2018-06-24: Dragons and Illusions

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=============================<* Volgran Forest *>=============================

The Volgran Forest is the eastern frontier of the Rolance Empire. These ancient woods abutt the mountain ranges that divide Hyland and Rolance, and end at Glaivend Basin in the east. Travel through Volgran is dangerous, as monsters are common and ancient ruins can be found in the woods. The main routes are patrolled heavily by Imperial knights operating out of Lastonbell. Still, the beauty of these woods and their flowing creeks is a constant reminder of the bounty of Althena's Gift to Lunar.


<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

The mountain vale that Nall directed Riesenlied to is a long, hard hike from Volgran Forest.

It has taken Riesenlied, Noeline, and the rest of their party a good four hours of hiking through the forest and then wooded foothills. A few local monsters have troubled them -- prickleboars, for the most part -- but then they have crossed up the rocky outcroppings, the troublesome paths and twisting switchbacks -- into the mountains themselves. Peaks of granite tower overhead.

It is cold here. A sharp cold breeze gusts through the two mountainsides that they pass through, now, at the end of their journey. High above, snowy caps can be seen... and that snow is closer than they might like.

However, they have found themselves at a massive cavern entrance. A flat, circular basin stretches out before them; every side is surrounded by rocky walls, and then, directly to the north, is a huge cavern. It is dark and foreboding.

Upon the ground, there are deep scratches. The dark red of oxidized rust can been upon them.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        It's all well that Riesenlied recruited a number of close friends and confidants to help her -- she couldn't have made the trek herself. Not only was the path infested with monsters, the path itself was certainly well off the beaten track, and difficult for someone of her condition...

        The freezing cold also does not help, with how sensitive she is to it. There's a shiver as she trembles into her capelet, looking up towards the peaks and... gazing towards the cavernous entrance.

        Nervous wouldn't begin to describe how Riesenlied feels right now; as she pulls up near the back with Odjn next to her, she pauses as she holds her hands to her temples with a quiet, shivering wince.

        "I... I can feel something intense..."

        Odjn furrows her brow to go, "O-oi, Riese, hang in there, we're nearly there. It's okay! We're just here to deliver a letter, nothing more, nothing less!" she sounds like she's trying to convince herself.

        The Hyadean tries to keep her knees steady, the Dragon's Tear starting to emanate with a fluctuation of colour as Riesenlied herself can't decide what she's feeling right now-- a mixture of awe, fear, respect... and more... 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        It hadn't been too long ago that Ragnell had run into Riesenlied and Noeline and the matter of Lombardia had come up. After determining that they were going to take a route around Lastonbell to get to Volgran Forest, and from there, the mountain vale Nall spoke of, she agreed to come along; there's a lot going on here that seems like it'd be worth knowing. She doesn't know how much she can verify, but at the very least, meeting a Metal Dragon on Lunar... Curiosity alone would have made her tag along.
        
        The hike takes a while, but it's full of natural splendor. Ragnell might nose into human and other sapient being business more than is healthy for her, but she can still appreciate the wonders of Mother Nature--including the part where she gets to beat up monsters. Even the cold doesn't bother her... though as a Seraph, it wouldn't. Soon they come across a cave. There are deep gouges just outside, brown-red with old blood.
        
        Ragnell half-smiles, somewhere between a grin and a grimace. "I can tell," she murmurs to Riese when she sounds her shivering warning. "I thought you said this was gonna be a *peaceful* conversation?" But then, it's Riese. She's sure that was her intent, if nothing else. But then, this begs a question: how exactly does Riese intend to deliver a letter to someone who might not be friendly, or at least amiable, after all? 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Hiking has never much bothered Lily Keil. The former soldier makes a good pace, using her strange sling-staff as a walking stick and keeping an eye on the others, those less accustomed to hard marching. ...Particularly, she watches Riesenlied, though she doesn't have to. She can feel the nervousness washing off of her, and it took her about half an hour to realize that it wasn't her own. She has declined to wear her armor for the trip; it would do her little good if this came to violence, after all. ...But now and then she has had a few sips of something warmer-feeling than water.

Her dark clothes pick up snow easily as the breeze frosts about her, and she pauses for a moment to look to the others. "..."

"I can stop and make you a fire if you need, Riesenlied." The offer is quiet, simple, as she regards each of the others.

But then, she knows that part of why she's here is in case this isn't as peaceful as it would be hoped, and she looks every bit the serious guardian as the breeze runs through her black hair. 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

        "So, this is the place?"

        One hand on her hip, Josie takes in the sights of the expanse before her as they arrive at a point just outside a cave.

        Really, in the end, it was perhaps more a matter of 'why not' for the capricious archaeologist. With her belongings in hand, there's little reason to walk Lunar now outside pure academic (?) interest. Well, that and searching for a way back home, but it's not something she needs to start rushing about on.
        Not yet, anyway.

        So when Riesenlied had come to her and asked... 'why not'?

        It isn't every day you see a supposedly long-lost Metal Dragon. Up on the moon, of all places.

        "But, now that I think of it, Sunshine," Josie drawls, her breath fogging the air, "I learned a pretty interesting thing about machines from the Yggdrasil's engineers. You've got to keep the advanced machines as cold as you can get. ...Is the same true for Metal Demons?"

        She pauses, cracking a grin. "Or do they slow down like us in this kind of weather?"

        As if to punctuate this point, Penelope, perched atop Josie's shoulder, huddles, feathers fluffed. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Riesenlied had met with Jacqueline, and asked for her assistance in this journey. She had agreed, and so, she was here. It was a difficult journey, but fortunately Jacqueline is used to travel. She has made sure to bundle up, and occasional sips of one of her warming potions helps keep her(and others, if they accept one) going through the freezing chill.

It seemed a little like a dream, or maybe a nightmare - she was searching for a Metal Dragon of all things on an entirely different planet. But, her hope was that this would be able to be handled peacefully. She's not sure how much she'll be able to help if if won't, but...at the very least, she can offer moral support until then.

"Odjn's right. I'm sure everything will be alright." She says, offering Riesenlied a reassuring smile. "If violence was her intent, she wouldn't have hidden herself away here for so long..."

That deep rent in the ground, though, with a dark red something upon it...

Well, it doesn't exactly instill her with confidence, but she takes a deep breath and reassures herself this time that everything with be just fine. 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Elly has, honestly, been having a pretty good time on this trip. Yeah, sure, she nearly got killed a couple of times but that's kind of typical for her, especially given her repeated acts of what can charitably be described as light treason, even if she would argue that those rules do not apply to her any more, if she argued at all.

She got to go dancing!

But now they're closer. The chill is bothering her even if she has been able to huddle up and gut it out - the wind is harsh but not threatening to lethality. She bites her lip. It would be bad, she thinks, to stay here for the night.

Elly opens her mouth to say something encouraging--

-- Ragnell talks.

Elly closes her mouth and looks like she just bit a lemon. She sidles nearer to Lily (of all people, considering), that pursed-up pouty look remaining on her face. 

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

It's... unusual, for Matilda to be called upon for something Riesenlied and the Ebony Wings want to do. It doesn't feel bad, though; indeed, quite the opposite -- she feels the most like she's working toward what she really wants to be doing. The mercenary work... it pays the bills, and Matilda's able to convince herself it's helping, but --

-- it's not this.

"Ah -- yes, Odjn and Jay have the right idea," Matilda says, softly. "Let's... keep moving, shall we?" She looks to Josephine briefly, a little surprised at her presence... though not, apparently, unappreciative.

Her gaze turns down toward the deep scratches in the ground, and now it's time for her expression to turn into a grimace. "... Ahhh... mm." She frowns. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

You invited Fei along! Fei is always a little uneasy, but he has calmed himself by reminding himself there hasn't been a dragon he hasn't liked, right? Right. He's not entirely sure why they are showing up but perhaps it involves the origin of the Hyadeans. Or something else. The connection between dragons of Lunar and dragons of Filgaia is a bit hard to grok. And it's hard for him to consider what else it could be when harassing a dragon at their home just to say 'hey' seems, well, not like something to do. That in of itself has resolved Fei to come along.

Fei is looking at the deep scratches along the ground. "...Subtle." He murmurs to himself. He glances over towards Ragnell for a moment and then back to the scratches. "Doesn't feel right coming without Ruby." He adds to himself.

"Well," Fei says to Jacqueline. "I don't want to be a downer, but there's a difference between not going out of your way to hurt folks and getting grouchy at folks that invade your home." He exhales. "But Nall did right by us so... I guess we should check into it. We can always run if we gotta."

Fei glances over to Lily, glad to see that staff is getting some use considering what he had to go through to get it (it wasn't actually that bad but did involve a felony so).

On the plus side to all this, he did get to go dancing in a town he is pretty sure is inhabited by werewolves but they are friendly werewolves probably so it's nothing to worry about.

He also moves a little closer to Lily and Elly.

He has no idea what he really wants to be doing. 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        Times past, the idea of 'trepidation' was not something that Noeline ever really experienced - eager to dance through life as it came and face it with a devil-may-care grin, her attempt to contact Duras Drum a century ago was an idea born more from sheer curiosity rather than any desire to open diplomatic ties with the Guardians.

        She would certainly never have expected that impulse to blossom in consequence and ultimately lead her where it has - as one of the first shamans of her race, placed as Duras Drum's odd and unknowing champion, searching for his seal on a completely different planet, and all because the capricious Guardian decided she might be an positive wildcard in the years to come. That thought brings a rather rueful chuckle from her lips whenever it crosses her mind; her plan, once they reach the Guardian's resting place, is certainly a wild one. The jury is still out on whether it'll be positive.

        Still, Noeline can't help but pause for a moment out of concern as she stares up at the massive cavern, squinting against the wind and snow as she supports Riesenlied with a shoulder and an arm around her waist - but she doesn't feel like she has the luxury to let it last more than a moment. Her ability to drive the pair of them forwards is more out of sheer determination than any kind of physical strength right now; her instincts are warning her of every shadow and every nook and cranny of the rocks ahead, but she sets her jaw and ploughs forward anyway.

        "Just a little further," she mutters solemnly to the woman next to her, then shares a glance with Odjn as she catches sight of the way Riesenlied's pendant shifts through so many colours; she doesn't need to be an empath to understand the mess of emotions that her partner is experiencing right now. Something of her humour and confidence comes back to her as Ragnell talks, though, and she lets out a soft huff that's almost lost in the din of the wind. "We can at least hope eternal," she shoots back with an amused glance, then shakes her head. "And, personally speaking, I much prefer putting my feet up in front of a fireplace. But it might not be the best time to suggest flames in general," she quips as she scans the area for the hundredth time. 

<Pose Tracker> Lombardia has posed.

The team enters the valley. It takes awhile to cross it -- the flat stone here is big enough to fit three or four ships the size of the Fereshte, and the Solarian cruiser may have been able to land here with room to spare, had its descent been controlled. Except, of course, that such a passage would have provoked the ire of the thing that lives here.

Just after Noeline speaks, there is a rumble. The ground shakes once, then twice. Rocks and pebbles on it rattle; one bounces up against Ragnell's shin.

Then, in the mouth of the cavern, a pair of eyes can be seen: bright gold and with the uniform glow that marks them as mechanical, rather than organic. There is only a faint outline of whatever is inside the cavern: a massive thing, easily the height of a Gear, and with the hard lines of machinery rather than the organic curves of a Dragon.

But it remains indistinct.

The voice that rumbles from the cavern is deep, imposing, and unquestionably feminine: "'Tis a sorry sight, to see yet more treasure hungry fools and paupers disturb my rest. Begone. I have naught for your ilk but swift death."

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

The rumbling of the voice almost immediately makes Matilda back off. Not entirely -- she's not quite completely cowed, but she knows well enough to know when she's dealing with something larger and more powerful than she is, and something which, at that, is not particularly pleased to have to deal with her.

She looks it over once, seeing only the faint outline -- but that's enough to know that she doesn't want to make any sudden moves. She starts moving back among the group, shifting herself past Lily, behind her. It's safest.

She doesn't even offer the semi-explicit threat a word of agreement. She just... accepts it, and settles for not pressing her luck. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        "... I wish to have a peaceful conversation," Riesenlied expresses to Ragnell, for a moment distracted from her physical ailment as she thinks of her desire, and that resolve pushes through again. "Fei's right... we can run if we need to -- but I trust in Nall. He wouldn't send us to something that will only lead to disaster..."

        Not that it helps her more analytical side from thinking there's any number of factors that could go wrong, but she doesn't voice it.

        "... I--I'll be all right," Riesenlied expresses to Lily. "I don't want to keep us here in this cold longer than we need to be..."

        Josephine asks a strange question. "... I'm not sure... our home is in sub-freezing climes... and I cannot speak of myself, since a lot of what you might consider my mechanisms are-- faulty."

        Odjn grumps to say, "An' as for me, you bet I don't wanna be cold, 'cause fill me up with cake and food so I can keep on burnin'! Atida and Jay-Jay's right, let's warm this freezin' cave off with a sunshine smile!!"

        She stays a bit closer to Elly and Lily too, along with Noeline...

        Then-- the rumble erupts, as her knees start to buckle. Her eyes widen as she gazes upon the eyes--

        --but more than that, rather than any physical sensation, it's a sensation of kin that she can sense, and in turn, the Draconic biomechanical creature:

        The sensation of a Metal Dragon in the presence of another. Her own, small, feeble, withering... but unmistakably the same kin.

        Odjn, in the meantime, swallows as she-- trembles, yet feels a strange sensation as she gazes up to the much more majestic Dragon in front of them.

        "... o-oi, we're not here to-- seek treasure or anythin' like that," Odjn mumbles, a pulsating headache starting to rise in her head. She clutches her temples. Why do I feel this way? Why do things feel so familiar??

        Riesenlied glances towards the group, before stepping forward and placing her hand to her chest.

        "... My name is Riesenlied... and we-- we come in peace. I bring a message from a peer of yours... Nall, of Taben's Peak."

        She finds her instincts making her want to cower, but she stands strong in the midst of it all.

        "I know you can sense me... my presence. I am a Metal Dragon by birth... as is this one, Odjn. But... we are not aligned with Mother or Siegfried -- we come in peace, as representatives of the Blue Star and Hyades both..." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Elly steps close to Lily, and Lily is indeed not all that comforting a figure, as a rule. ...Nevertheless, she looks to Elly and then Fei, "Don't worry about it. If things go wrong, we'll handle it. If things go right, we'll learn something." ...Maybe she's even being nice. Indeed though--the staff has gotten good use; she's getting better at slinging magic out of it, comfortable with its heft.

