..." Riesenlied pauses. "We survived. We crafted a flying skyship and managed to avoid death by the skin of our teeth. On a vessel we call the Fereshte, after my own tribe in the past."
She lowers her head. "I faced... someone who called themselves the Lord of Calamity, at the Pleasing Gardens. I know the Guard believes Lucia to be Lord of Calamity, but--"
She frowns. "This... menacing lion-man had an aura of Malevolence that Lucia, even immersed as she is, could not hold a candle to. We did everything we could to just try to teleport him away--"
She gestures. "And... and that's how we came here, by mistake." She sounds like she's... responsible...
Well, it's Lucia's plan, but she definitely helped. "Right now... I'm just trying to help those that I can. Vane... has been where I have aided those that are cast away -- with the help of Miria Ausa, the Premier of the Magic Guild of Vane."
A bit of silence, and she admits... "Our... ship is missing. It came with us, but I don't know where it is -- Janey and Mikaia were with me when we were teleported, but the rest of our village is..."
She looks -- sounds -- a little crestfallen. "I'm not giving up. I know they're out there, hanging on... that's the Wayside way."
Amelia teases her that she could've led her straight to the Guard. "E-eeh...?? Um-- I guess so..." Bonk!
So guileless, this one.
<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.
"Idiot." She pats Ries on the head for a moment, then starts eating.
The Ebony Wings have a ship, but they're scattered. There's a /second/ Lord of Calamity. And Riesenlied and company are in that horrible shanty town filled with Althenaless heathens breaking her commands called Vane.
"You're telling me that there are two Lords of Calamity." She sounds admittedly skeptical. And hardly about to give up the idea of Lucia being evil.But at least she's listening.
"Well, the news that you're helping Vane...isn't surprising. The people there are unfaithful. But, I can feel pity for them. Well, as long as you don't disobey the Goddess' commandments against alcohol, singing, and dancing, I won't order half the Guard to pick it apart to find you." She goes silent, letting the threat just kind of settle and Ries to stew in it for a moment. Sometimes a Priestess needs to use a stick to get her way.
"Good. Riesenlied. I consider you a...personal project." She starts.
"You have a massive bounty on your head. Every drifter from Filgaia and would-be bounty hunter is going to search for you. /I/ am going to hunt for you when you're not saving children. Nevermind what happens if Sir Leo finds you. Or a backwater soldier that sneaks up on you at a hotel. You have little in resources. What do you hope to accomplish, away from the rest of the Ebony Wings and wanted?" Offers the woman sternly.
Another long pause. "I can offer an alternative, /if/ you're willing to work with me."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is an idiot! B-baww... but she nods enthusiastically, expressing, "I... do not know who it may be, but we all saw it -- White Knight Leo was there too. I have no reason to believe he would not regard the lion-man as a threat."
She lowers her head.
And then, just when you thought she couldn't get more in trouble: "U-um, playing instruments is okay, right? I can't sing..."
riese /why/ would you go and admit that
A... personal project.
"... right now... I'm trying to understand the links between our world and yours. The storied history that has gone on between the two, as spoken by the higher powers that sustain our worlds. Of the relationship the Guardians and Althena have had... and why it seems that what affects one world -- influences the other as well."
A pause, as she tilts her head. "Work with... you?"
<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.
Another rub to her temple. Amelia can feel a migraine coming on. She stabs a little harder with her fork into the baked cucco and Althena sauce. Chomp chomp.
"/NO/" Grumps the Priestess on the topic of instruments. A shake of the head.
"A mystery to be sure. Althena hasn't revealed anything regarding the link, or why she uplifted her Chosen to Lunar. I truly wish you luck on that front. It might help our understanding and ability to fight Malevolence here on Lunar."
She puts down her utensils, and folds her hands before her.
"If you want to do real good, you need to get rid of the bounty and to have powerful allies. Surrender yourself to me, Riesenlied. I'll personally plead to the Goddess for mercy on your behalf. Then, after a light punishment, you will be redeemed. And we will work together. I believe your people aren't beyond salvation. Just imagine. A Metal Demon, leader of the Ebony Wings, coming to faith and forgiveness through Althena. Working with the Guard to help the poor, the lost, the unfortunate. To defend Lunar and Filgaia from the Lord of Calamity you fought." She take up her fork, and takes another bite.
"In turn, you help us spread Althena's words, and fighting beings that threaten both worlds." It's a risky gamble, but Amelia lays her cards out on the table.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's hair and horns are basically blown back with Amelia's comically powerful "NO!" and-- flails just a little. "O-okay..." she meekly responds.
