2018-07-30: New Vision
- Log: New Vision
- Cast: Ambrosius, Riesenlied
- Where: Pendrago outskirts
- Date: 30th July 2018
- Summary: Ambrosius retreats after his startling discovery of Resonance, and Riesenlied finds him in the forest...
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Though news of it was lost amongst all the more recent goings-on around Pendrago, there was some talk of that tall, cloaked man who threw a person into a building before taking down a group of the dock's guards and fleeing the city.
Though he was not currently wearing his trademark red poncho, the description one would hear very much resembles Ambrosius.
Though the intense Malevolence faded the further he got from the city, he found it replaced by something much worst - monsters, prowling the country. They moved about as if they had been there all along.
He could no longer see them as the beasts they once were. He still could not comprehend /why/.
As he runs, however, his steps become a bit more staggering. Even a Veruni had to stop and take a rest eventually, and Ambrosius was starting to reach his limit. He pauses and slows, as rain falls around him. It does not appear to bother him, though it may just be that he had more things on his mind.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is back in Pendrago, after her frightening experience at losing herself within Uzda il-Jam. The news of the war had erupted around her more and more, leading her into a more conflicted state as to what it is she should be doing...
But upon hearing that 'a tall, cloaked man' was causing trouble -- she wonders if it could be Vash the Stampede-- er, Mister Hamandspam, sorry. Or it could be...
"A tall man... I see," Riesenlied nods and thanks a villager on her way. No, that is not Vash. The only other extremely tall person with a penchant for throwing people into buildings would be...
She hurries out towards the countryside, letting out a soft, haggard breath as she leans on a travelling staff. She tucks her capelet a little closer around her as she follows after the trail -- the trail of dead monsters...
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Finally, Ambrosius drops to one knee, his breath haggard. One hand grasps the handle of Conversator. He keeps a tight grip on the weapon, as if it was his sole lifeline in this world.
...And then, he hears movement behind him. Ambrosius rises and whirls quickly, pointing it in the direction of the sound. He does not fire - not yet. He watches, and waits.
He knew from experience that it took more than a single shot to take one of those beasts down. He could not waste anything yet.
To those who know him, this is a rare sight. Ambrosius was usually the sort to remain calm, cool, and collected...he was very rarely this on edge, and certainly never...
...Afraid.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied flinches just for a moment as she hears the click of a very familiar weapon -- a weapon that's injured her before, even.
She holds her hands up and expresses, "Mister Ambrosius, is that you...? It's me, Riesenlied..." as she comes into sight, holding no weapon up for the walking staff in her hand. Well, though he knows that her weapons are not exactly physical objects per se...
She looks back and expresses, "I wasn't followed. Are-- are you all right?" She swallows. "You look... unwell..."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Riesenlied emerges, causing Ambrosius to pause. If it was someone unfamiliar, he undoubtedly would've shot - but as it was someone he knew...
"...Riesenlied? Is that.../you/?" Ambrosius breathes, surprise evident in his voice. The way he says it, it was almost as if he was afraid she was an illusion, or a hallucination.
He staggers back, shutting his eyes tight. His grip on Conversator slackens...and the weapon falls from his hand into the mud below. Ambrosius soon follows suit, dropping to one knee once more.
...He does not answer right away, but when he does...
"...I...I am...not." He says, shaking his head. It's easy to tell which one that's in reference to, with the way he's acting.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied doesn't step forward very fast -- if only to show that she isn't here to harm him. Not that she ever would want to, but she does know that in a very emotionally distressed situation like this, she has to appear as unthreatening as possible.
That all changes when he drops to one knee-- hurrying towards him to check him for wounds first of all; she shines some of that light of hers, to move to soothe his woes and try to calm him, if he'll let her.
"Are you hurt...? Tell me what is ailing you, Mister Ambrosius..."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius does not appear wounded - at least, not much. There are some surface-level scratches, but nothing particularly major. No, if anything, it seems to be more exhaustion, mentally and physically.
He tenses somewhat as Riesenlied approaches but relents, as if forcing himself to remember that she is a friend.
It does seem to help, a bit, having a familiar face here. He calms down, though only somewhat.
"...I...I do not know." He replies, shaking his head. "...Riesenlied. Is this truly Glenwood?"
He hesitates a bit and then continues.
