2018-08-06: The Witness of Wavering Wisdom
- Log: 2018-08-06: The Witness of Wavering Wisdom
- Cast: Seraph Lanval, Ghaleon, Talise Gianfair, Sephilia Lampbright, Layna Manydays
- Where: Plains of the Goddess
- Date: August 6th, 2018
- Summary: Seraph Lanval beseeched those who would listen to him to help him locate the Dragonmaster. What he must share is urgent, and het, he is wracked with hesitation and worry about what he must speak of before those he never wanted to tell - but the risk has become far too great not to. With the opportunity before him, can he find the courage not just to speak... but to go so far as to even question even the very Goddess and Her wisdom?!
==============================================<* Plains of the Goddess *>=============================================== The Plains of the Goddess consist of an enormous prairie that occupies the heart of the Meribus continent. It is the breadbasket of the world of Lunar; Althena's blessing lives strong in the soil, and the crops grown here are healthy, hearty, and free of disease. As a result of this bounty, the vast majority of the Plains are uncultivated; farmers have little reason to expand into the untamed wildlands when their larders and storehouses are filled to bursting. Only a few roads cross the Plains of the Goddess, linking the major cities to each other, with the ruins of Vane at the hub of a wagon wheel. Althena's Guard patrols the highways regularly, making travel (relatively) safe. Anyone heading deeper into the fields does so at their own risk, however. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi_p5wdBrXw
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval has been insistent they need to find the Dragonmaster. Problem is, none of them especially hold the good kind of clout in which to reach out and get his attention. It's on his mind, and by extension, attempting to cram it down everyone else's minds that it's urgent he reach him since Pentagulia is... very much off the table. This is proving difficult, and there's still a living to be made. Fox Company is thus in transit between towns on Meribus as part of whatever the Mysterious Benefactor deems they do next.
Evening time is fast approaching. Lanval, lazy lout that he is, is resting away inside a carriage... but he's not snoozing. He's lying prone and looking like he could go for a snooze, but isn't. He is not of a restful mindset. There are things that must be said, if they can just reach the Dragonmaster... but how? Maybe they'll find out by the time they get to Meribia. Maybe they'll catch him in discussions with the White Knight Leo over some crazy thing or another, like all the fire rods that spit little pieces of metal he's been hearing about lately. That seems like a Dragonmaster-y thing, doesn't it? It's raw daydreaming at this juncture.
"Mmmmph." That's the seventeenth 'mmmph' this entire trip, as he runs ever lower on ideas.
<Pose Tracker> Ghaleon has posed.
Speak the devil's name, and he shall appear.
Ghaleon does, in fact, appear. The Dragonmaster appears in a telltale flash of light; then, he starts forward. A Guard checkpoint had been a little ahead and spied them with a spyglass. The carriage was normal... and yet, Ghaleon appeared and said he would handle it. Guards do not argue with the Dragonmaster. Which is why he walks up, striding right towards the carriage.
He stops and glances through the window. He eyes the others here; then, he looks down, and peers directing at Lanval. One artful eyebrow lifts, as he regards him.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm. It seems the grape harvest has done well in years past."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
The last time Talise ran across the Dragonmaster, she was left with a lot to think about.
Something she did had warranted Ghaleon's attention... but it wasn't her idea. Reaching him outside of his decisions is beyond her power. Nevertheless, she's gone with Lanval. Riding along in the carriage, she squints ahead of the vehicle. Her hair's been bound up in a green bandanna to try and diminish the fact that she's on wanted posters now.
"What's going on, Lanval," she asks as she peers through the front window.
Until there's a flash of light.
When Ghaleon peers through the window, Talise is in there with him. She rests a hand on Lanval's shoulder and scowls across the lounging Seraph at the Dragonmaster. Her sword's with her, but she's got it sheathed right now.
"Hello again," she says tensely.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Miss Sephilia Alexis Lampbright, companion and ward of Lord Chauncey of Foxington, is holding her bodyguard tight from her seat opposite Talise. "Is that--is that--" she stammers in surprise. "Wow!"