...But as they enter the valley, and cross, Lily keeps near the back, preparing, watching the group's backs as she falls farther behind. She is not the fastest, of course. But it's not as if they're walking along at too great of a pace.

"...Though I find fire solves most problems if you use--" Rumble. The ground shakes, and Lily stops abrubtly, looking up with gold eyes at the visage before them, gigantic and mechanical, massive. ...The hard lines of machinery...

Lily stands firm as Matilda moves behind her, inclining her head just enough to acknowledge that she will keep the compounder safe as best she can. Maybe they'll see the answer to Josie's question; regardless, Lily finds that she's made it closer to the front of the group after all, stepping nearer Riesenlied, looking up to the great shape before them. ...She is not, as a rule, a woman of peace.

She thus says nothing, deferring to the leader of this mission. 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        Ragnell smiles toothily at Fei and Elly, wagging her fingers at them in greeting. She doesn't offer the redhead any sass, though, instead opting to give Josie a thoughtful look. Advanced machinery needs to keep as cold as possible... Huh! That's interesting. "Why is that?" she wonders.
        
        But then the Metal Dragon emerges and speaks. Ragnell tenses as if for a fight, but doesn't reach for her weapons. As always, fully grown dragons just have an air around them... like that they could literally chew you up with ease. Her smile tight, she gives Lombardia a respectful bow, but lets Riese do the actual talking. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei sees a pair of bright gold eyes. They are very large eyes if you think about it. He looks into the darkness and he sees bigness. Very much bigness. He swallows. When you're a dragon it's very easy to enforce a polite conversation, he figures. Fei forces himself to calm down and is partly successful after he smacks himself in the face a couple times with his hands.

He listens to Riesenlied offer peace. He listens to how there's a message from Nall. It's a peaceful conversation. That's what they're here for. He glances over to Odjn for a moment, allowing a small smile to play at his lips, before giving Odjn a small pat on the head. He just can't help it.

Only when Riesenlied is finished speaking does he speak.

"Not treasure hungry fools, just the regular kind. Promise." Fei says. 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Elly straightens up and does her best to appear nondescript despite shooting a momentary look towards Ragnel as she speaks again. But then Lombardia emerges. She is about to bow when --

Fei makes a funny.

Elly's cheeks puff out as she almost-visibly bites back and swallows the giggle. 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

        "No idea, huh? I'll take that as a 'like us', though. Even iron can get brittle in the cold," she comments, to Riesenlied's response.

        "Hmm?" Her gaze, after a moment, tilts towards Ragnell. "'Cause of the way heat builds up, for one. And for two, the kind of metal they use transmits better at a colder temperature. So the colder you can keep it, the better."
        She folds her arms over her chest after a moment's contemplation. "It's all a little out of my wheelhouse, electronics. Still, interesting to learn..."

        But further digression on the topic may need to wait.
        They have company.

        Josie's attention, for her part, turns upwards. Her arms unfold to drop to hang at her sides; her lips part and her eyebrows lift.
        There is a blinking outline where Penelope was a moment ago. The bird has gotten the hell out of Dodge, so to speak. ...Not that Josie seems to have noticed.
        The archaeologist, given her inclinations, is either stunned into silence by the dragon's appearance or contemplating how one might take apart a Metal Dragon. Or maybe even both.

        Or make that, 'was silent' until Fei cracks a joke.
        Cue Josie muffling a laugh into a gloved hand. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

It's big, very big - but then again, Jacqueline supposes it had to be. They approach, carefully and cautiously...and then, the ground shakes as something begins to move.

Within the cave, two gold gleams can be seen.

Eyes.

Massive eyes. It is the only part of whatever's inside that they can clearly see, but they can see enough to know that whatever it is, it's massive.

And then, a voice.

Jacqueline freezes in place, fear gripping her. And then...she takes a deep breath, and then a step forward. It puts her just behind Riesenlied and she bows, deeply and respectfully with a hand over her heart.

"As...as they say, we do not desire treasure - only peaceful conversation. If you wish it, we will step no further. If you wish it, we will depart and leave you in peace." Her voice trembles for a moment, but she finds her center before long - speaking politely and respectfully.

She does not straighten from her bow just yet - she waits for the Metal Dragon's response.

She doesn't even chuckle at Fei's joke, but that's primarily because of how scared stiff she is. And also, that wouldn't be very diplomatic of her! 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        The first of the tremors brings Noeline up short, gritting her teeth as she swallows whatever else she was about to say; each of her nerves jangle at the noise of rumbling stone, and the impulse to run is almost a palpable thing.

        But it's just an impulse, and it's one that by now she's learnt to tamp down and push past. The two of them could not have come this far otherwise - could not have faced down Equites under the Guardian Temple and made their feelings known, could not have led the Tainted out of Old Petra to safety, could not have stood their ground against the Quarter Knights until they were able to launch the Fereshte. In many ways, her change from spy to protector is a marker of the sheer influence Riesenlied has had on her, just as strong as the feelings shared between them.

        As such, she risks a single step forward, fully expecting Lily to do the same on Riese's other side - she's not nearly stupid enough to draw her weapon, but she certainly tenses up, ready to dart forwards or cut and run as required. The fact that she's able to lock her gaze with the massive golden eyes in the darkness ahead without cowing from it is almost a surprise, but it's quickly muted. After all, they're exchanging words. That's a lot more than Berserk ever gave anyone.

        "--and we're here as representatives of the Guardians, as well," she adds on to the end of the introduction, reaching inside of her for the spark of her <edium. "Or one of them in specific, at least. Someone's overslept, and needs a good kick awake." She swallows, and then forces herself to offer a fanged grin forwards. It's like stretching an old muscle - it wavers for a moment, then gets easier. "As the others say, we've no desire for treasure. Hurling ourselves at danger is par for the course, unfortunately."

        She knows that the more they can talk, the more chance Riesenlied has to get her point across - and the more time she has to try to peer through the pervasive gloom, trying to get a sense of just how large this Dragon is. 

<Pose Tracker> Lombardia has posed.

"...Nall. I should have known."

There is something long-suffering in the Metal Dragon's voice, when she speaks that name. It sounds, almost, like humor; a wry, but tired sense of humor. Her glowing golden eyes look at them, but not at any of them in particular. With their solid hue, it is impossible to see the movement of pupils or some other sign that one person in particular has the Metal Dragon's attention.

"Would that I could discourage him from such folly. Very well, you... regular kind of fools. I shall refrain from slaying you this instant, and weigh carefully what the next need require of me."

But still, at Riesenlied's and Jacqueline's offer, she doesn't answer immediately. However, eventually, she steps out. She is a magnificent sight: the size of a Gear, titanic in size, and made of interlocking plates of silver, white, red, and blue armor. However, her draconic form has no small amount of rust and tarnish upon it. This creature looks old, even as she prowls forward with a litheness that belies her age.

"I think it an ill omen to see Hyadeans upon this star." The dragon's eyes burn forward, at all of them. "And I find little comfort in knowing that Guardians have given you comfort. Too often has their blessing meant neither restraint nor wisdom for man. What ill-fated fortune brings you to these shores? Do you support them, Seraph?"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        Ragnell nods thoughtfully at what Josie tells her. Hmm... It's been a while since she dabbled in electronics, but she still has the interest, just... not the opportunity, right now. She'll have to keep that in mind going forward. Lightning might be great for accessing transmissions, but it's garbage for keeping things cold.
        
        But then Lombardia. Fei makes a joke, and Ragnell keeps a straight face until Lombardia makes it clear she has a sense of humor, at which point she cracks a grin. It also helps let her relax, and she settles on the balls of her feet while folding her arms over her chest. They're not in the clear, but... their likelihood of getting through this unmaimed just shot up.
        
        Which is good, because she then steps out into the open to reveal herself fully. Ragnell whistles in appreciation. She also chuckles wryly at the truth of her words. 'Too often has their blessing meant neither restraint nor wisdom for man'... Yeah, looking back at that Kent Haunch guy and how *he* used the blessing of the Guardians, she can imagine exactly what the Metal Dragon means. But--
        
        "Me?" Ragnell blinks twice, then gestures towards Riesenlied and Noeline. "You mean these two? Well, we help each other out every so often. As for how they came here to Lunar, well... I'll let them tell their own story." 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        There's a pureness within the rust, something that Riesenlied hasn't ever quite seen in the halls of the Photosphere. Something seems different about her, and it isn't the rust itself... and, of course, her words alone make clear her position.

        "Here," Riesenlied expresses, first and foremost -- before realising she's far too short, so she... hands the silver canister to Odjn instead. She hasn't broken the seal, perhaps a gesture of goodwill to show that she means it in the bond between the two.

        Fei's comfort does soothe Odjn, who'd would normally grumble, but there's something about this moment that just has her pick it up and float up slowly... "Ummm, do you want me to just put it on y'paw or...?" A pause, as the tiniest Dragon keeps looking. Her mind keeps hurting. Why?

        "We were all stranded here, not by choice, but by circumstance," Riesenlied explains. "A climactic battle with a being claiming to be the latest Lord of Calamity... and a desperate bid to spirit him away led to an-- accident with an Elw teleporter that brought us all here."

        She lowers her head.

        "It is as you say. It is perhaps ill fate..." A pause, as she hesitates. But then says:

        "I am a Tainted, branded unfit by my peers. Our kind number in the thousands, and we have chosen to take a stand... against the path of military conquest and subjugation that the rest of our brethren embrace. Against Mother, and against..." She nearly doesn't catch herself. "Siegfried..."

        A longer pause, as she lowers her head. "But our history is lost to us. I ill know how related you are to our distant, war-scarred past... but all that is left for us to learn are told through the lens of those who favour Mother's will."

        She looks up, eyes full of resolve. The Dragon's Tear starts to clear up as she expresses: "Please. I want to know the history of our people, the Hyadeans. From a perspective unclouded by those who desire vengeance for past wars lost... it is important that we learn of the past." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Obviously, Lily doesn't laugh at Fei's joke. She doesn't even crack a smile; she just keeps up her guard position beside Riesenlied, opposite Noeline, making no move to attack. ...She doesn't need a ton of move for it, though. She's... semi-diplomatic, anyway, nodding along as Noeline mentions the Guardians. Her eyes, however, stay forward; on the dragon, on the cave, looking for triggered traps or motions of hostility...

'Regular kind of fools.' Lily is frowning about not being slain, maybe being slain the next moment, but even she is affected by the sheer sight of the Metal Dragon before them, eyes widening slightly in surprise, something like wonder. ...She closes her left hand, rubbing thumb against forefinger. Her markings itch, she thinks.

But when Riesenlied finishes, Lily speaks up, "I agree. It is ill fate, it is a problem. We do not belong here, and I have no intention of staying longer than I have to. ...I won't pretend that the presence of our people is good for this world, either."

"...But I find that these two Hyadeans are more honorable than most humans by far. ...The Guardians healed me of an affliction, and I work to aid them in preventing the end of our world in turn. ...These two have aided in that."

Seraphs. Lily glances to Ragnell... But says nothing. Seraphs, all the time lately. 

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

This 'Nall' is a peer of Lombardia's? It's -- unusual, to think that. Lunar... certainly has a wide range of creatures upon it, to say the least, Matilda thinks to herself. She nods back to Lily, taking another moment to assess the creature before her. Her eyes move along the limbs first and foremost, assessing... something. It's not entirely obvious what.

"That's -- correct, we're not seeking treasure," she offers, alongside Fei. She's a little too tense to find the humor, unfortunately. She continues to defer to Riesenlied, until she actually speaks.

"... This dragon, then -- is related somehow, to..." Matilda blinks a few times, in genuine surprise, looking between Riesenlied and Lombardia, such as she can in the dim light. It's a bit of a strange thought.

"... Yes," she eventually says, quietly. "To stop Filgaia from heading down the path of destruction... we see no solutions in the present -- so, we look to the past." Now that she fully comprehends what they're asking... she stands up straight and listens. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei hopes that was a joke and not foreshadowing but he does relax considerably when it becomes apparent that the dragon has a sense of humor. It isn't exactly an 'all clear' but it does mean dialogue is possible. In his experience, that's actually a lot of the battle. He gives Josie and Elly grateful smiles. They say it's the best medicine.

He murmurs, "It'll pass," to Odjn. "Hang in there, okay?" Small dragons become big dragons, he realizes in this moment--but it bodes well, at least, that this world is kind to them when they are young. Perhaps one day they will be kind to them when they are old. He doesn't comment or seem to even think much about Nall being a 'peer' of Lombardia.

But he is starting to realize that if there is a treasure he seeks, it'd be answers. This dragon may know everything. Even if she doesn't know specifically what happened, why he's having these visions--maybe she knows the context.

"The Guardians aren't perfect, but nobody's perfect." Fei says, maybe thinking back to when the whole team was escaping the battle between Aveh and Kislev, maybe thinking before that...

But he does look to Riesenlied. It's a good question. He wants to know the history of her people too. After a moment's of hesitation he turns to look back to Lombardia.

"We were one people once, weren't we? I mean...on one world." Fei asks. "What happened?" 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
They're not being instantly slain! Hurray! Elly relaxes, probably more than she is really entitled to, given the overall situation and status of affairs. She exhales, sweeping a hand through her bangs. She does NOT reach for a rod, an Ether formation, or anything.

Riesenlied should do the talking to those of her people. She gives Odjn a smile, and then that smile falters momentarily as she wonders, not for the first time, who Riesenlied is not friends with. Is she going to bring about peace with her wounded heart -- just because nobody wants to make her sad?!

Before she can gather her thoughts further, Fei says something that startles her. He gets a wide-eyed, but more-admiring sort of look, before she asks: "Did there used to be... more intercourse between our two worlds?"

More rhetorical than anything. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

It is only when Lombardia agrees to speak with them - or perhaps 'decides not to slay them on the spot' would be more accurate - that Jacqueline stands to her full height once more.

This allows her to see Lombardia fully when she emerges from that cavern, causing Jacqueline to let out a small breath of surprise at the sheer majesty of the Metal Dragon before her. Though Lombardia is clearly ancient, her age has done nothing to make her any less of a Dragon - that is obvious just from the way she moves.

She remains quiet, letting the others speak with her hands clasped in front of her. It was...admittedly, a little hard to keep looking at Lombardia for too long! But she does so anyway.