"I have been...seeing things I cannot explain. Smoke radiating from the city...monstrous beasts, that I have never seen before...and this dull, ill feeling I cannot place..." He shakes his head. It looked like Glenwood, but bore things he had never seen before.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's eyes widen, as she draws and kneels by his side. She doesn't care that the mud is sullying her clothes, wanting to be supportive and by his side. She glances around and looks a bit confused...
But when he continues, it suddenly becomes clearer.
"Do you mean..." Riesenlied hesitates for a moment-- then points towards a nearby tree that had been more suffused with Malevolence than the others around it. "The motes of purple smoke and light that surrounds that tree?"
She reminds herself. Ambrosius had not the ability to see Seraphs before... did something happen--
She recalls her own experience. "That is a spiritual venom Lunarians call Malevolence, Mister Ambrosius... it is present in small quantities throughout this world."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius opens his eyes and looks in the direction she pointed. ...Indeed, he can see it now. He nods, and then listens as she explains.
It...explains quite a lot, actually.
"...Spiritual venom..." He murmurs...and then laughs. It's a mirthless, self-deprecating laugh. "...I have heard of this before. How foolish...that I would deny something so vehemently, only to be proven so suddenly, utterly wrong..."
He shakes his head. And then, slowly, begins to rise. It's uneasy, and he probably shouldn't be moving too much, but this place wasn't exactly the best place to rest either.
"...And the beasts... What of them? Is that the Malevolence, as well?" He asks. "I claim to be a man of logic, but I feel as if I have been willingly blind, willingly ignorant, all this time...what else have I refused to see...?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied shifts just a little, if only so they can pull themselves out of the muddy ground and sit somewhere just a little more comfortable. She clutches at that walking staff a little tighter...
"It is hard to believe if you are not equipped for it, Mister Ambrosius..." Riesenlied sounds just a bit dismayed, hesitating. Trying to speak his language. "Like-- not wearing... a special goggle to see something on a different... spectrum?" Wow, that was disastrous, she doesn't even know what that word means anymore.
She shakes her head. "Excessive Malevolence taints the soul. It can dramatically transform animals, beasts, humans... those that are infected become-- monstrous in form, like werewolves or daemons..." A hesitant pause. "But they can be cleansed. I do not claim to understand all of it, but it seems that a little Malevolence exists in all living beings in Lunar... so it is natural, in a way?"
She hesitates. "I... do not quite know, Mister Ambrosius. Perhaps-- ah, perhaps you are not acquainted with Seraphs either, I assume?" She takes a handkerchief out to wipe a bit of the grime away from his face, if he'll allow her.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius picks up Conversator from where it fell, but it is quickly cleaned off and stowed away. Fortunately, they aren't too far from a shelter of sorts. Ambrosius listens quietly as she speaks, and when she makes that analogy...
...He actually manages a slight chuckle.
"...I see. But it still does not change the fact that I refused to put them on when presented to me, so to speak." He replies. ...He's humoring her, isn't he.
She explains further about Malevolence. So, it was a spiritual venom...and yet, it was produced naturally. He supposes that made sense.
"...There are many things that a living organism produces that can be dangerous in excess. I suppose Malevolence is no different." He comments. Though it was far from 'organic', it seemed.
"...Seraphs. No, I do not believe so." He replies. He does not protest when she tries to clean some of the grime away. Perhaps he understands that that's just the sort of person she is.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is glad the analogy... worked, maybe. Riesenlied and scientific terms get along as well as oil and water, after all. "It is-- not so easy. I am lucky to have been blessed with such sensitivity, especially amongst Hyadeans, but... there are still many amongst my brethren who have no such sight."
A pause, as she asks, "Was there something that happened recently to change this...?" Another pause, as she ventures, "There was a ruin, in the midst of a remote island that... overwhelmed me. Made my spiritual sight so strong that it-- made my physical senses blind."
She tilts her head... and she adds, "Seraphs are beings invisible to those without Resonance -- a sight that you now have, Mister Ambrosius. As I understand it, they serve to create a domain that can quell the spread of this Malevolence..."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
That helps him, if only a little. So it was something that one needed to be born with, or experience events that lead one to it, as she begins to explain...
Ambrosius thinks about it. A ruin in the midst of a remote island...
"...I believe we may have visited the same location. A serene ruin, filled with elemental sigils...I did not experience anything then, but when I arrived in Pendrago..." He chuckles again, once more in a self-deprecating fashion. "I believe you may have heard already."
If it was powerful enough to overwhelm Riesenlied, then it made sense that it would be enough to open even his eyes.