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna wasn't...incredibly enthusiastic about tracking down the Dragonmaster. He was...well, the Dragonmaster. A champion personally chosen by Althena, even despite his death, and a step beyond the Four Heroes, who were legends and titans in their own right.
And here she was, a criminal and a pirate. Sure, she had confidence in her skills, but even Layna was going to be realistic about some things.
...But, it was something Lanval wanted to do.
For now, though, she puts her mind on business, which might involve a bit of almost napping. It wasn't like the Dragonmaster himself was just going to show up out of nowhere, right?
And then the Dragonmaster himself just shows up out of nowhere.
Layna sits up, a hint of surprise appearing on her face...with is suddenly replaced with a grin as she regards Ghaleon.
"...Fancy meetin' you here, Dragonmaster." She comments, for lack of anything wittier to say.
...Oh boy, maybe she should've been working on her material this whole time.
Unescaped comma in final arg of ANSI by #652. This behavior is deprecated.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Mmmph?" That's number eighteen 'mmmph.' "That'sh a looootta power in the air," he shifts to sit up to take a look at Talise's urging.
That's him. His eyes open wide, as Talise rests a hand on his shoulder.
"It ish," he confirms to Sephy and Lord Chauncey alike.
Layna's greeting confirms it in triplicate. That's the Dragonmaster. He notes her grin, in the face of what otherwise might be probable capture and death.
"...Mmm... yearsh ago, it shure wash... a good harvesht." He looks to the gathered. It's time, then. "All right. 'm comin' out..."
Lanval steps out of the carriage. He doesn't flop out, like usual - he actually steps out, like someone who understands what walking is (he seems to constantly forget how to do this properly).
Pensively, he holds his gourd in his right hand. His eyes are closed, his mouth a thin straight line. What lies before him is his chance, he recognizes. Before him is the Dragonmaster. They are eternally busy in the service of the Goddess. Everyone's time is precious, in this scenario. He cannot guarantee what could come next. Some of them, for all the danger they get into, may not even be alive for another opportunity. (They might be busted for alcohol right there, just on virtue of Lanval being there.)
The group cannot go to Pentagulia together. The matter at hand... he must speak to them.
"Dragonmaster Ghaleon..." Lanval speaks. The slurring is conspicuously absent for his title. He bows in greeting. "I am Lanval, the Mirthful Wellspring." He's not slurring his title either. "I musht... I musht shpeak with you. I come bearin' concernsh that musht come to the attention of the Goddess..."
"Why would you trouble the Dragonmaster?" Asks a looming Seraph of the element of Earth, stern from where they watch by a nearby tree.
"Pay this one no heed, Dragonmaster." Advises a Seraph of the Lightning element, who stands atop a nearby weather vane of an old farm building underneath a cloudy sky that promises a lightning storm in time.
Lanval says nothing to these protests, standing his ground. Literally standing, in this instance - not at all swaying or looking inclined to fall to his seat as he tends to, as he awaits the Dragonmaster's attention.
<Pose Tracker> Ghaleon has posed.
"Is it?" Ghaleon asks Layna, with that pleasantness that he's always been able to muster. Then, knowing eyes turn to look at Sephy, then Talise. "Miss Gianfair. I wondered when I would... run into you again. A much nicer place for a rendezvous, isn't it?"
His eyes turn, though, back to Lanval. He steps back when Lanval emerges; Ghaleon affords him the space to stand up. His eyes look him over, up and down -- and then he looks sideways to the two Seraphim that have chosen to accompany them. Funny, he thinks.
He looks back at Lanval.
"Come now," Ghaleon says. "This one would beseech the Goddess. I am sure, then, that he would do so for a reason more important than asking her to refill his tankard."
He looks over Lanval's companions. "Or would he? Hm, hm, hm."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Yes, Sephilia," Talise answers as she shifts her weight a little to hop out of the carriage. She keeps herself more or less between Ghaleon and Sephilia. He may have humiliated her last time they fought, but she can at least buy the girl a couple minutes to escape if things come down to a fight. Sephilia's tough, but the last thing Talise wants to see is Ghaleon beating down someone as sweet as her.