"Riesenlied and her people...their character has been proven to me time and time again. I will stand by them. My word may not mean much...but I believe in her, and I believe in her dream for a new, peaceful world." Jacqueline says.

That's all she can say - the others have already made their reasons for coming here clear. She stands there, straight and quiet, and waits. 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

        Straightening where she stands -- with only the slightest twitch of the lips to betray past amusement -- Josie greets the dragon at last with a nod of the head. "You seem alright. I've never met a dragon before," Ruby aside (maybe?) "but you, I wouldn't mind having a drink with. ...Assuming there was a tavern big enough for you and me, that is."

        Penelope is still very much not here. Perhaps the bird has more preservation instinct about her than her owner.

        "Believe me, I don't intend to overstay my welcome up here, either. I've got a career-changing moment waiting for me back on Filgaia, and I intend to make the history books. So if you know a way back..." She lets the sentence trail out, shifting her weight as others pitch in in the meanwhile.

        "And that includes me, too, unfortunately," Josie says with an overdramatic sigh, when Lily says her aim is to support the Guardians. "For the sake of my reputation, I'd rather not say why." She glances at the former soldier sidelong, the measure in her gaze for a moment calculating before it returns to its former good-natured resignation at the state of affairs. "Still, if I'm in, I'm gonna go all in." 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        "Believe me, I don't get much comfort from it either. A lot of headaches, and some heartache for good measure," Noeline shoots back, her grin picking up further and reaching her eyes. "When it comes to some of them, 'a lack of restraint' is quite right. But that's the hand we got dealt." Definitely like stretching a muscle, she thinks to herself in a little analytical corner of her brain. Even with their time spent recuperating on Lunar, it's been a long time since she's faced a situation like this - and it's almost a nostalgic feeling that settles over her.

        When the dragon reveals herself, Noeline puffs out a soft breath, impressed. It's not hard to compare her to the Photosphere troops - and also, not hard to imagine her tearing through them like butter. Lombardia might be pitted with age, but Noeline's smart enough to pick out the strength lying there, a strength she'd probably describe as 'wiry' if it weren't for the sheer size involved.

        She lets out a light sigh at the words of support and goodwill; she can't help but feel a little bashful, not that she'd ever admit that out loud, occasionally prone to feeling like she's really only come this far by hanging on to Riesenlied's coattails. Lily wouldn't mince her words for the life of her, Ragnell's the sort to downplay everything, and Jacqueline hasn't got a mean bone in her body, but-- well, even so.

        "I know the situation in general, even if we're lacking in details," she comments to Fei. "Whether it was something Althena did, or the concept of Malevolence in general - the two worlds were split, and sealed away from each other. I suspect it was to protect Filgaia, rather than Lunar, but it's probably rather academic at this point," she huffs. "Filgaia has already experienced Lunarians and Malevolence both, to rather large degrees."

        "... I aim to unseal Duras Drum, and ask him the same questions we would of you," she adds, her voice strengthening as she looks back to Lombardia. "The Guardians need all the assistance they can get right now, and the veil between the worlds is already pierced quite enough. ... we're at the point where we need to be acting, rather than waiting. That is my opinion, at least," she huffs softly. 

<Pose Tracker> Lombardia has posed.

"I see," Lombardia answers Ragnell. Then, the Metal Dragon's head turns to look back towards Riesenlied. The Metal Dragon follows her much smaller brethren, watching as Odjn flies through the air with a silver canister. She asks Lombardia a question -- and Lombardia extends a hand outward, claw outstretched. It is, positively, titanic. "Place it upon my claw."

There is a soft 'dink' sound when Odjn does, before Lombardia's claw curls about it... and the cannister vanishes in a flash of light.

Lombardia looks back at Riesenlied, then, and then over the whole of them. She listens as they explain -- as they state the desire for peace and the desire to save Filgaia. She looks down at them, and the good humor that she showed some sign of is soon little but a ghost. For a creature without expressions, Lombardia's very posture and stance evoke a tension, an anger, and a depression that runs deep.

The depths of centuries, if not longer.

"And you would stand, human and Filgaian, to forge this peace?" she asks. "I know not of a way to leave this place, nor have I looked in the last five hundred years. I know not little and less of whether the Silver Star and Filgaia were connected in the past. It is my sincere hope that they were not, and that this connection will be fleeting..."

A tired fury enters Lombardia's tone. "...for what little rest my sleep finds came from knowing that never would mine eyes see that cursed Filgaia again. If you would have the truth, I shall give it, and then you can weep your tears away at Duras Drum's shrine instead upon my hearth."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Odjn pauses and puts the canister down on the claw, where it... it disappears. The little Dragon wonders for a moment if she'll get the ability to scan messages by just making them vanish for a moment.

        "Five hundred years..." Riesenlied whispers. "That was when my brethren and I came into being as well... fresh from the catastrophe of Diabolos and the Day of Collapse -- when our ability to produce new Hyadeans were greatly compromised... resulting in the Taint that runs through my living metal."

        She looks towards Noeline with no small amount of trepidation. She fears the idea of unveiling the worlds, but... she trusts in Noeline, and she trusts in Duras Drum's judgement. Even if it may hurt, like ripping off a band-aid, a circumstance that has come into being through millenia of untruth... can only help Lunar and Filgaia so much.

        Odjn nods towards Fei as he reassures that it would be better, but hesitates as she voices her own thoughts too:

        "... m-missus, um..."

        She shakes her head as she puffs up. "My head's botherin' me, but somethin' looks so familiar about you..." she curls up into herself for a moment, as Riesenlied looks on with a small amount of surprise.

        "Riese, she found me seated deep in a nest of fossils... way below the ground in a deep mine... and I never figured it out. Where I'm from, who I am... it bugs me, not knowin' whether the Photosphere made me or not..." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

The common history of the two--Lily glances to Noeline once, but does little to stop looking at Lombardia. She rather demands attention, after all. But this...

Lily can see the way Lombardia shows such fatigue, such anger. She can hear it. So Lily regards Lombardia for longer. She sees, in her, something almost... almost like...

She does not offer any corrections about what they might be. "Yes, we do," Lily says. "We stand to see it done."

She pauses, at that. "...I would hear this truth." She does not speak for Odjun, only wonders at her somewhat, wonders at the way the times come together. ...But there' s not mjuch she can see yet. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

So, Fei thinks, it wasn't just once that people moved from Filgaia to Lunar and vice versa. He doesn't even seem surprised by the fact that the story may cause weeping. It's about what he always expected. He'd probably be more surprised if it wasn't a sad story. The truth is, Ojdn, that Fei's head is hurting too. It's always hurting. One secret of many.

He curls his fingers inward and then fans out his fingers outward as if--well it's hard to tell what as if.

"It won't be fleeting." Fei shares an uncomfortable truth, looking up. "We were brought here because a--a woman named Lucia--needed to return in order to do battle with something called 'Zophar'. But..."

He raises his head. "I've already met at least one woman who came here not long ago, and people from this world managed to make it to ours--often with no known cause. I don't know what the connection is...but something moved people from world to world. I have to assume there's a motivation behind it but..." He shakes his head. "...I have to assume that at the very least, someone set something off. Or worse, it isn't just random. Something or someone wants our worlds to connect again."

This isn't the most diplomatic of dialogue options but Fei is generally an honest person and that's what he's thinking about right now.

That and the skies, but that--at least--he is hesitant to bring up.

He pauses for a moment at Noeline's words. "The moon...it has always..."

This time he trails off, looking uncertain. 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        "Hmmm..." Ragnell rests a hand on her chin as she listens to Lombardia's story... such as it is for now. Five hundred years ago... and it seems like there was stuff going on on both ends, if what Riese and Odjn have to say indicates anything. Fei meanwhile brings up Zophar and Lucia, and Ragnell glances his way. Then she looks back at the Metal Dragon.
        
        "I would have it," she says. "The truth, that is." She cracks a wry smile. "Even if it's as bad as you imply, it wouldn't be the first time I was hit with a reality I couldn't do anythin' about." Then she falls silent, to better listen to the others. 

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

"... For the moment, at least," Matilda offers to Lombardia, as the group is asked. She stays silent after that -- at least until Odjn starts talking to Lombardia. *This* surprises her -- enough to get her attention, in fact. She's used to thinking of Odjn as Riese's slightly bizarre tag-along, but...

Backing up Fei, she adds, "There's -- much to attest that the greenery of this planet is... similar, to Filgaia's. Too many things connect to be a coincidence. But..."

... She doesn't want to push what is obviously a line of inquiry Lombardia finds to be unfortunate at best. Instead, she says, "I'm -- with the others. I would... also, hear the truth." 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
"I would, too," Elly says softly. She then looks at just how huge the dragon's claw is.

It's real big.

She murmurs to Fei and perhaps Lily if Lily has not gotten too far away, "I hope the size of the group isn't agitating her... but we couldn't just let Riesenlied and Noeline come here alone, could we?" 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

        Josie takes a breath, then exhales slowly, the slight dip of her shoulders and the expression on her face perhaps enough to speak to the universal thought of 'well, what can you do'?
        She can read the writing on the wall, sure enough -- she might be fickle and foolish by certain measures, but she can tell that the dragon's patience has been tested.
        Besides. If the people from Lunar got down somehow, it's bound to still be open. Or alternatives.

        "Could be," she says, voicing the general drift of these thoughts. "There might be multiple ways, even -- it's not like we've scoured this place. And there's always more than one way to skin a cat, as it were. Right?"

        She's folded her arms across her chest again.

        "So it's the kind of truth that's unpleasant, huh?" She breathes out a little ghost of a laugh. "Well, let's have it. I'd rather understand what we're trying to do than going in blind, you know? And if there's tears... well, we got what we asked for. That's all." 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline watches Odjn make the delivery. She's a little surprised when it just vanishes, but she supposes that this must be, well, normal.

And then, however, Lombardia becomes...tense. Jacqueline tenses up a little, too, and worry creeps into her mind. Had she...said the wrong thing? But...no. Even worse would be to lie, to turn away from her beliefs.

"...I would." Jacqueline affirms, placing a hand over her heart. She had already thrown her lot in with Riesenlied and the others - she would not turn away from them, whatever it came down to.

Five hundred years...that sounded like a long time, but on a large scale, Jacqueline supposes it may not be.

The truth...she had to admit, she was curious about that, too. Even if it was a bitter pill, it was better to know the truth than to ignore it. If it was offered to them, then she would listen.

She doesn't say as much, though - the fact that she is still standing here is a testament to that.

Her gaze turns to Odjn for a moment, watching her sympathetically.

"Odjn..." She murmurs, concerned. She hoped she would be alright... 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        Noeline furrows her brow, frowning as she lets out a breath. "... we already have to deal with the fact that everything we were taught about Mother was a lie. That our race wants us dead because they believe that their way is the only right one. That there are a great many humans out there that think exactly the same thing, and that for many forgiveness is a terribly alien concept. That Filgaia and Lunar might both be cursed, to the point of no return."

        She draws herself up, the sharpness and certainty in her own voice almost surprising her. For a moment, she has to wonder if she's saying it for Lombardia's benefit, or theirs. "But if you think the truth will set us weeping and gnashing our teeth, then try us. We've walked this far, and are still standing strong. We've far too much to do to simply stop and give up now."

        She has the heart to meet Riesenlied's gaze, and the heart to offer a terribly brief and apologetic smile in return; she's aware of the other Hyadean's misgivings about her plan. It's not something that Noeline herself has a concrete answer for either - as it stands, it's about all she can do to go with her gut, and do what she feels is the right thing. Whether that will change after coming across Duras Drum's shrine, she can't say.

        It wouldn't be terribly diplomatic to follow Fei and Matilda's thread of thought much further, at least not in front of their host - but she can't help but think back to Lahan, and then to Wehaca. Reports of ARM users on Lunar, the Guard's protection of Adlehyde... certainly, she can't imagine any possible way to put the whole situation back into a box and close it shut. 

<Pose Tracker> Lombardia has posed.

"+royalblue,Yes. I left before the most recent generation was created.)" Lombardia states it matter-of-factly. Her head turns, then, and she looks down at Odjn. "The last true Metal Dragons, the ones that were my charge, were unable to be created even before the Day of Collapse. You may well be one of the last of us. The rest of my brood perished in the first war our people fought upon Filgaia. How you may have lived... I know not."

Then, she looks towards Fei. Her head turns, with a whine of machinery, and she stands up taller. When she does, it becomes clearly that she had a terrible wound cut into her chest in centuries past. Blackened, burnt metal and a hole that shows some mechanical inner workings are visible, as she stalks forward to them. "It may be. I know nothing of this Zophar. What I know of this world... is what a few foolish adventurers, like Nall, have told me. This is place where I retreated in penance, for what I have done."

She looks between them -- at the humans, now, especially. If their willingness impresses her, it doesn't show, but her face is poor at making expressions. That draconic visage looks down upn each in turn, before she nods. "Then you shall have it. I was one of the first Metal Dragons. Our wings took to the skies of Filgaia when we came from Hyadeas, to wage war on the humans and Elw... and wage war we did. The skies bled. The land burned. And Mother fell, and the Demons fled to their strongholds and planned."

She turns, then, and looks towards Josie, and then Jay. "Perhaps, then, it would not surprise you that they struck out... much as these two have. They did not all sit idle. They met humans and learned of them, slowly, even as they contemplated how to find and save Mother. Many did this... including Lord Siegfried, our commander."

Her head turns, then, and looks back towards Fei, and Elly, and Lily before them both. "There, tragedy unfolded, for Siegfried -- in the guise of a man -- befriended a young human named Lacan. He mused on the possibility of peace. He found, in his simple journeys, a chance for hope. He recovered from the wound of his great loss in the war. Our people considered, for the first time ever, that we might have hope."

Lombardia closes her eyes.

"It was not to be. Lacan and many of his friends fell in the humans' war... how, I know not, but in doing so, I can only assume Lord Siegfried was mad with grief. He joined with another human--one known as the Seeker of Power, Grahf, and raised the Gears known as Diabolos. Grahf offered Lord Siegfried revenge... and he helped him in the grim task of shattering human civilization -- in allowing the Diabolos to bring about the Day of Collapse."