"I see...so it is called 'Resonance'..." Ambrosius murmurs. And these 'Seraphs' quell Malevolence? Hm. "It would seem they have been doing a poor job, of late."
At least, judging from what he had witnessed.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... it's okay," Riesenlied expresses softly. Well, she knows Pendrago won't be so forgiving, but she can understand the circumstances that led to his distress. She nods very quietly, not wanting to dwell on it for too long. "Do you recall the villain we encountered at the Pleasing Gardens?"
She tilts her head. "The lion-headed man... who claimed to be 'Lord of Calamity'. Lunarian legend has it that once every hundred or so years, an individual will rise that brings such Malevolence beyond which Seraphs can control..."
A pause, as she expresses, "And in turn, a Shepherd -- a human with the blessing of a Seraph that can help them cleanse Malevolence -- will oppose them. I have... met such a Shepherd, a while ago, and the Seraph companions that he travels with."
She bites her lip. "It must be a lot to take in... I gathered much of my information from Vane's library, thanks to Miss Miria. She has been very gracious..."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius appreciates not dwelling on it. He wasn't too concerned about what he had done...but he did not like recalling the fear and distress he had felt.
"I did not encounter him personally, but I did observe him, yes." Ambrosius replies with a nod. He hadn't been close enough to hear his words, but Riesenlied fills him in will enough. He considers them and nods in understanding.
"...I see. A dangerous man..." He murmurs. It's hard to tell which one he's referring to...though it's probably the Lord of Calamity?
...Probably.
He looks up, then, as she mentions Vane. He seems to consider it for a moment.
"...I see. Perhaps I shall make a visit. To be truthful, the atmosphere in Glenwood of late has made it difficult for me to do my work...and I have no interest in intervening in this war." He replies. This 'work', presumably, was probably more of the 'ruin-exploration' kind, knowing him...
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied shies for a moment, nodding quietly as she places that staff down on the ground. She brushes her finger against the Tear for a moment in thought... before responding: "Would you come with me, Mister Ambrosius?"
She glances towards him, knowing that she's pitched that desire before. But the war has been more and more troublesome lately... "I can vouch for you with Miss Miria, and I know you won't cause undue trouble in Vane. We have been staying there for a time under their hospitality... I can show you the resources you'd need to be more informed."
A pause, as she adds, "And... ah, Janey has been asking me after you. She has something to show you, it seems."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius pauses in his tracks when she asks that question. He closes his eyes for a moment, and then considers it. When she had asked him before, he had turned her down. Perhaps it would be best if he did again, but...
There is a faint smile.
"...Very well, Miss Riesenlied." He replies with a polite bow of his head. It would help him find the information he needed...and to be truthful, acting on his own for so long had made him miss those Wayside days, somewhat.
It would not be quite like being back, but...
He chuckles slightly.
"...Does she, now? Then I suppose there is no way I can refuse." He comments.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied blinks once -- perhaps expecting him to not agree, and that would be something that she would have to accept. But when he smiles -- and agrees... she scratches her own cheek and expresses, "I miss those days. ... I know that our agreement is strenuous at best, and you've your own superiors to report to ..."
A pause, as she tilts her head. "But I am continuing to work on what Wayside desires. To aid, to provide relief... even for those that both of our species struggle with -- V.R. Factor... and our own degeneration."
She smiles a bit more sweetly. "You've had a great influence on her. She won't stop tinkering with her machines! I think she is more clever than me in that way now, hehe..."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"...I cannot deny that I find myself thinking back every so often." Ambrosius admits. It was true - this would only be temporary. He would have to remind himself of that, but...surely they would understand this.
"...I see. I am glad to hear that your dedication to your goals still remains strong, Miss Riesenlied." Ambrosius replies with a smile. And is that a hint of pride, when he talks about Janey and her machines?
"I could tell there was potential in her. She but needed someone to give her a push in the right direction. She certainly is very clever." He agrees.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied looks invigorated and refreshed as she climbs up to her feet, taking her walking staff in hand and holding her hand out. "Then, shall we make tracks for the docks? I will help sneak you through the city, I am rather used to that by now given my own less than auspicious circumstances..."
She tilts her head. "Thank you, Mister Ambrosius. And don't worry -- I'll be sure to point out Malevolent sources in our way, so you do not need to be alarmed. I am... for better or worse, rather used to this by now, after all."