Talise does reach up to tug her bandanna off, though. She folds it neatly and tucks it into her coat, eyes on Ghaleon's as she does it. There's no point pretending in front of him.
"There are worse places," Talise concedes, her tone still a little flat as she steps up to Lanval's right, resting one gauntleted hand at her hip. "Here I thought you just got off on accosting random swordswomen in caves. Apparently you like us more than I thought." She raises one eyebrow shallowly. "And don't think I'm going to back down from you just because of what happened last time."
The fact that Lanval is speaking so clearly and doing his best to appear presentable surprises her, and Talise glances at him curiously, then at those nearby Seraphs with something flat and chiding in her eyes.
"Lanval deserves more respect from you than that," she informs Ghaleon shortly. "He's one of Althena's servants just as the Dragonmaster is."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna notes Lanval's response to the Dragonmaster's comment, and the way he steps out with a grace that he was usually...lacking. Layna follows suit, stepping out of the carriage along with the others. She folds her arms in front of her, looking away from Ghaleon only to glance toward the Seraphs that suggest Ghaleon not bother with him. She gives them a pointed look that says something along the lines of 'butt out', though she doesn't expect them to respond.
"Aye," Layna says, nodding both to the Dragonmaster and Talise. "Lanval's better than that. He's been buggin' us about seein' you."
She sounds serious about it. ...Her voice has a more serious tone to it than usual, as well.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Um, sir, my name is Sephilia Lampbright, my dad is George Lampbright, he's...famous...famous explorer...and...uh, you maybe have heard of...us?" Sephy seems taken aback by Talise being recognized by Ghaleon and vice versa and--it's hard for her to put words together.
"Aaaaaah and this is Lord Chauncey of Foxington my...bodyguard...he..." She holds up Chauncey and...then kind of sags.
He's going to think she's a little kid.
Ugh.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
It's not the first time they've seen Lanval receive heckling and ire from other Seraphim. Come to think of it, they never really seen him mingle with his own kind much... the Seraphim are usually distant from mortals and keep to their own. Layna knows that the mischievous Ragnell seems to give him the time of day, and unless there's some others he hasn't mentioned (a certain clothier)... that's about it.
Talise stands up for him. A gentler smile comes to his lips. She does believe in him, but from what he knows of her, that's never in question. "It'sh all right... Talishe."
He nods in accordance with Layna's words. "It'sh true... I musht shpeak with you."
The other Seraphim stare back at Layna, dispassionately. For hanging around Lanval as much as they have, and thus him being maybe their biggest exposure to the world beyond the mortal perception of most... it's easy to lose sight of the ambient distrust that many have of mortals. Most seem to want nothing to do with them, in favor of doing whatever it is they do with their days. Like stand there and scowl, apparently. They must do that for centuries on end.
Lanval fights back a bit of a laugh as Sephilia eagerly introduces herself to the Dragonmaster. She can't help herself... but it's a good feeling that she can keep such high spirits when what's on his mind is the sort of thing even he would be hard pressed to laugh about. He gathers himself.
"Dragonmaster... you have my thanksh for coming to li'l ol' me~" Lanval slurs as he finds himself taking a seat by habit, taking the insults and jeers in stride. It feels natural to him, as a spirit of the water. Water rests where it collects about the ground or wherever else it ends up. He lets his gourd rest on his lap, both hands clasped over it as he exhales underneath Ghaleon's shadow.
He has Ghaleon's attention - and his cutting wit. There is no backing out of this now. Easing himself, he begins to speak.
"The Boundary hash kept Meribush shafe all theshe yearsh, by Her power and grace. We give our thanksh to the Goddess for protectin' all of ush..." It sounds like things are going fine, then?
"You speak of what the Dragonmaster would already know." The Earth Seraph chides.