Lombardia's eyes scan over all of them, and then she spreads her forelimbs apart, showing the ghastly wound. "Ill-conceived conscience gripped me. I attacked the Diabolos, and was struck with a wound I could not recover. And, as I lay broken, Lord Siegfried came to me and I asked him why. He told me... he told me that his grief was not for who he lost, but because Lacan had shattered his trust before his passing.}"

Lombardia bows her head. "And it would only grow worse."

There is, it seems, more to the story. But, she pauses for a moment. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Odjn bristles at that fact, like Lombardia so casually dropped something astonishing on her lap that she... she has trouble fathoming it.

        "'True' Metal Dragon...? What-- what does that even mean?" Odjn reacts with confusion, and something approaching panic and anxiety -- and deflection, because the truth is a lot more confusing than she anticipated. "Riese's not a fake or anything...! She's just as true as any pal I know, like Ruby and Fei and Hiro and Jay and Noe--"

        She finds herself weeping a little, rubbing her eyes.

        "... the Dragon curled up around me, all this time ... as if tryin' to shield me from everything bad ever... was that..." she whimpers. The story of Lacan, the story of Siegfried...

        Riesenlied reaches out -- and Odjn finds solace in her arms as she hugs her. "Penance..." Riesenlied whispers. "There was no such peaceful guise, then... it was war from the onset. From when Mother, and Lord Siegfried and the others touched upon Filgaian soil..."

        Noeline can say with more conviction of Mother's lies, but for her, her faith was a cornerstone that she's stood upon for a very long time... and even though she's come to terms with it herself, rationally, intellectually--

        --some part of her emotions have not been resolved yet, as she lets out a quiet tear as she holds closer to Odjn.

        Well, in her case, it is a truth that has her weeping, that much is true. But perhaps it is an important pain for her to feel, because it will ultimately lead her to truer feelings.

        Riesenlied glances towards the group she's gathered; how they all wish to know truth as well. It heartens her, to know that she doesn't stand this burden alone. They may have different outlooks in some days, but... an interest in the truth of the past is something they all share.

        "... Lacan? I--" She sucks in a surprised breath, eyes still wet. "Grahf... the Seeker of Power. The one that appeared in Lacour? Then-- then we've seen the one who brought about the Day of Collapse??"

        She winces further, as she hears of how Lord Siegfried's trust had been shattered. To have come so close... to hear Siegfried muse on the possibility of peace!

        It makes sense why he was so enraged when he found Wayside, now...

        Maybe it reopened old wounds he'd sooner forget.

        "...Lord Siegfried..."

        Ever the daughter, even far away as they are now, she can't help but empathise as she lets her tears out. 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"Best not to worry now," Lily murmurs to Elly. "It's not as if we can change it now."

Fei's explanation needs no comment from her; Noeline's, the same. they have all seen difficult truths already, and Lily is no exception. ...But she does find herself watching Ragnell for a few moments, curious. Curious, and unwilling to speak up yet that Fei is confirming a truth here.

But Lombardia begins to explain, and Lily keeps gold eyes on her. 'What she has done', the Dragon says, and she explains. The talk of war, of the horrors she visited upon the world--none of that sways Lily on its own. She watches impassive, her expression steady, calm. ...What is strange is the thought of hope. Hope, from Siegfried; she thinks back to the times she has faced the Hyadean general, growing distant-eyed for a few moments.

But Grahf's mention stirs her, and she looks up, looking more sharply, alarmed and perhaps more. Her fist closes more tightly, and she thinks it best not to mention what Grahf's presence meant to her.

But the story is all too familiar in its own way, for all that Lily is not some ancient dragon or general. She is shaken by that, and disquiet is clear in her expression as she looks away after studying the wound. "...When you lose those you value most..." Lily speaks softly, shakes her head. "I suppose it's true, Riesenlied, what I said to you."

Lily looks up. "Betrayal, then. It would seem that little has changed in all that time. Even the forces in play..."

Her fingers open and close, working slowly, idly; still she thinks those markings itch, but maybe it's something else after all. "Grahf..." 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

        It's a lot to take in in one go. A story of what had happened five hundred years ago...

        In the end, it's a story about betrayal and lost hope.
        What's left after you lose what you value most?

        Josie huffs out a breath, glancing away.
        "Times like this, I can almost understand the bastard..." she murmurs, gaze hooded.
        Briefly, her gaze lifts to turn Riesenlied's way, watching the Metal Demon woman if in a sort of sidelong way.

        "...But that's not the end of it, is it?" She directs her attention back on Lombardia, rolling her shoulders as she straightens. "Keep going." 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong flinches when Lombardia shows him her wound, as if he himself had been struck. "I..." He begins. "Can...can that be..." He stammers but before he can get out what he ewas going to get out, the story continues. Lombardia talks of Mother's fall. That falls in line with Fei's understanding and he almost calms down. But then the rest of the story happens. Fei looks ill at ease the moment Siegfried comes up, looks even worse when he mentions Lacan. Fei covers his face with his hand and steps backwards, away from Lombardia, as if afraid.

Why are you running? We can take her.

Are you suicidal? She'd kill us!

She's wounded. And besides...haven't you considered that maybe they'd all be better off with us dead?

"That's...that's not true. It can't be! Grahf is still alive. He burned down my home!" That's not the story that he tells everybody, but it's not a lie exactly. "And then..."

He sinks to one knee, clutching at something in his pocket with one hand and his hand to his forehead with the other. He must be upset that the Seeker of Power has lived for so long and lives yet still. But...

Betrayal begets betrayal. We looked to the void for answers and then...nothingness

"A new world..." Fei says quietly. "He said...no, no no..." He shakes his head ferociously. "Shutup, just...shutup!! He wouldn't have... He wouldn't have...there's no way he would have. He loved him. Some kind of...misunderstanding... We can fix it we--"

Just like Lombardia predicted, he is gnashing his teeth and weeping, trying desperately to keep it together.

Do you get it yet? It was you. Don't you get it yet?

"Elly..." He manages. "Help--"

A surge of chi wells up within him. 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        Lacan? Lacan. That name sounds vaguely familiar to Ragnell, but she can't quite place where she's heard it before. Is she just confusing it with Lahan...? Grahf, on the other hand, is a name she recognizes instantly. Though she never met the Seeker of Power in person, she heard a lot about him after he attacked the end of the Lacour Tournament of Arms, as Riesenlied openly notes. So that guy's at least five hundred year old, then--and probably much older still. What exactly is he...?
        
        Ragnell frowns pensively when Lombardia speaks of Siegfried going mad with grief... because a dear human friend died. Huh. She's only spoken with him in person once, but that doesn't jive with what she knows of the Metal Demon. That Siegfried later told Lombardia that Lacan betrayed him is much more in line with her impression of him. And there's more yet to the story, it would seem, as Josie also observes aloud...
        
        She notes Lily glancing over her way, too, and Ragnell looks back at her briefly, but then Fei starts to freak out. Ragnell turns her frown over to him, eyebrows furrowed. At first it seems like he's upset about Grahf, but then he starts rambling about... something else? "What're you on about?" she asks him--before power starts to surge within him. Ragnell's hands are on the handles of her pistols in an instant, but she doesn't draw yet.
        
        Instead, her red eyes flick over to Elly, to see what she does in the face of this plea for help. 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
"Ah!" Elly says when Lombardia rises and reveals her dolorous wound. It is an unedited, unfiltered remark. Her eyes narrow in sympathy, and then she looks up while receiving this inspection. Her lips purse at the story.

Especially when it comes into play with something that she knows a little about. She blanches slightly, as if her worldview has been rocked deeply. Something about what Lombardia is saying...

It has the ring of truth, doesn't it? She believes it. "Then he's lived for hundreds of years," she breathes. "But...!"

There's a problem. As Fei ends up kneeling - it isn't prayerful, no, he's distraught. Elly looks at him, and anxiety prickles at her back as he speaks with such heat. He's crying. Elly sinks to her knees besides him, pressing an arm over his back and gathering him in. "Fei -!"

It is a cradling sort of embrace and Elly does not get words out and across to amplify the thought further. She buries her face into Fei's hair for a moment, then shifts her head, resting her chin on his head. Her eyes turn towards Lombardia, even as she runs a hand down Fei's back on pure reflex.

"I'm sorry," she tells the great dragon. "What he says is true. Even Siegfried... we've had to meet him in battle several times."

Her head turns to look at Ragnell but there isn't any rancor there, not right now. Weariness, if anything, but it passes, and then she looks downwards. "It's alright," she tells Fei softly. "I'm sorry for all of this. It's alright - it'll be alright..." 

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

Matilda listens to the tale. It's... strange, to hear of a world where Siegfried would befriend a human. An era wherein human and metal demon nearly walked side by side -- as they have now, as they have to reach Lombardia. It's... to speak truthfully, almost surreal. There is a unique trap in human thinking -- to believe oneself the first to walk any path that has no markers.

It seems the markers were just worn away, by time. ... or, perhaps, buried entirely, on purpose, if the place where Lombardia has currently left off might be any indication.

All of that melts away, though, at Fei's obvious and increasing distress. Her gaze turns to the young man, watching -- assessing. Partial lucidity... either extreme audio sensitivity or limited aural hallucinations...

Matilda starts to reach into her pack, but doesn't move with particularly extreme speed. She looks to Elly, and asks, "If Mr. Fong Wong needs, ah, medical assistance..." she starts, but trails off. 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        Noeline immediately falls silent when the giant dragon begins to speak; she has always labelled herself a historian, and even if her history is more focused around humans and societies than the past history of the Metal Demons, she can't help but be drawn into the tale, her gaze curious as she commits the tale to memory.

        For all her conviction and self-certainty that she's built up around herself in regards to Mother, she is certainly not unfeeling or uncaring. At some point, roughly at the point where Lombardia talks about Siegfried's fledgling hope for peace, her hand steals towards Riesenlied's to hold onto it tightly, knowing what that hope must mean for the other Hyadean - and knowing how much the mere thought of it shattering will hurt Riesenlied in turn.

        The rough sigh she lets out nearly belies her earlier words - but for Noeline, it isn't just a cautionary tale about having your hope dashed. The questions naturally bubble up in her mind - who or what exactly is Grahf, and how strong was his influence over Siegfried? Should she even use past tense on that sentence, or does he still have more to do with the Quarter Knights than she'd like? And if 'ill-conceived conscience' is what brought the dragon in front of them to Lunar, and drove it to hide away in penance and sorrow...

        ... does that mean it's still there?

        She glances to Fei, and the way he sinks to the ground - but he has enough people to look after him right now that one more would simply be too many, and her mind is too occupied spinning through possibilities and the past, focusing on Lombardia again as she waits for the dragon to continue. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

The last of the 'true' Metal Dragons...? Jacqueline glances toward Odjn quietly. ...That was a thought, certainly, and she couldn't help but find herself curious, too. Still, Lombardia continues past that, to the truth that she bore. She stands tall, and approaches them, and looks at them all in turn.

...It takes some effort not to quail beneath her gaze, but Jacqueline stands still, looking up at her. Even though her neck is starting to hurt a little bit.

Lombardia's tale...it's a lot to take in. Jacqueline remains quiet, saying not a word as she speaks. She frowns, however, her expression pensive, and folds her arms in front of her.

Her gaze meets the ground, and she thinks. Her expression darkens a bit at the mention of Grahf. That was the man who attacked Lacour, who interrupted the tournament that Lunata had tried so hard in...and had helping bring about the Day of Collapse. How could he have possibly lived for so long...?

But, that's not the important consideration. If he was here again, and making movements...then did that mean another could be on the horizon...?

And then, one thing is made clear...

...Betrayal.

...Jacqueline doesn't know what to make of this. The road they'd traveled...it had been walked once before, and ended only in tragedy.

What hope did they have, then...?

...No, she couldn't let that stop her. Just because it failed before did not mean it would fail now, right? She wouldn't let it.

...She couldn't...

Before she can dwell on that any further, though, Fei gets her attention.

"A-ah, Fei!" She says, in concern. Elly moves to reassure him. She should be able to help, right? If anyone could, it was her.

She doesn't say anything further, however, instead looking quietly back up at Lombardia. As Josie said, that wasn't the end of it.

There was more. She had agreed to hear the truth, and whatever the rest of it brought, she would stand and listen. 

<Pose Tracker> Lombardia has posed.

"If you have, then it is a greater tragedy that he yet draws breath," Lombardia answers Riesenlied. She looks down at her, not quite understanding, and looks at Fei. She misunderstands -- perhaps not, yet, grasping what the welling of chi means in full. "I speak no lies. He said... that Lacan was no different than those who killed Mother. I know not what he meant."

She looks down at Elly, for a long moment.

In Elly's mind, there is a flash. A rush of insight; a memory, that comes unbidden, and as clear as day -- as if she lived it.

        -=-=-

"Sophia!" Siegfried called. "Come."

The powerfully built man grinned, turning. His tunic whipped in the wind, on the sunny, green grassed plains west of the Fatima-led kingdom. The hills rolled and turned here, and he walked ahead of her, to where Lacan's form was distant: standing, wide-eyed, before a massive blue and white dragon. Her armor shone, glinting in the sunlight, as she bowed her head.

"I have come, as you asked, Lord Siegfried, Lombardia said. "And these are...?"

"Comrades, Lombadia."

Very well. Shall we, then?]"

Siegfried turned, looking back at Sophia and Lacan both. He grinned -- wide and large, on his squared jaw, but friendly in a way at odds with the future to come. "Come, my friends. We shall ride."

        -=-=-
Lombardia, finally, she looks at Josie. "..Very well."

She hesitates a moment. "Nothing could stop the Diabolos. The humans and Elw tried; their champions failed. The Seeker's allies, including Lord Siegfried, were merciless. Thus, in desperation, the Elw and human alliance made a decision. They used the power of the Guardians, channeled through some focus... and struck down the Diabolos."

She is, for a moment, silent.

"And on that day, our futures withered with our world. The vitality was sucked from Filgaia -- the slow death began. I watched as the deserts grew, as the waters stagnated, and heard the wails of the tribesmen as the Guardians were diminished. It was not our people, raining fire from the heavens, that shattered our new home."

Lombardia's golden eyes stare forward, drilling down into all of them -- and yet, without looking at one of them in specific. "{It was the dream of peace between man and Demon. It was the lie called hope. I fled, and I will never again have part in such folly.}"

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

        'Keep going,' Josie says to Lombardia.
        This is, timing wise, mere seconds before Fei appears to have a particularly acutely bad reaction to what's being said here. She turns her head, brow beetling in a mix of confused concern. "Junior? You okay over there? --Hey! Snap out of it--"

        Tension, for a moment, strings her frame. For an instant, she's reminded of what she'd seen him do once, in the depths of a mountain fortress, in direct counterpoint to his usual demeanor. Where is this going? What is this...