"Yes... I want to uncover the hidden truths of the past. And on the front with Malevolence, I..." she places her hand to her chest. "I am no Shepherd, but I want to work with the tools I have, and the tools I can retrieve, to be able to help purify the ills it visits upon the land and on people too."
She-- blinks a few times. S-surrender herself to her... w-wah, that sounds like something that's come from one of Noeline's paperback novels!!
She is silent for a long while, placing her hands to her chest -- no, to the Dragon's Tear at her neck where it always is, which shimmers softly with a pretty aura.
"... I..." she fidgets further, horns further wilting. "I don't... I don't know if I can do that. There... is too much at stake for me right now, and I can't walk away from that. There is Janey, Mikaia and the people I still yet have to find..."
She clams up a little bit further.
"... I'm sorry, Miss Amelia. I know well how earnest you are, but... I do not believe the path of my absolution lies solely with Althena. I have wronged a great many, in my time believing in the path of my brethren."
An uncomfortable silence, and she actually admits: "... but I am not fully detached from working with the Church. I am-- actually working with Blue Master Lunn's blessing to save children from the machinations of the Shadow Dragon Cult. And..."
She shifts again. "Have you heard anything of the Cardinal... Runette Forton? I have heard a lot of ill of her political tidings. I have fears of what may transpire."
<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.
Amelia lets some of her salty priestess facade melt a little. "You're a good person, Riesenlied. A shame you were so misled for so long."
The answer she gets isn't unsurprising. Riesenlied would cut off an arm for those she cares for. Throwing away such an opportunity is, in Amelia's eyes, foolish but completely within the priestess' calculations. "You seem to have an unfortunate love for doing things the hard way, Riesenlied. As much as I want to test myself against you, I'd rather not hurt you." Comes Amelia, masking her dissappointment and worry with reproach. Judgement is something that comes naturally to a Chosen, particularly such an experienced one.
"It doesn't matter. Althena's will is absolute."
And that's when she crosses her legs and downs her drink in one gulp. It's just water though.
"You working under...Ingenius. Truly Master Lunn is worthy as a hero." Yeah, she likes that plan. The Priestess is sneaky like that.
Twitch. The mere name seems to make Amelia angry. "It's all just rumors. But I've heard nothing good. Frankly? If I hadn't been assaulted by that group of heathens, I would be in Rolance investigating. What do you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I am sorry, truly. Perhaps if I were born of Lunar, it would be different... but mine is a Filgaian sin, and it would not be right for me to turn to Althena for absolution such," Riesenlied lowers her head, speaking with genuine earnestness. Amelia's approval of her being a good person does... buoy her gently.
Althena's will is absolute...
...
It almost sends a shiver down her spine. Perhaps not the words themselves, but the fervour in which Amelia speaks.
She sees herself in her, back when she fully believed in Mother as a gracious saviour.
"Nothing concrete. But given Rolance and Hyland's long-standing war, I've heard that they may be overreaching their position in order to gain political influence. A power play is likely the last thing anyone wants, with the influence of the unnatural weather surrounding the area..."
A soft sigh, but then she expresses, "It... is as you said. I cannot help but try, if people are suffering. Would you mind letting me know if you do hear of anything...? In turn, I of course would let you know of anything I discover, under Lunn's blessing or otherwise."
<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.
There /is/ some undeniable logic in Riesenlied's denial of her offer. Filgaia is a problem, for many reasons. "...Just make sure that your honor doesn't lead you to an early grave. You remind me a little too much of Sir Leo for comfort. I'm not talking about the good parts." Mostly the 'likelyhood of getting themselves killed and leaving their faction down a leader. The flick to Riese's nose is super chiding.
Silver at least gives her a comforting nuzzle to the leg! While begging for some of her food! Can you resist those big doggie eyes and wagging tail Ries!?
"An absolutely disturbing situation. I'd like to think them nothing but rumors...but none but the Goddess are perfect. Agreed. We'll share information. Discretely. I trust in Master Lunn, but we can't be too careful."
At least Amelia seems to know how to play this particular game.
"I'll have a trusted servant keep in contact with you. For now? Think on what I've offered. There's no need to accept now. There may come a time when you'll see my wisdom. Go with Althena, Riesenlied. Lead your people out of their past, and into the future. I know that humanity and the Metal Demons can both find salvation." A little bop to the head that's almost friendly, and then she and Silver are out the door just as fast.