"...But there have been intrushionsh there shouldn't." Lanval speaks, heedless of the other Seraph's heckling. "Mount Manfred'sh become hosht to a Malevolent Domain, the likesh of which I'd never sheen nor heard of in all my yearsh. Shuch a thing shouldn't be able to form within the Boundary..."
"Impossible." The Lightning Seraph snaps.
"I wash there." Lanval states, plainly. The other Seraphim are silent. Malevolent Domains are no place for Seraphim to go, let alone come back intact... but there Lanval is, not in the process of dragonification. His tone doesn't waver. "The shwamp that'sh home to the former Copper Rapier Inn--"
"That place was foul and as far from the Goddess as anywhere in the Boundary can be." Interrupts and informs the Earth Seraph.
...Another one'sh formin' there." Lanval continues. "That'sh... that'sh two gapsh in the Boundary. Dragonmaster... the Goddess musht know. The people with me... they're my material witnesshesh. They'll back everything I shaid."
"Your words remain worthless." The Lightning Seraph speaks, as though less mocking and more stating a fact - the firm belief that Lanval is full of it. If it were just Lanval here, would the Seraphim among him have successfully shunted him aside from the Dragonmaster's notice?
<Pose Tracker> Ghaleon has posed.
"To think that of you," Ghaleon says to Talise with a smile, "would imply that I think much of you at all."
And yet, in a way, he had pushed her last time. The Dragonmaster regards her with a cool, unbothered look; his eyes turn to regard Layna, too, and then he nods once. He glances at Sephilia. He quirks an eyebrow at the young lady. "Is that so?" he asks. To his credit: he does, mostly, see a little girl. And yet, his tone is kinder. "I assume that he must be fierce."
The kindness doesn't last.
He looks back to Lanval, and he listens for a moment. "Mount Manfred... well, well, well. It seems that you have been busy," he says. "Wandering into places that are dangerous for you. Tell me, am I to commend you for this...?"
He tilts his head. "Do you really believe that a Goddess would not see all there is to be seen?" he asks. "But, very well. Go on. Tell me of this... Copper Rapier Inn. How quaint. And, tell me of these.. breaches in the Goddess's Boundary."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Please, keep thinking that," Talise answers Ghaleon with a dip of her lashes. "I want to see your face sometime down the line when you lose to some girl you don't think about."
The two Seraphs continue to chirp on from the sidelines. Talise slowly turns her head to give both of them a look.
She draws her finger and thumb across her lips to pantomime zipping one's mouth shut.
But Lanval has something to say. Talise tilts her head and frowns slightly; Lanval had only given them a vague idea of what he wanted, but it's becoming more clear. "...No, actually, what he's telling you isn't wrong," she puts in. "The one in Mount Manfred is pretty powerful - Castle Rabenstein, I think it's called. Lanval can tell you more about the Copper Rapier. But you should know better than anyone that Malevolent Domains like that shouldn't be able to even happen within the Barrier. Glenwood, fine. We just cleaned one out, actually. But if the Barrier is weakening in Meribus...."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
There's a lot to take in. The Dragonmaster, for one. His behavior is...well, not quite what he would have anticipated. Then there's the way he reacted to Talise, despite their fight.
And then, of course, there's what Lanval has to say. That was important, and now that he was talking about it...well, she could see why it was so important that he beseech the Goddess or the Dragonmaster.
And potentially problematic.
"Aye." Layna says, nodding to agree with both Lanval and Talise. "I've seen 'em both for m'self, as well."
For now, though, she keeps her eyes on Lanval, just to make sure he's alright.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy raises a hand. "Me too!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Ghaleon's biting wit strikes back at the one who is already acquainted with them. Talise never backs down from a challenge - her courage and boldness in the face of the seemingly insurmountable is equal parts admirable and alarming. The Seraphim stare at Talise as she makes that gesture towards her. The same arrogance, the same distance. Lanval is more supportive at the account that Talise gives, nodding along.
Layna will notice that the heckling of the Seraphim doesn't seem to be getting to him. It's maybe not the first time she's seen him be told to 'leave' or otherwise be shoved aside by them, but he's never raised his voice or given anything back to them. He just... takes it.