        Elly may have it in hand. "...You got him covered, Red? ...Good." She pauses, then reaches out a hand to point at the both of them. "Listen, if you two need to go take a walk... we can fill you in later. Think about it, alright?"

        Lombardia continues the story.

        "...Damn it..." Josie utters, closing her eyes. "A choice between the devil or the deep blue sea, was it? Or maybe just a slow death or a quick one."

        She reaches for her pocket, pulling out her flask. Her gaze is elsewhere, another place and another time as she takes that drink.
        Glad you didn't hear this...

        Tucking the flask back away, the archaeologist shakes her head.

        "...So, what do you want to do now, Sunshine?" she asks of Riesenlied. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Odjn and Riesenlied spend a moment in their tears, together. But ultimately, unspoken, the two who've been together find some kinship in what they've learnt... and even rattling revelations can't change the bonds that they've developed in the past few centuries together.

        She quietly dabs Odjn's eyes, then her own, with a handkerchief. But Fei's growing instability draws concern from her, as her eyes widen as she moves to help-- but she doesn't know... Elly's there, as is Matilda, and Jay...

        She quietly holds Noeline's hand as she accepts her support. "No different... than those who betrayed Mother?" she quietly ponders.

        Just what transpired between Lacan, Lord Siegfried and the others in the past...? There was more to find out there, but it seems impossible to discover from the man she's come to consider her father...

        But the news of what the humans and Elw did--

        "The vitality from Filgaia... was caused by the humans and Elw??" Riesenlied looks shocked. "I always heard the apocrypha of how it was caused by Diabolos, but..."

        But the truth is a lot muddier than she thought. Just what kind of horrific weapon did the Elw and humans create? Was it the eight Golems...?

        "I... I cannot fault you for feeling that way, hurt as you are..." Riesenlied whispers. She lifts her head. "But I came here with these people... because they are my closest friends and family, as you've heard them speak with their own convictions."

        "We want to keep that dream alive, we want to hold close to hope. Even if we are bowed and beaten, over and over, I fervently believe that it is worth fighting for..." A pause. "Because even hurt as he is, the goodwill and chance that Lord Siegfried has shown to me--"

        She shakes her head for a moment, finding it hard to think about him right now.

        "--what he has shown and taught me-- is a vital part of what he has made me today."

        She bites her lip for a moment, as Josephine asks a very pertinent question with an obvious answer.

        "If it is all right with you, I'd like to take a short break before we reconvene... we need to sort our thoughts out, let those closest to us support us... does that sound good with everyone?" 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Arrogance, indeed, assuming this path has not been walked before. But how many haven't, really? How many go on, and on the way they are?

Lily looks to Fei, gritting her teeth as she sees his... reaction. He asks Elly for help--will it be enough? ...Maybe it will. She closes her eyes, shakes her head, and listens to the rest of the story, a tale that slowly leaves her feeling colder and colder yet. As before, she does not shrink in fear; she lacks that much self-preservation. But fear is cousin to something she knows much, much better.

Lily finds herself staring in shock at Lombardia at the story she reveals, at the truth she offers, and she finds a different feeling entirely there: despair. ...The same despair, perhaps, that Lombardia found, the weight of years, of knowing what has changed. ...Knowing that when Lombardia speaks, she may be telling the full truth indeed.

It was not the demons. It was--

Lily's hand curls again into a fist, and she swallows, slowly. She thinks to the future...

"So it comes down to that again," the sorceress murmurs. "..." She recalls the Golems she has seen. ...The one, that she has fought.

Lily sets eyes on Riesenlied, quietly, watching her, before she speaks. "...You know that I don't share the hopes you do," Lily says plainly. "I am not as optimistic, do not see the bright future you have planned. However..."

Lily squares her shoulders and regards Lombardia, "...Whether the world is doomed to die or not, not yet. Maybe it's a fruitless endeavor, a pointless folly... But we have our duty." 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

'...No different than those who killed Mother?' Jacqueline doesn't understand what that means, but neither does Lombardia.

The Metal Dragon continues - Jacqueline can feel her eyes on her, piercing deep within her. But even more piercing, striking her to her very core, are her words.

A truth is revealed.

Jacqueline stumbles back, eyes wide in horror with a hand clapped over her mouth.

...It wasn't them who caused it...? It was...

No.

...This couldn't be true, right...?

There had to be...

Her knees suddenly feel very weak. It took all she had to prevent herself from dropping then and there. She wraps an arm around herself while the other remains firmly over her mouth.

"I-I...I don't..." She murmurs, shaking her head. She looks to Riesenlied as she speaks.

...Her words help. A little bit. Lily's too, in their own way.

She returns her gaze to Riesenlied and nods, quietly, removing the hand from over her mouth and letting both her arms fall to her side.

"I-I...I think that would be best..." She agrees with a nod. She...needed time to think this over. 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Elly grasps Fei a little more tightly, once again on instinct, as she gazes up at Lombardia. She feels no fear in that moment. Indeed there is clarity here, the usual subtle lines of internal doubt and self-loathing quieting and

it
shows

For a moment she's there, the plains that are now sand whipped with wind across seas of undulating grass. She is wearing something lighter than she usually wears. She sees Siegfried and there is no fear there, no grasping for defense or magic. She smiles - her heart quickens - a wonderful thing is about

to
have
happened -

Matilda might have spotted it but it might have just seemed like Elly not doing anything for a second or two. To her, she says quietly, "I think he's calming. He's just been through a lot..." Her eyes then return to Lombardia.

There is now recognition there. Recognition and confusion. Elly feels a thousand questions try to climb up the back of her mouth, run into each other, and lead to her saying nothing. What was that? How could she have remembered? Uneasily, though, she says, "... I don't..."

"I don't agree."

She sucks in a deep breath and lets it out.

"... I don't know about the nature of that weapon - Diabolos. But if it was dreadful enough for such a solution... then they may have only put off the problem, or changed it. But everyone has to live in the days they live in, not the past. Would there have been a future if they had not followed that path...? I don't know. But they must have considered it at that time. And..."

... and that's where Elly falters, and her eyes turn to the ground of Lunar. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei isn't in any condition to stop Matilda from sticking him with something if she so desires. But first!!

Just a little more... You're almost there, and then you won't be in the way ever again

But Fei has enough time to call for help. And help does come. Elly comes near and embraces Fei, practically cradling him. The chi aura vanishes instantly when Elly moves near. Fei shakes in Elly's arms, gradually calming. There isn't even so much as a flicker back towards rage mode.

"I'm sorry," He weeps, a touch more cogently, but still like a child who broke a vase. His gaze is fixated on Lombardia.

Dang! I assumed the desert was our fault you know, but I guess the Elw just fuck everything up

You assumed??

You'll understand when you're older, 'Junior'

"I'm sorry." Fei tells her. "We...They were betrayed, they believed too strongly. Got careless."

He looks then to Riesenlied. "And they lost everything. Please...I beg you. Please believe just a little less. The knives are at your back."

We thought Siegfried would understand...but he's still bound by the chains of causality. How could he understand the difference between those two men?

Fei sinks against Elly's arms. He blinks a few times and then looks back to Lombardia. There's something different in his gaze this time.

"I'm sorry." He says. "I... I shouldn't have told you to shut up. You're being...very nice to even talk to us. Please forgive this regular fool."

And then he exhales and hugs Elly tightly, briefly, and then sags, somehow, even more. His breathing is back to normal. He's calm. He's chill. Cool as ice.

He considers Elly's words. Again, she just seems to wash away all the pain with a few short sentences.

Even Fei, on some level, understands. Without her...Without her there is no future. 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        Noeline's expression is a complex one, as she holds onto Riesenlied's hand tightly. "... of course they did," she sighs out at news that the Humans and the Elw were the ones to overstep their bounds; that the overuse of the Guardian's power was the thing that set Filgaia's slow decline into motion.

        "This conflict is not so simple that you can boil it down to one side of another. The sort of hatred that lasts for centuries doesn't die away so easily, it spreads like a tree's roots. Not to mention, the Elw were ever so fond of technological marvels that should never, ever have been built," she adds with a rather annoyed grumble.

        There's an unfamiliar irritation building an ache at the back of her head, and it takes her a moment to really pin down what it is that's causing it - she has to meet Lombardia's unerring gaze once more to really figure it out and pin it down into words. "... so you'll sit back, and not bother to act," she realizes, muttering it softly to herself under her breath. "Just let it be. Let them do as they will."

        It isn't exactly anger - she knows it wouldn't be fair for it to be anger, not when she can understand the feelings behind it, not when she spent a majority of her life ignoring her own problems to let them stagnate. But her stare does harden as she furrows her brow, still talking more to herself than to Lombardia. "... but as the ones who came afterwards, that legacy is not ours. Riese's very banner is to try to prevent something like that happening ever again - and in the service of that we have formed peace and bonds with human and Guardian alike--"

        She catches herself - and lets out a long, slow breath at Riesenlied's words, slowly nodding her head. 

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

So... that's it, then. Through the power of the Guardians, a cataclysm was delayed -- the ignominous end of the moment left for future generations to deal with. The immediate problem of the Diabolos struck down, at the cost of the power of the Guardians to sustain Filgaia.

... it's the choice Matilda would've made, too. But it doesn't mean she has to like it, in the least. Her feelings on the matter distract her from Elly and Fei for what might turn out, later, to have been a critical moment. She tenses up a little, herself. Her gaze turns to everyone in turn -- as they seem to crumble under the weight of the moment, under the inexorable tide of history catching up to them.

Her whole body tenses and stiffens, every muscle going taut, nearly one by one. "... Yes," she says quietly. "Some -- time to think about this... would be... best." She feels... ...

... whatever she's feeling, she doesn't allow herself the overt agony that Jay does. For the moment, whatever feelings she has are shoved deep inside her. ... to wait, if nothing else. 

<Pose Tracker> Lombardia has posed.

"We wanted to keep our dream alive. We wanted to hold close to hope. We failed," Lombardia says. "In our hopes. And our duty. Cling to whatever dreams you wish. Dreams will not avail you. If you wish to proceed to Duras Drum, then I leave the path open to you. I have accepted my role, little Demon: that when I act, I will leave naught but misery and destruction in my wake."

She beats her wings, once. She lifts off the air, and her great draconic head, looking down at the lot of them. "Your apologies are noted, human, but not owed to me. Consider my inaction a gift. 'Tis the only one that you shall receive from me."

Great, metallic wings beat -- and then she lifts over them all, and flies past them.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        Ah, so Elly *does* have him covered. In a way more motherly than anything else, even. Ragnell cocks a look at Elly, but shrugs and pulls her hands back into an arm-fold over her chest as she looks back at Lombardia. The wound on her chest is as grimly impressive as the first time she saw it. She wonders what properties the attack that gave it to her had, if after five hundred years she still can't repair it... or is that Lombardia's own fault? And, setting that aside, Lacan is no different than those who betrayed Mother... Hmm. Interesting...
        
        Lombardia continues her story, and cites that the humans and Elw using the Guardians' power to strike down the Hyadeans' Diabolos was what started the slow death of Filgaia. In other words, they overused the Guardians's power, and now they lack the strength to support Filgaia on their own? ...hm. Something about that doesn't quite track for Ragnell. Elly weighs in on this matter, and Ragnell glances at her before looking back at Lombardia. "Yeah, could you give us a little more detail 'bout usin' the Guardians's power to destroy Diabolos, and that endin' up kickin' off Filgaia's slow death? Somethin' about that bugs me. I wanna hear more."
        
        But then Riese calls for a break in the conversation. Ragnell shrugs. "...Yeah, sure," she says. "I'm not goin' anywhere for now." Another glance Fei's way, but this time she doesn't remark. It's just as well, since Lombardia sets into flight and wings her way away a moment later. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riesenlied clutches at Odjn a little tighter, as she hears Fei's plea, as she hears Noeline's anger -- no, not quite an anger, but perhaps something she barbs just as much to herself than to Lombardia...

        She hears Elly out.

        "... I agree, as well. We... still don't know enough. We don't know the context of five hundred years ago, and..."

        A pause, as she remembers a key piece of history that's been really important to her since the day she came to Ignas.

        "The humans clearly showed guilt and remorse. At the First Filgaian Summit five hundred years ago, they held close to their hearts the Treaty of Iscariot, to bar such weapons from being used ever again."

        She draws in a breath as she looks to Fei, her lips thinning as she watches Lombardia fly away. "... I'm sorry... this has been truly difficult to digest, but--" she shakes her head.

        "You have not failed," she speaks to thin air, in the space where Lombardia was. "Because you've helped inspire hope for another generation, as I hope to..." 

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

Lombardia has fled. Her shadow does not linger; while few here have seen a Fell Dragon, and practically none have seen a True Dragon, there is a speed to the Metal Dragons -- especially the first and greatest of them -- that is wholly different than their biological cousins. Lombardia doesn't flap her wings, as much as -- after she gets enough height -- rockets off, leaving a trail of white-blue light.

This leaves the cavern ahead.

It is a dark thing, inside. The first chamber is Lombardia's roost: a dry, immense cavern, which the creature sleeps and rests in. However, there is one way forward: a smaller door, that Lombardia likely could not fit through, and a pale green glow that comes from it.

As Noeline enters, she can feel a pulsing in the back of her mind.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

'Believe a little less.'

Lily is quiet, as before, at first. She does not join in arguing with Lombardia her silence, her inaction. She takes the answer she is given for what it is, for the possibility that for all they will try to do, it is possible that indeed they will fail. That nothing will be left. ...And Lily wonders, about Lombardia's life.

"...Fei," Lily says, as Lombardia rises, flies past them. "You know that she won't. ...All we can do is be here to deflect those knives. ...To be there to bind up her wounds when one gets through. It's all there is."

She considers Elly. "Maybe you're right. A lingering death can give a chance to find a treatment..." She trails off. "But sometimes it only prolongs the patient's suffering. ...Maybe facing that weapon was a moment where we had to cripple the patient to save her--the planet. ...Maybe we'll never get that old self back..."

"But we're here, at least." Lily looks up to the sky, at Lombardia's impossible speed, and rubs again at her forefinger with her thumb.

"...Amazing," she admits, and looks away, back to the cavern. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        In the intervening time, Riesenlied has seated herself on a cold piece of boulder, cuddling Odjn and letting themselves have some time to settle down and soothe themselves after the large revelations that've been thrown at them.

        "... nothin's gonna change, right, Riese?" Odjn asks.

        "No... nothing at all. Nothing changes just because of what we know," Riesenlied reassures her, but also herself.

        "... I don't know why, but... when Lombardia said I was one of her... that I was 'one of the last', I just started feelin'... really lonely... like..."

        A pause.

        "Like suddenly I didn't belong with Muni and the others, or Val and the villagers, or even you 'n Noe..."

        Riesenlied blinks a few times, but squeezes her arms tightly as she expresses, "... I know why you feel that way. But I can tell you firmly that that won't be the case. When I asked if you wanted to come out into the outside world with me, from that mine so long ago... I mean it, and I won't leave your side."

        "... thanks, Riese..." Odjn's ears wilt just a bit, as she grumps, "... okay!! Let's get this over and done with so we can beat this cold hermit's cave and go back to a pile of pillows, a warm fireplace, and a stack of cakes!"

        Riesenlied smiles, infected by Odjn's mirth. "Yes, let's do it..."

        She rises up as she glances in and expresses, "Is everyone ready to move on? The chamber deep within waits for us. The Hades Guardian... the Guardian of Illusions... should await us there."

        She looks to Noeline, reaching out for her hand.

        "I'm with you all the way." 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei looks a long look at Lily, then down for a moment. He doesn't argue in the slightest nor does he vocalize any agreement, but he does seem to be thinking about it. "Can the cynics protect the hopeful?" He murmurs to himself.

Moments later, Fei has been pacified. After some hugs and reassurances by Elly, Fei has reached into his pack and drew out a gift that Sephilia had given him some time ago--Evangeline von Sheepington, a stuffed sheep toy. Fei is holding this sheep like it's the last bastion of defense against the horrors of the world. At some point in the 'few moments of a break', one of the lost 'cuccos' from the Fereshte has decided to sit on Fei's head. Fei seems okay with this.

Evangeline looks into the immense cavern very bravely.

Fei of course can't just sit there while everybody's moving forward, but his attention seems drawn inward and he is quiet. And to be fair, after what just happened...

...that might be for the best right now. 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        "Guardian of Illusions, huh..." Ragnell muses, hanging to one side as she looks over Lombardia's cave, now abandoned, and then the motley crew of Hyadeans and humans assembled to traverse within. Oh yeah, and a Seraph like her, too. Lombardia's exit was quite a sight, but now that she's gone, that leaves the darkness up ahead. Darkness, and a small door past which pulses a pale green glow.
        
        She glances at Lily as she muses about having to cripple Filgaia to save it. That might well be the case, but until they know for sure, they're not about to give up, are they? How human of them. Ragnell half-smiles wryly, then strolls on inside, not waiting for anyone's invitation.
        
        Besides, Riese and Noeline are busy being schmoopy over there. The least Ragnell can do is pretend not to see. 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Elly looks towards Lily as she straightens up.

"If I hadn't been here," Elly says, "I would never have met any of you... and I think I'd regret that." She smiles briefly after this - it is fatuous logic after all - and she looks towards Odjn and Riesenlied afterwards. Her lips purse.

Cakes sound really good right now.

"Fei," she says, "I feel I should... say, you have..."

Elly gestures a little at the roosting bird. The fact that Fei has produced a stuffed sheep to carry around, this is something she's learned to accept.

"I think sometimes," she says, more philosophically, "cynicism can be justified... but sometimes, it's just an excuse for being lazy." 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

        Metal Dragons... really are fascinating, runs the approximation of the thought that flits across the archaeologist's mind as she watches the dragon ascend and depart into the wilds of Lunar's skies.
        Amazing that a part of the past can still continue on, as alive as anything.

        "...I thought as much," is Josie's response in the end, once Lombardia has departed. "It's not like you to give up, Sunshine."

        She's taken the silent moment to indulge in yet another vice, rolling up a cigarette as she gazes at the cave entrance. It gives her time to think.

        The architect of the world's slow demise is, of course, their ancestors. Doesn't it figure.
        And yet.

        "...Anyway, my feeling is," she speaks up at last, "it's a rough job no matter how you slice it. Was it the last resort? Who knows. Could they have tried something else? Who knows. Should they have let the world die? Would it have died?"

        A brief arc of electricity, used as a makeshift lighter, sets the end of the ragged cigarette alight.

        "In the end... it doesn't really matter what they were thinking, or what would have happened, or any of that junk. Sure, it's rough, and we're the ones left holding the bill. But we've still got to think about 'now'."

        She takes a drag, exhaling smoke.

        "And I dunno about you, but I don't plan on dying easy. Let's go see this Duras Drum, eh?" 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        With a heavy sigh, Noeline runs a hand through one of her long tails of hair, flicking it out a little at the end. The other has found its way to Riesenlied's back and then crept up to her shoulders in something suspiciously like a light embrace, supporting her and seeking some contact in the wake of Lombardia's rememberance; the pause that the spy takes is a mark of respect for the dragon's tale as much as it is a chance to marshal her thoughts together.

        "... well," she eventually mutters. "I can't say I blame Lombardia for her feelings, I suppose. History has a weight to it, and a history as storied as that is very heavy indeed," she tries to joke, but a flamboyant nature is something she's having a real difficulty bringing to the fore right at this moment.

        She stops trying after a moment, letting her expression sour slightly instead. "On the other hand, to just accept the events of the past and not seek to understand or atone from them - that's not something we have the luxury of doing. We can only live in the present, after all. Besides, that would be rather hypocritical of us after decrying the rest of our race for doing the same thing."

        She puffs out another breath - and this time she does manage the theatrics, suddenly flicking Odjn on the forehead as she snorts. "Really-- you're going to say that now? Since when has it ever mattered to us, or to Wayside, who does or doesn't belong? That's the whole point of the place, is it not?"

        She offers Riesenlied a hand up from where the other demon is sitting, meeting her gaze for a moment; as much as Noeline blusters, there really is a mote of uncertainty in her eyes, even now when they're so close. "... thank you," she mumbles genuinely, and turns to pace slowly towards the small door, wincing at the pulse in the back of her mind.

        "--this might be an incredibly stupid plan," she says almost conversationally. "I simply wish to make that clear." So saying, she pushes on the door. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

The truth that Lombardia had delivered unto them had been...shattering. Jacqueline had been shaken deeply by it. It was...agonizing, to dwell over it.

But those who knew Jacqueline knew that underneath it all she was a determined young woman. She thought on it, had come to some conclusions, and now she was back on her feet once more. She still seemed a little...shaken, but she was moving, right there along with the others.

Lombardia's roost was an immense, dark thing - it had to be, for someone like her to rest inside. As they enter, she walks with her arms folded in front of her and a pensive frown on her face.

"I wonder how we will do this... I cannot imagine it will be a simple task. Will we need to break something? Or will it come to Noeline when we draw closer...?" Jacqueline murmurs to herself. She looks up, then, as Josie speaks.

"I think...I think there must be something about the situation we still don't know yet. I'm...not ready to make a decision either way or the other." Jacqueline comments. "Maybe that's just an excuse, but...either way, I won't give up on Filgaia, or peace. My goal has always been to find a way to help improve Filgaia's situation, and this news hasn't changed that."

She looks toward Noeline then, offering her a slight smile.

"...Well, we are a pack of fools, apparently." She comments, with a slight chuckle and a good-natured glance at Fei. "It's only fair that our plans would be equally foolish." 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"I don't know how you keep doing it," Fei tells Elly. He picked out a sheep when Sephilia offered because he thought it would be funny considering, well, his first interaction with Elly and all. He looks down at it for a moment and then adds, "But I'm glad you keep doing it." He exhales. "Maybe I'm of...two minds about it. Part of me just wants you to not be out there suffering, but part of me is glad that even after everything--you can still do it. Like...you're stronger than the weight the world is trying to place on you."

Fei blinks at Elly. He looks up. He picks the bird off of his head with a free hand and places it on his shoulder. "Thanks." He says.

He manages a small smile at Jacqueline. "Heh. You got a point."

He does look towards Josephine but to be totally honest...he can't just think of the now. He hasn't ever been able to think about just the now.

Maybe, Fei thinks, because he only has the now, the past holds such sway over him. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        "... I didn't say it was rational," Odjn mumbles as she gets a flick from Noeline. "Doesn't mean you have to belittle me about my feelings, just because it doesn't make sense," as she sinks a little further into Riesenlied's back.

        Riesenlied gets distracted by a cucco for a moment, smiling its way as it decides to roost on Fei's head -- she watches Fei and Elly for a moment, then looking back towards Jacqueline. She knows she's hurting... but she also has faith in the young alchemist.

        "Noeline has a conduit within her, the Original Artificial Medium. I imagine that is the key to all of this..." Riesenlied speaks gently.

        While they gather, however, she looks towards Ragnell as she says, "I don't think Lombardia fits the profile of what you were seeking with Lastonbell, though... I cannot imagine her wilfully participating in that siege..." 

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

The doorway leads into a smaller chamber.

It is a chamber split in two -- by an enormous chasm that splits the whole middle of the room. They enter upon a ledge, which is small enough to fit them, but tightly. The other side is, practically, half a mile away -- the chasm is more like a gulf.

The glow comes from the other side. A beam of sunlight, filtered to a greenish shade, comes from a natural chimney high, high up in the chamber. It falls down and illuminates a small statue (not, however, a full blown Guardian Statue) of Duras Drum. The statue has a faint coating of moss upon it.

But, it seems, the Guardian of Illusions has a gap far too wide to leap across between them and his statue.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"Noeline's right, Odjn. ...I think I know well about not belonging. Accept it, when you can, that they want you to."

She watches Fei for a few moments and then shakes her head. ...There's no way to know whether they can, really. But they can make the attempt. Ragnell's glance catches Lily's eye, but she doesn't answer much yet. Mostly because Elly has spoken up and--

"...Heh. Is that so?" Lily asks Elly. "I almost think you're trying to tell us something." There's almost humor in her voice. If someone squints. It's subtle.

"You got a spare of those, Josie?" Lily sks about the cigarette, looking ahead to Noeline and her stupid plan. "Stupid plans are why I'm here," she points out, nodding Jay's way. ...And she walks along aas they go through the door. Ending up on the ledge...

"At least one of us can fly," she quips. 

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

Matilda lets out a long, shuddering sigh as Lombardia leaves. She's... having... a lot of feelings, to put it delicately. She closes her eyes for a moment, looking away from everyone else, toward the wall.

Josie offers some simple, straightforward assessment of the situation... and it gets a slightly arch comment from the compounder. "We shouldn't be the ones left holding the bill -- especially if those responsible are still alive," Matilda mutters. To Noeline, she adds, "I can blame her plenty."

She scoots closer to Jay as she moves slightly forward, adding, "Regardless, though -- yes. We can't simply give up now that we know the truth... or, for that matter, have something to blame."

Her nose crunches up slightly, after another moment or two, but she does not give any indication of why. Maybe it's the moss. ... maybe it's the immense gap in front of them, too. Matilda looks at that gap, but doesn't offer any solutions. 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Elly smiles at Lily, a little weakly. She does a lot of weak smiling, doesn't she?! Her eyes then turn to Josie as she lights up.

"Yeah," she says. "We can't do anything about the past. All we can do is deal with the present."

IF ONLY IT WERE SO EASY. She gives Fei a slightly uneasy look as he takes the cucco onto his shoulder, but this is more concern that the bird will make a :( on the back of Fei's single solitary peasant kirtl battle outfit. She answers him, oddly shyly perhaps. "... I'm flattered you think like that... I'm not eager to suffer or anything, but..."

 "... Does blaming anybody fix it?" she asks Matilda. "Though if we could make 'that man' do something to help..."

Mind the gap.

"..." Elly blinks long and slow.

She looks to Riesenlied, to Noeline, to everyone, and says, "This is preposterous. Do you think we should -" Her head turns to look forwards again. "Get... gliders? No wonder Lombardia stayed here... nobody else could cross a gap like this!" 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

        "Alive? Not too sure about that... maybe the Elw, if they scarpered somewhere like the legends say, but they're sure not around now." Her shoulders rise and fall in a shrug, as if staring down their own end didn't affect her more than the need for the drink she'd had earlier.

        "Sure, but it's roll-your-own," comes the response, which probably isn't the one Lily was looking for. Particularly not when she stiffly offers her tobacco pouch the ex-soldier's way. "Knock yourself out."

        Filgaia's dying, probably as a result of their ancestors' sins, but honestly, little of that matters to the archaeologist now, not when there's the contents of the cave to take in, and particularly not since she's having a reasonably good smoke right now.

        "It's only a stupid plan if you die, Sugar," she says, lifting a pale eyebrow then as Riesenlied explains the situation with the Medium and Noeline.

        "Speaking of stupid plans, got any plans for that?" She gestures towards the gap. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"You're are friend, Odjn. No matter who or what you are, you'll always belong with us. Never forget that." Jacqueline comments with a smile.

But then, they open the door. Jacqueline follows the others into the next chamber...only to find a room with an enormous chasm in the middle, a very thin ledge, and no obvious way across.

Jacqueline frowns stiffly, and folds her arms in front of her.

"...Well then." She says, looking it over. She frowns adjusts her glasses, and looks down once more. She ponders the situation with her chin resting on a hand.

"...Hm. This is...Duras Drum. The Guardian of Illusions." She states. They all know this already, but it bears mentioning. She shakes her head. "I wouldn't think it would be so simple as flying across...there's probably more to this than we can see."

With that said, she looks directly toward Noeline. If anyone could figure out what they needed to do here it would be her, after all.

"Can you see anything, Noeline? Anything that may not be obvious to us?" She asks. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei will clean it if he has to but he doesn't really want to carry a bird in one hand and a sheep in the other. It just doesn't work. And he definitely doesn't want the bird making a :( in his pack all over his art supplies. He does laugh a little though, "Hey--I didn't mean it like that."

"I have a plan." Fei says, straightening. "It's the Guardian of Illusions right?"

He walks towards the gap and will attempt to waggle his foot against the gap as if to step on it--though he isn't, of course, going to put all his weight there lest he fall over.

"If you're going to blame people who tried to save the world and failed--" He looks over to Matilda. "...Well, I'm guessing they already do that plenty already. I am certain Siegfried does. As for 'that man'..."