"They can all vouch, Dragonmaster." Lanval adds as Sephy raises her hand and confirms his story...
Lanval's eyes open half-lidded anew. He lifts the gourd up closer to his lips, but halts himself. No, this is the Dragonmaster. The other Seraphim are bearing down as hard as they can against his word. This is no time to go drinking. He's already made fun of him for that. That is against Her will... for mortals. He's a gray area. Less gray, if he's enabling mortals drinking (oh he so has).
"'m not here to brag... whatever'sh goin' on with Mount Manfred... that might be beyond me." He is not gifted with the power of Purification, after all. "But there'sh no othersh of my kind more shuited to tell ya 'bout the Copper Rapier Inn than li'l ol' me." Lanval speaks. "...'Caushe that'sh where I wash for over five hundred yearsh."
"It is no mystery why it turned out the way it did." The Earth Seraph states, as though this were no surprise to them.
"A reflection of your ilk." The Lightning Seraph further mocks.
"...From ash far back ash when it wash called Rylia." Lanval continues. He swishes the contents of the gourd idly in his right, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again half-lidded. Rylia? The name may be familiar, in passing, to those who went into the Malevolence-afflicted basement. Rylia was a place... right there?
"From the humble village that became a monashtery mosht devout... into a mortal family'sh brewery that maintained the traditionsh of after the clergy left..."
"It rotted. The mortals defiled it." The Earth Seraph interrupts.
"...'n even after they left, and the Copper Rapier Inn came ta be... the yearsh were long. The lasht two 'n a half centuriesh, the longesht of 'em all."
"Allowed to become corrupted... so filthy." The Lightning Seraph isn't wrong. The Copper Rapier Inn was the sort of place where even Layna's former Captain might have been taken aback by what things went on in there. A reputation for degeneracy of some of the worst imaginable, its existence allowed to perpetuate for far too long.
"...Mortalsh are gonna do what they're gonna." Lanval says those words he often thinks, like a mantra, now said in the spoken word out loud. "'n I can shay, more than anyone, Dragonmaster, acrossh all five hundred and shome odd yearsh... what'sh goin' on there now ain't anything that could ever come ta passh before. Never could... never would. I can shay that ash..." Lanval stops, seeming hesitant. His words trail off anew into a language almost no one else here can understand... but he stops himself again.
"...My apologiesh, Dragonmaster, I'd better... shay it in their tongue." What was it that he wanted to hide from their ears? Lanval closes his eyes once, and then opens them in full to a brilliant aquamarine color.
The air around him changes. It's... a bit more easy-going. Even for the heavy subject matter at hand, there's some undercurrent of celebratory jubilation which is kind of weird? But that is, as it turns out, his Domain.
"I speak to thee, Dragonmaster, as the once enshrined Lord of the Land of Rylia, whom dutifully watched over the region in service of the Goddess and all who dwelt within my watch for over five-hundred years. I watched that her gifts to us all would go unspoiled by Her enemies." Lanval rises, clasping the gourd in both hands. His rising from his lazy, seated position seems akin more to an acolyte presenting to a higher order priest than that of a begging wastrel. "I beseech thee, Dragonmaster, as witness to--"
"You are disgraced." The Earth Seraph cuts Lanval off, sweeping an arm out as part of a cast Seraphic Arte. Stones are hurled his way.
"Leave." The Lightning Seraph joins in, flinging bolts of electricity at his person.
Lanval visibly flinches, but he does not fall back on his bum.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Wait WHAT? Lanval you and I are going to have SUCH a talk!" Sephy says, staring back at her friend.
<Pose Tracker> Ghaleon has posed.
"Hm, hm. That old haunt. And others have seen it..."
Ghaleon makes a show of considering it, tapping a finger against his chin. He looks towards Lanval, and he listens as he explains for a moment, and then his head tilts. The words of the other Seraphim give him pause for a moment. The name is familiar to him -- he knows most of the places on Meribus and Glenwood. A product of his long life.
He stands up straighter, then, at the words. His eyes widen for a moment -- and then they narrow. "A Lord of the Land... hm, hm. No, a fallen Lord of the Land. You allowed your charge to fall into such... ill repute. And then into worse."
He looks down at Lanval. "Tell me, then. Why should I let you before the Goddess? To lay at her feet your own personal failure?"
He smiles, and it is unkind. "No. I think not."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Once again, Talise looks over at the other two Seraphim, curling her fingers and sliding them along her lips once more as if to again emphasize that it is, in fact, time to zip it.
Lanval begins to reveal things. The big swordswoman blinks a couple of times, then frowns, folding both arms beneath the curve of her chest as the Water Seraph explains.
She blinks. "Oh! So that's what was depicted in the well," she remarks to nobody in particular, before Lanval starts chattering in a language she doesn't understand but recognizes a little bit. It's pretty close to the '#-1 FUNCTION (ANSI) EXPECTS 2 ARGUMENTS BUT GOT 1' that Green Knight Fredo was speaking.
And then something ripples. The Domain of the Water Seraph moves across them. And something is revealed. Talise widens her eyes. "So you were the Lord of Rylia," she murmurs -- and then the other two Seraphim begin slinging their Artes.
Their casting is suddenly interrupted by a loud KRATHOOOM.
Dirt kicks up as a round of buckshot slams into the turf not far in front of the other two Seraphim. Talise raises her shotgun and blows smoke from the barrel.
For the third time, she drags her fingers across her lips.
She slowly looks back towards Ghaleon, resting her rifle against her shoulder. "Except alcohol was never considered ill repute to her," she points out. "Natto the Singing Swordsman reputedly used to get smashed all the time. Whatever Lanval may have done in the past, he's shown himself to be a good being now. He's stood by us when we needed help."
Talise glances back at the hilt of Rastaban. "...It's because of him that I understand why the companion of Louie entrusted me with Rastaban. Lanval's not a failure... I owe him my gratitude, and I stand by him. Even if you can't see him for who he is. Dragonmaster."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Once again, Talise looks over at the other two Seraphim, curling her fingers and sliding them along her lips once more as if to again emphasize that it is, in fact, time to zip it.
Lanval begins to reveal things. The big swordswoman blinks a couple of times, then frowns, folding both arms beneath the curve of her chest as the Water Seraph explains.
She blinks. "Oh! So that's what was depicted in the well," she remarks to nobody in particular, before Lanval starts chattering in a language she doesn't understand but recognizes a little bit. It's pretty close to the '##### ##### ########' that Green Knight Fredo was speaking.
And then something ripples. The Domain of the Water Seraph moves across them. And something is revealed. Talise widens her eyes. "So you were the Lord of Rylia," she murmurs -- and then the other two Seraphim begin slinging their Artes.
Their casting is suddenly interrupted by a loud KRATHOOOM.
Dirt kicks up as a round of buckshot slams into the turf not far in front of the other two Seraphim. Talise raises her shotgun and blows smoke from the barrel.
For the third time, she drags her fingers across her lips.
She slowly looks back towards Ghaleon, resting her rifle against her shoulder. "Except alcohol was never considered ill repute to her," she points out. "Natto the Singing Swordsman reputedly used to get smashed all the time. Whatever Lanval may have done in the past, he's shown himself to be a good being now. He's stood by us when we needed help."
Talise glances back at the hilt of Rastaban. "...It's because of him that I understand why the companion of Louie entrusted me with Rastaban. Lanval's not a failure... I owe him my gratitude, and I stand by him. Even if you can't see him for who he is. Dragonmaster."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
It's a lot to unpack. Lanval tells his story, of the history of the land that would eventually be home to the Copper Rapier Inn. Rylia...she remembered that name.
She frowns a little. She hadn't realized that Lanval was so...important. What happened to him now to bring him to this state? Why did the other Seraphim - with the exception of Ragnell - seem to despise him?
Speaking of them...