He dips his head for a moment. He must have misinterpreted what Elly said because he says, "I'm sure Lacan would blame himself too. Just from..."

He cuts himself off as he focuses on his work. "....Anyway, considering how well they did last time, maybe it's better if other people give it a go rather than hope they'll manage it this time around, eh?" 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        Ragnell pauses in heading inside the cave to look over her shoulder at Riese. "For sure," she agrees. "I'd be a bit surprised if we ever saw her again. Can't say as I'm unhappy about that, though. If someone like her joined in on th' war--either side..." Ragnell trails off. Everyone here has a healthy imagination; she'll let them picture that on their own.
        
        Beyond the door is a smaller chamber. Ragnell makes a face when she sees the inside, because there's a hell of a chasm on the other side, and this side is tightly packed enough that they have to squeeze--not something Ragnell's too keen on. As the others wonder what exactly to do, Ragnell kneels next to the rightmost edge and reaches down into the gap; if it truly is empty air, she undoes the ribbon around her neck and dangles it into the abyss--and starts walking along the edge, ribbon draped down the side, until either she reaches the other side of the ledge--or the ribbon knocks into something that perhaps cannot be seen with the naked eye. 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        At least Noeline does pause at Odjn's words, and settles down into a slightly softer stance, tugging at her hair for an instant. "... I apologize," she bows her head to the dragon, and straightens up enough to show it's genuinely meant, puffing out a breath of air. "That wasn't my intention. ... being stuck on what's rational has always been my problem, I suppose," she adds with a quiet sigh to herself before she ofers the dragon a fanged smile. "Rest assured, we would be much less without you."

        The exchange sobers her, at least, enough to glance solemnly to Jacqueline as they step forth into Duras Drum's shrine. "We are in unknown territory, I suppose. I have no clue what form the seal on the Guardian might take. It would be nice to think that Lombardia were the only thing protecting it - but somehow," she adds as she looks up at the greenish glow ahead of them, and the sensation of more open space, "I doubt very much that will be the case."

        She offers Matilda a light snort, but one in good - if rather wry - humour. "Have you never walked away from something in sheer disgust? Anger like that does not dissipate quickly, especially not after a betrayal of that magnitude. I may not condone her current path of action, but her feelings themselves I can understand."

        "Still, we have come this far--" whatever other words of encouragement she was going to utter are somewhat blown away by the sight before her, the Hyadean pulling herself and Riese to a sudden stop on the claustrophobic ledge.

        It takes her breath away for a moment, her eyebrows soaring as she takes in the sight of the wide chasm. Unable to stop herself, she tentatively glances down over the edge, trying to catch a glimpse of anything below - and without much in the way of expectations, kicks a small stone over the lip of their outcropping.

        She never hears it hit the ground. Of course.

        Instead, at Josephine's comment, she lightly laughs. The throb at the back of her head is making her feel a little light-headed - but it's a bit of a rush as well, as she gets swept up in the thrum of familiar sorcery. "Have you forgotten where we are? As Miss Jay points out, our host is rather fond of tricks." For a moment, she watches Fei and Ragnell; their approach is tentative, slow and careful, and obviously sensible given the situation.

        Instead, Noeline jogs on her feet twice - and then leaps out across the chasm. A show of trust towards Duras Drum? An attempt to force a moment of clarify? Or simply Noeline's gung-ho nature exerting itself for a moment? Either way, mid-leap, she gives herself to the power welling up at the back of her mind, grasping for it and forcibly pushing against it. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        "Blame... is not the path I wish to pursue," Riesenlied murmurs, sympathising with Matilda's anger.

        A pause, as she shakes her head. "I sincerely believe that in a time when our collective history has been all but forgotten, it is the faces of the present that must galvanise others to hope for the future, powered by the foundation of what we can learn from the past."

        A pause, as she plants her hand to her chest.

        "... and to that service, I am ready to endure the knives that will come at my back. Whether they be social, politicial, physical, or any other blade or barb."

        Nasrin is silent for a little while longer, shaking her head, bristling for a moment.

        Odjn looks towards Lily with a sad little grin, saying, "... yeah. I just need a moment, then I'll be fine..." and nods towards Jacqueline as well.

        She gazes deeper towards the cavern when she catches sight of the cavern, biting her lip.

        "... Illusions..." she whispers, as she listens to Elly and Josephine mention the preposterous, half-mile-wide gap. She nods at Jacqueline as the alchemist comes to the same conclusion she does.

        Riesenlied's eyes widen for a moment, however, as Noeline charges on ahead and leaps --

        Odjn's heart literally leaps out of her mouth as she exclaims a wordless noise that can only be rendered as "#($)*!!?!?!?"

        --but Riesenlied cups her mouth for a moment... but closing her eyes as she nods and steps forth after her. She has faith. 

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

Ragnell's trick with the ribbon reveals the truth.

Her ribbon stops at something solid -- a roughly three meter across platform, extending out as a bridge -- and that's when Noeline's faith is rewarded. She hits the platform, with a clatter, and finds herself in the middle of the bridge. This, naturally, presents the way forward.

It takes some effort to cross, but they manage. The pathway needs to be followed with some care, despite being straight, because otherwise they would tumble into a very deep, vary dark pit.

But, at the end, they find the ledge. The sun shines down on the small, moss-covered statue of Duras Drum. Noeline feels the pulse harder, as she gets closer. The sunlight falls down over the statue. On the ground, however, is a circle with runes -- Elw runes, as it happens. There are, also, six orbs. Two are solid; the others show various phases of the moon. No light shines upon those.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong sees the Elw runes.

He frowns severely. 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"...Think what you like," Lily says with a shrug as she steps past Elly, walking to Josie with the pouch. "I'll take it," she says, accepting the pouch and pulling a paper to start rolling. She doesn't look too much around the cave at the moment, just a cursory look, a check for motion, for danger. Blame...

"Maybe so," she suggests to Fei, glances to Matilda. There's little really that she needs to say just now, golden eyes down on the cavern floor as she finishes rolling, proffers the bag back to Josie and sets the cigarette to her mouth--just before it.

"...I can't blame her for that feeling, either. There's a lot I've walked away from already, a lot I don't intend to look back at."

The talk of it not being that simple, of illusion.... Lily considers the chasm, gives a look to Odjn. "...I know how it is," she answers, and then shakes her head. "That's very like you," she says instead to Riesenlied. As Noeline jumps, though, Lily just looks up, watches her, and lights the cigarette with a thought.

"...Huh." The tribbons, faith; they're rewarded. For her part, Lily just prods the ground with her staff before she steps anywhere, crossing along slowly on her way to the end of the ledge, looking over the statue and the runes. "...No such luck reading these," she says, considering.

She opens her hand, keeping the cigarette at her mouth, and golden light shines above the orbs, just to see if anything happens.

"Moon phases...?" The light fades after a moment. ...It's probably not radioactive. 

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

Matilda receives gentle -- but distinct -- chastisement, and acts... well, as if she's been chastised; she shrinks a little, and admits to Noeline, "I -- that's... actually a good question." She doesn't remember walking away from something in disgust, but...

She's silent for a while, as they cross the pit. It's unclear if she's deep in thought, or just frowning big. As they reach the Elw runes and orbs, though, she's given pause. "... I've done well with these puzzles before," Matilda says, closing her eyes and thinking back for a few moments.

Then she goes digging in her pack. She has a diagram she drew of a similar puzzle, in the Pleasing Gardens -- if she can find it, anyway. It's not quite the same, but it has some of the same design hallmarks... it's the best lead that she can think of. 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

        The bag is stuffed back away, the moment Lily hands it over again.

        "Hmm. I suppose you would feel that way, Tiger." Given what she's walked off from. "Anyway. It's about the same for me, in the end. Sometimes you just gotta walk away."

        From what, though?

        A little investigation from other members of the group bears fruit. Josie does not immediately poke at the illusory bridge herself, opting instead to stand here on the rock ledge and smoke her cigarette. It's only at significant length that she finally drops it, grinds it out under one bootheel, and scoops up a handful of dust to start working out where the bridge's limits rest.

        She very likely strolls up last once the other side is reached.

        "Sure looks like it. Need a little more light?"

        She snaps her fingers, a small shimmering orb manifesting into reality over her now outstretched left hand. "Seems like that puzzle back in the Pleasing Garden. I don't think we quite worked that one out."
        Not when Penelope tripped the mechanism, anyway. 

<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

 
Any complex feelings about Lily or Josie's attitude and the possibility to engage in audacious hope due to her privileged circunstances vanishes for Elly for a moment when she almost says "FEI!!!!" -- but what comes out is more like fuh--

It passes.

Elly sags. Her blood pressure returns to normal, but gradually. Stepping forwards, carefully, to gaze upon the phrases of the moon.

"... These puzzles are awful," Elly says.

She keeps talking, as if a dam had been breached. "I understand wanting security and it makes sense to not want to rely on items that can be lost or destroyed, but... but all of these are just... It's not even like it's some kind of a test of reasoning, it's just... just stuff. It's like some sort of frustrated intellectual took it all out on innocent people in the future...!" 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        Ragnell rises in satisfaction, tying her ribbon back around her neck, when she finds the column leading across the gap. Maybe it would've been found momentarily regardless, what with Noeline throwing caution to the wind and jumping out into the chasm, but even so.
        
        She traverses the bridge with care along with the others until they reach the mossy statue (Statue?) of Duras Durum on the other side. She eyeballs the runes and the moon-phase markings, but this time around, she hangs back, content to let someone else figure the trick this time out.
        
        It's great entertainment, actually. Enough to make her wish she had a bag of popcorn. 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        Noeline's attempt to concentrate probably indicates how confident she actually is about this particular course of action; she looks like she was expecting something to physically appear under her in response to a pulse of Duras Drum's power, rather than just land on an invisible walkway, and the disorientation of the sudden impact makes her stumble and pitch dangerously to one side. Fortunately, she catches hersely, left standing casually in midair and preening in a very cattish 'I absolutely meant to do that' kind of manner.

        ... ... which is lost the next moment as Riesenlied follows her out into the open air with her eyes closed, and everyone else gets the rare sight of Noeline actually dithering, at least until the other demon is close enough to take her hand. "One foot at a time between the two of us," she mutters, willing away the bashful moment and replacing it with a sensible suggestion. "If one of us slips, the other catches. I would do the same," she comments to the rest of the group, and bit by bit they pick their way across.

        By the time she reaches the other side, one eye is screwed up in concentration as she grimaces to herself. The tang of Duras Drum's presence is familiar to her, but it's never been this strong, and the ache at the back of her head is getting louder as the Medium within her resonantes with the shrine. Shadows shift across her vision as she feels herself rock to one side, but Riesenlied's hand is there to help keep her grounded.

        Even if she looks pained, she can still direct her attention towards the rest of the group, and the-- lock? --that they're faced with. "I see-- a standard pattern for Elw devices, then? I hope that means it isn't a combination," she mutters, trying to pick out if the carvings are even part of some kind of mechanism or if they're dealing with a more esoteric mode of puzzle.

        Still, something about Josephine's comment makes her frown. "... the idea of shining light on a Guardian of Illusions... I wonder if it would be more appropriate to extinguish it." 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riesenlied lets out a quiet sigh of relief as their faith is rewarded -- and they come up onto the end. The pathway reveals itself to them, but it's still quite precarious -- she conjures several photonic rails for them to use to prevent them from tumbling over, taking her time as she does so.

        There's a bashful smile as she reaches for her hand and nods as she expresses, "One a time," she agrees.

        At the end, though... the Elw runes capture her attention -- since they're similar in set to the ones in the--

        "Pleasing Gardens... there was a device to do with the moon phases there too," Riesenlied reminds.

        A tilt of the head. "I wonder if they... the Elw kept close observation on the Black Star, the New Moon, if their artefacts can be found on both Lunar and Filgaia?"

        She doesn't have too much to help here, so she focuses on the Dragon's Tear as she tries to get a sensation of any mechanism within. She's more focused on the orbs than anything else.

DG: Riesenlied has used her tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, Not Another Elw Mechanism!

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline feels a moment of panic as Noeline leaps and Riesenlied follows suit, but she manages to hold it in. She had to know what she was doing, right? She wouldn't just throw herself into a chasm on a hunch, right?

...Well, okay, maybe she wouldn't go that far...but the important thing was, the truth is revealed.

"I see...an invisible platform..." Jacqueline murmurs, nodding in understanding. That made sense. She wondered what would've happened if they did just try to find a way to fly over the gap.

Maybe Duras Drum would've appreciated their cheek.

It's a little unnerving, walking over apparently thin air. Her steps forward are more than a little cautious, but she does make it to the other side with the others, where the statue of Duras Drum stands.

The sun shines down upon it, and a circle with runes can be seen below. Elw runes...it didn't seem like anyone here could read them. Jacqueline rummages through her bags, drawing out a notebook. She begins copying the runes down for later references as she considers the puzzle before them.

"I'm sure it made more than enough sense to them in the past..." Jacqueline comments. "I imagine it wasn't crafted the idea that they would no longer be here when the time came to return."

But they weren't, so now it was time to...actually do something about this. As she thinks, however, her attention turns toward Riesenlied as she brings out the Tear.

She watches pensively, then looks back to the Statue itself, pondering. 

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

The statue offers no response to Elly.

However, when Josie causes that light to appear, it makes one of the moons -- a waxing one, as it happens -- come aglow. It shimmers, glows, and then lights up. The others, which did not have light shone on them, remain dark.

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

The statue offers no response to Elly.

However, when Josie causes that light to appear, it makes one of the moons -- a waxing one, as it happens -- come aglow. It shimmers, glows, and then lights up. The others, which did not have light shone on them, remain dark.

Until Lily creates her light and the Dragon's Tear shines brightly.

Then, each lights up in turn. The statue glows, too, then -- and the beam of light that shines down turns into a beam of light that shoots upward. There is a rumble, then, and the statue crumbles into so much dust and rubble. After that, however, there is a glow.

It is a glow that infuses itself into Noeline. The green light erupts around her, suffuses her, and then sinks in. However, it lights up her eyes -- which glow a gold-green color, before they fade down into her usual shade.

<<Good job.>> Duras Drum's voice echoes out through the room. <<I think my brothers and sisters... they're going to call this a fool's errand. But... I think we are past the point that we can be concerned what others think of us. My lot is in with yours.>>

A beat.

<<Don't screw this up.>

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"..." Lily shrugs at Josie's statement, its obvious truth more than enough answer to make whatever she would say useless. Sometimes you do. She certainly doesn't look like she's going for audacious hope. "...Maybe it makes more sense if you know them better than we do. Some important aspect of their culture. We don't have much real information."

Maybe darkness would have been better--but as light reacts, Lily keeps it up, nodding to Josie as they work. ...The Tear... And--

Lily looks warily at first as Noeline glows, but she can hear the voice, and she pauses in place, listening.

...Slowly she lets out another cloud of smoke, shakes her head. "...May as well." 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

        "Because illusions are tricks of the light? Heh, maybe," Josie says to Noeline's assessment, "but someone else will have to do the honors on that one. Obscuration ain't my specialty."
        She continues to hold out her light, as if in anticipation of something happening.

        With other lights joining it, eventually something does happen.

        Josie's gaze turns upwards. "Hopefully, that's the response you were hoping for, Sugar!" she calls back to Noeline, before she glances back over her shoulder and... just stops, for a moment, staring.

        And after the voice rings out, she just has one thing to say:
        "Guess it was."

        The light in her hand winks out. There's no need for it at the moment.

        And she grins. "Well, at least someone's in our corner." 

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

Matilda... cannot for the life of her find her notes, but that's fine. Everyone else seems to have figured it out while she works, actually -- which, really, is its own sort of fine. "... I'm a little relieved that that was as simple a puzzle as it was," she admits, as the orbs begin to light up.

She takes a step back from it. There's something about the Guardians that makes her uncomfortable... and even now that she knows the truth of their waning power, of the slow death of Filgaia, it's hard to get over it. When Duras Drum's voice echoes forth, she starts to chew at her lip a little.

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Matilda shoots back to Duras Drum, though it sounds more resigned than flippant. 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        The puzzle is solved. Duras Drum's voice sounds, affirming that they'll put their lot in with them and warning them not to screw it up. Ragnell turns her gaze over towards Noeline as that glow erupts and then settles in around her.
        
        "Congratulations," seems like the appropriate thing to say here, followed by a potentially less appropriate, "Now what?" 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"Ah!" Jacqueline remarks. Light is shone upon one of the moons, causing it to glow. Lily's light does much the same, as does the Dragon's Tear - and then, it happens.

Jacqueline shields her eyes as a beam of light erupts upward, and then watches as a rumble precedes the statue simply...shattering. She observes as a glow infuses itself with Noeline, and stares in awe.

...They did it, then. Does that mean Duras Drum was free? It must, she supposes.

"We'll do our best." Jacqueline says, with a polite bow, and then thinks.

"...What does this mean now? Will your illusion continue to cover Lunar?" She asks, curious. She doesn't know if Duras Drum is still there, listening...but it was worth asking. She wondered if there would be any changes or ramifications to releasing him. Sure, it was maybe just a little too late to be asking that now, but she would at least like to know what they'd be in for. 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Ah...sorry, Elly." Fei says, looking back to her. She didn't shout it but he could sense the distress. He hardly disagrees about the puzzles besides. The puzzles are awful but it could be worse. It could be murders. As frustrating as it is, Fei will grudgingly stick to the traps and brain teasers even if it can be a...close call, so to speak.

The Guardian speaks and Fei laughs a little, despite laughing only a little, there's tears in his eyes.

"Well..." He looks towards Lily. "Fools can't help but make foolish plans. We just have to watch out for pits, right?"

He lets out a long breath. "...Brothers and sisters.... wonder if all the Guardians have a gambit the others'll find foolish."

He runs his hand down his face. "...I think I'm ok now, Elly."

He slides Evangeline back into his pack.

"Do you know how we can get back home?"

He has long since accepted he has no coice but to go back to Filgaia. Lunar is no safe haven

It is only another world in dire need of help. 

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        "--all of them at once? That's it?!" Noeline blurts in sheer disbelief, the constant drumbeat of the Guardian's power in her head working to amplify the exasperation she feels, her head feeling like it might split open at any moment. She grits her teeth, squinting past the sudden spiking pain. "I'm beginning to think the Elw were more than a touch irresponsible if they made a magical lock that could be opened by a man with a half-decent drill--"

        Every nerve jangling and on edge, the lancing spire of light that rockets upwards from the statue makes the spy instinctively throw her hands up to protect herself and dart to one side in an attempt to cover Riesenlied, missing the noise of the statue in front of her tearing and crumbling itself apart.

        It doesn't matter; it's not as if the power erupting around the cavern is focusing on anything but her right now, and it's not as if she has a chance of stopping it when it's already very much part of her in every sense of the word - right down to the shards embedded in her living metal, too tiny and numerous and each a magnet for the Guardian's power.

        The green glow bolts straight through her, and even if there's no actual impact she's still knocked backwards by the force of it, fingers twitching and her legs shaking as she feels the pain of sorcery lance through her body. "--thanks for the encouragement," she rasps out through gritted teeth, but her eyes are alive with more than just the bright light of the Guardian's power; with a will of effort she balls one hand into a fist, heaves out a rattling breath, and pushes with senses she didn't know she had.

        The whorl of energy around her shifts - and then, as quickly as it came, seems to whirlpool back into her hand, coalescing into a sphere of magic so bright it might even approach white - and then she crushes it in her hand, dispelling the lightshow and leaving the group back in their gloom. Panting for breath, it takes Noeline a long moment to gather herself. "Now--" she coughs, looking strained and fatigued; she takes a moment to sink towards a knee, and looks glumly at Ragnell. "Now we are going to do as Odjn said, and find a good bath, a warm fire, and a lot of food." 

DC: Noeline switches forms to Hyades Guardian!

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riesenlied listens well to Jacqueline's question. She is curious about that too. "Not just Lunar, but Filgaia both..." She listens to Fei as well, as he asks the all-important question. "A way home... I have a feeling our way back will intrinsically be tied to the Elw once more..."

        There's a suckle of breath as she jitters, and places her hands to her chest as she gazes upon the manifest of light that arrays itself up and around, the glow-- the glow infusing itself to Noeline--

        "Ah--!"

        Riesenlied pauses for a moment, trembling for a moment... but she holds strong in that faith and trust that she's decided to place in Noeline and Duras Drum both.

        "...I..."

        She hurries by Noeline's side as she supports her, as Noeline pushes through the sheer force-- and supports her, since she looks rather strained. "Yes..."

        She gazes up towards the air as she smiles very quietly, nodding. "... thank you, Duras Drum, for putting your faith in us. You, along with Equites and Odoryuk... you've given us a chance, and we won't soon forget this. We won't let you down." 

<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.

<<It will. I would not risk that change. I don't even want to think about what opportunities some might see, if they could perceive the truth...>> He pauses, and then the sound of a chuckle can be heard; it's at Matilda's remark, though with a disembodied voice, it is hard to see. <<It is true.>>

Duras Drum's voice echoes for a moment in their minds. However, he falls silent only a moment later. The Guardian's presence pulses in Noeline, but she soon realizes it is uneven; he is with her Medium, but a being of his form is in many places at once.

<<It feels strange to say it... but I have faith. Still... I would prefer that faith be rewarded. Whatever happens, now... I'll be with you. And watching.>>

He falls quiet, after that.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

        Noeline's visible moment of weakness doesn't last long. That's always been her determination at work - she forces her body to hauls itself back up to her feet with a defiant effort, gritting her teeth against an inner pain she hasn't felt in a century. Even if her patron Guardian has accepted her, she's still a metal demon - and the rush of so much sorcery at once isn't something she can get used to in the space of an instant.

        It threatens to pitch her to one side once more - but she manages to hold herself steady with her partner's support, offering a thankful glance at Riesenlied. The soft rumble of Duras Drum's voice makes her wince with dizziness; right now, her senses far too sensitive, the words make her skin feel like it's crawling in place.

        It takes her a moment to remember how to speak; her mouth works, and then she lets out a rattling cough before she trusts her voice not to waver. "The seal-- the seal will remain," she reports in a rather thick voice, disoriented enough in this moment that she can't be sure whether she's the only one hearing Duras Drum's voice, or everyone is. "And-- I understand. We were already on this path. We just need to keep walking it."

        She swallows again, feeling her nausea begin to subside, if only a very little. "I want some eclairs," she grumbles unfocusedly, too tired for decorum. "And a big blanket. And Mikaia to spoil." This would probably make good blackmail material.

        If only because she's playing favorites. . . 

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

        "Oh? No Janey?" Ragnell teases, strolling up over--but not quite next--to Noeline. "Mm, mm, mm, wonder how she'd feel about that."
        
        She won't give Noeline *too* much hassle, though. It's no fun if she's too dizzy to stand up straight, let alone get involved with swapping quips. 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline's attention turns sharply to Noeline as she tests out her newfound power. She stares, awestruck once more.

"...Wow..." She remarks, clearly impressed, then turns her attention to...

...Well, she couldn't see Duras Drum - it's like his voice is all around them. But she focuses on it, and nods.

"...Yes, I think that's for the best. That is not something I would want to think about, either." She says. If people realized the truth...well, there were some things that were better off concealed, though she more often preferred the truth.

And then, Duras Drum falls silent. Jacqueline relaxes a little, then offers Noeline a smile. A good bath, a warm fire, a lot of food...

"...That sounds pretty good right about now." She says...and then chuckles good-naturedly, as Noeline continues.

She doesn't say anything about it, though.

...Right here and now, anyway. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riesenlied keeps at her side the entire way, even when Noeline's moment of weakness passes; she wonders herself how she will react when and if she uncovers her own Medium, given how scathing those fires burned when she first summoned Odoryuk up upon the Tower of Life.

        There's a part of her that's relieved, perhaps, that the seal will remain for now...

        "Thank you, everyone..." as she pats Noeline on the back, then chuckles as she looks to Ragnell and says, "Janey too. And all the children of the Fereshte -- and Taben's Peak!"

        Riesenlied's nursery of children keep growing... 

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong says, "Yeah," to Noeline. "Good idea."

???

Even a Guardian has faith...It's funny. It's only now, at the edge of armageddon, that the Guardians rely on faith. It's comical.

Id looks up at Mother's Cross as it swings above his head, swaying to and fro like a Sword of Damocles that could drop at any moment and crush him. He stares at it, unafraid of the moment it would come down. For him, its fall is long ago past.

I can't remember a single time when a Guardian reached out to a Hyadean. This is new. New to us, at least. I didn't know...that there WAS new anymore. First Avril, and now this.

He picks up the chair and slams it repeatedly against the ground. The chair is immutable. The chair can't be stopped. The chair is invulnerable. Eventually, Id tires out and he sets the chair back down once more.

It changed because of hope. Because of faith. And dumb puzzles. Can I...

Id's rage subsides somewhat as he thinks of the few positive memories he has been able to pry from that coward's grasp.

I assumed... I assumed I couldn't win. That simply because he would reject us, he would always reject us. That we had lost. That it was over.

A small smile gradually forms on Id's face and then he throws two middle fingers towards Mother's Cross and laughs and laughs and laughs.

Even without memories I can hope too! I just have to believe, isn't that right Riesenlied? And work very very very very hard and I will succeed, isn't that right, Riesenlied?

Id walks forward towards the image of Fei and places his hand on his head. The image of Fei stands still, oblivious.

Then I will hope, Riesenlied, I will have faith as the Guardians do. If something as impossible as the world can be saved, then surely he can too

Id leans next to Fei's ear and whispers into it. What he says is not heard, it is felt.

I will leave Mother to you. I will let you hope for your impossible victory. And I will count on your hope winning the day. That was my mistake, killing Mother instead of taking what I wanted

Id walks back to the chair, leaning back in it, smiling like a cat who had just eaten a canary.

This cycle...This cycle I am taking my brother back. Siegfried...if I leave Mother be, you'll hear us, won't you? You'll see what she really is if she lives a little longer? You're so close to understanding us, so close...If I get our team back, he'll have to let me in won't we? A grand reunion?

HERE

Fei rubs at his forehead for a moment, but he seems to have chilled out and is actually kind of in a good mood now. "I could really go for some beef skewers." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"Always pits. Good way to turn an ankle."

Lily shakes her head again, looking into nothing for a little while; the Guardians divided. ...It's not encouraging. But then, is it true that humans did this to them in the first place...?

Lily finds that thought on hole, long enough to watch Noeline change, to watch her glow, live with it. She lifts an eyebrow. "...You all right there?"

Bath, fire, food. ...Hmm.

The Guardian's answer about Lunar makes her think; but the Guardian, the Guardian has faith. "I suppose we'll have to see."

The seaal... Lil sighs at that. "It's for the best. ...Though I think we may have already irreparably harmed this place." She pauses, noticing 'Mikaia' in particular. ...And then, watching Fei. Watching, in silence.

Lily pulls a glove off and rubs at the golden-glowing circuit-markings there, cigarette at the corner of her mouth. "...Nn. I could use a bath, too."

She doesn't like it. ...She doesn't like this place. "Come on, I'll give you a fire before we go." 

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

Matilda -- ever one to see pain and suffering and move immediately to accommodate -- moves toward Noeline slightly, and then...

'I want some eclairs.'

... okay, that actually cracks her up a little bit. Just a little. "Eclairs are a little, ah -- Lacour, for my tastes, usually," Matilda offers, with a light laugh, "but I know how to make them. I can fix some up as soon as we get out of here, if you'd like..."

Dealing with the big stuff becomes much easier as Matilda focuses down on the small stuff. It's a lot easier to think about feeding Noeline eclairs than it is to think about a Guardian placing its faith, in part, in her. ... and, apparently, finding her sassy little comment funny. 

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

        "Well, you know what they say, Sunshine. A slim chance is better than none."

        Josephine Lovelace pauses. "And like I said. I don't intend on lying on my back like a stuck beetle. For whatever it's worth, I'm all in if it's my existence on the line."

        She... winks. "I still have that paper to publish, you know~"

        Duras Drum's voice rumbles out once more, more felt in her bones than heard.
        It must be a strange thing, hearing one's own object of worship -- or at cousin thereof -- speak to you.

        "...Never thought I'd be speaking to Guardians," Josie comments at the end, rubbing at the back of her neck. Her gaze tilts over towards Noeline. "Hey, Sugar, you need a hand? You look a little pale."

        Then, she chuckles.
        "Eclairs, huh? I think we can do that. Let's go see what the nearest village's got on offer."

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