Layna moves in front of Lanval and begins to recite a spell, but Talise gets to it first. In some cases, 'Gun' was better than any magic. Layna sends her an approving smirk, then looks back at Ghaleon herself.
"Aye." Layna says, nodding to agree with Talise's words. "And besides that..."
She unfolds her arms, truly speaking out for the first time. "There's still Mount Manfred. You can't pin that on him, aye?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Somewhere in all of this, Lanval internally reflects. For so long, he wanted to keep this to himself - he believed it a problem for the divine to deal with, not the mortals among him. He had so much fun traveling around with them, so far. He had to admit he was being selfish, and thought to the long term... after their adventuring years were behind them, maybe, just maybe...
He reflects upon Layna's devil-may-care attitude, that saw him willing to follow outside of the niceties and rules of the faithful.
He reflects upon Sephilia's innocence and wide open eyes for new and wonderful experiences that many will never get to have.
He reflects upon Tethelle's grim resolution that, no matter where she be taken or how far she is from familiarity, that she would see to the well-being of others en route to defeating truly vile enemies.
He reflects upon the depths of Talise's devotion into Althena by her wonderful singing voice only ever matched by those centuries long gone, and how it touched him so when he otherwise would've tried to stop her from singing... and her connections to truly ancient history.
He reflects upon Amaranth's desire to try and bridge the gaps between Seraphim and mortals so that they could see again, innocent and naive as it might be for all the complications involved that might yet color or corrupt her perceptions.
He reflects upon Ragnell's flighty nature and experiences that drove her to her present convictions but nonetheless maintained her desire to see to the well-being of even someone like himself.
He reflects upon that strange priest of an odd faith, Cyre, who despite his heathen and strange ways uses his not-Hellion-like transformation into a divine beast for the greater good of Lunar.
He reflects upon the quiet priestess of the moon, Catenna, whom seems to have the gift to purify Malevolence and embodies a serenity not unlike the whole of Lunar itself.
He reflects upon the open friendliness of the merchant baron Jay, who has been very kind about bringing enough potions for him to drink.
He reflects upon the worried and worrisome youth Lydia, who sometimes seems to struggle choosing between faith and morality and also something weird about the way her body moves.
He reflects on the kindness of the strange wandering man Fei Fong Wong, who stood up for him so readily even as a perfect stranger possessed of some strange compulsion to seek danger instead of peace.
He even reflects upon those three Hellions that are joint masters of the Domain, and all they went through...
This is everyone's problem. He finds enough peace in this answer. For their sake, he must - even before the Dragonmaster's dismissal and seeming disapproval. Even before the Goddess, if they had the opportunity. To do anything less would be against his station - against everything he believes in.
Against everyone who believes in him right now, as Talise speaks of her disapproval of the peanut gallery through her ARMs. Both of them, unfamiliar with the item in question, recoil and shudder as the sound and sight disrupts them. They don't understand... how? She further reinforces her faith in the Fallen Lord of the Land of the place once called Rylia - the one who endures so much disapproval and even ridicule by his own kind.
Sephy exclaims in surprise. Eagerness? Wishing to chide him? Her emotional response emboldens him - she still wants to speak with even someone like him, for all he's kept from them. Maybe because of all he's kept from them. She is an inquisitive sort, after all.
Layna, though it is Lanval who is (was) once charged with the protection of a section of the continent, moves to protect him from further harassment by the Seraphim in question. They scowl at her, as she brings up Mount Manfred. That can't be pinned on him...
...But there is yet more to say.
"Ha ha ha...!" Mirthful laughter echoes, as if heedless of even the Dragonmaster's disapproval - firm as it is. A failure, who allowed his charge to fall apart. Less mocking, more easy-going, somehow? The other two Seraphim are stunned by this. They can feel the building power in the air...
"Be on your way in good health!"
These words precede a great wave of water and bubbles that envelop the other two, as their powers rapidly disperse to reveal an upright Lanval that holds a gourd aloft. The solid Earth, the deadly flash of Lightning.... they flinch as it all bears down upon them.
Water is shaped and contained by what surrounds it, but will yet still swallow smaller rocks within. Electricity can only disperse so far across a vast volume of water. Neither of the other Seraphim present can compare with Lanval's own innate strength, disrupting even the natural order of elemental relationships.
In wake of this great wave of water, the Earth Seraphim retreats within the safety of his nearby vessel, a tree. The Lightning Seraph disappears in a flash to parts unknown with a shriek - not out of offense, but genuinely terrified at being a recipient of such reprisal.
The ground becomes damp and muddy in its wake - none of which reaches the Dragonmaster or his friends, whether by Lanval's own hold of his power or by the simple virtue of Ghaleon's own magical strength, as Lanval stands with his gourd raised.
"Forgive the indiscretions of mine own kind, Dragonmaster. I shall tell thee why I must see to the Goddess without delay!" Lanval addresses, his bright eyes remaining open, "Knowing what I have seen in the company of these mortals, Dragonmaster, I must ask of thee! The Goddess' own faithful acted to destroy my divine vessel in a time where Her enemies have already intruded within the Boundary. The prohibition alone could not have been more important to enforce over my ability to maintain the Blessing I had for over five centuries!" The Guard did, indeed, burn down the Copper Rapier Inn. That place was awful even by mortal standards, but yet, it was still home to a Lord of the Land actively at work - one whose Blessing prevented the accumulation of Malevolence. One may reflect upon how much must have stood to be generated by the environs... and how Lanval endured, maintaining his station without corruption or worse.
Arguably, this Lord of the Land remains active at work right now, the air swarming in water-aligned energies that emanate from Lanval. If there were any Fire Seraphim in the area, they would have long since left.
"An Earthpulse has been subject to corruption up in Mount Manfred, Dragonmaster, in the depths of the Malevolent Domain. Even now, I am to believe the one that rests near the former settlement of Rylia is a target of Her enemies. It is no delusion to believe they have taken the opportunity presented by my removal to act..." What is Lanval implying? Can he be suggesting...
"Dragonmaster! As a devout servant of the Goddess who dedicated themselves to seeing to the reinforcement of her protection of Meribus for nearly mine entire life, I must have an answer!" The intensity builds in Lanval's voice. After years of wallowing in pity and confusion, he has at last found his courage to confront and ask the questions that weigh upon him - and he would see to it the Dragonmaster wouldn't just hear them.
That he would answer them.
"To what end hath the Goddess seen fit in her boundless wisdom to see a weakness created and left unaddressed witin Her Boundary? That more than one hole now exists, that yet more may yet be discovered and exploited? That in a time where fewer and fewer mortals can ever perceive us! Among those whom stand charged to protect the Boundary... there are a number I now find missing or removed from where they should yet still preside! Dragonmaster... Her designs are beyond my reckoning, and I can do naught but watch the Boundary collapse... what is Her design, that excludes the efforts of Her most loyal of servants with no alternative in which to address these matters?"
Lanval lowers his gourd, swinging an arm outward as he disperses away much of the built-up power on display.
"I beseech thee, answer this humble servant...!"
<Pose Tracker> Ghaleon has posed.
"Is that so?" Ghaleon asks Talise, turning to look at her. "Well, now! Perhaps I shall judge him by the company that he keeps, then."
He makes no move, it should be noted, to help the two Seraphim speaking for him. His eyes flicker to each in turn, silver and graceful, before they look to Rastaban. Then, to Layna. "Of course not. But it makes his judgment... suspect."
His eyes snap back to Lanval. He doesn't gasp or audibly express surprise, but he does watch carefully when the watery blast sends the two Seraphim scattering. Then, finally, Ghaleon chuckles. "Well, well. It seems our grape harvest has given you courage, too," he says. His eyes narrow, and his brow furrows for a moment. "You would demand an answer... of your Goddess? Perhaps you have had a few too many sips of wine!"
He lifts a finger, then, and points it towards Lanval. Graceful and articulate, the smile on his face is as beautiful as it is terrible. "...Unfortunately, courage is a fine way for a hero to ruin himself. Hm, hm. But, I'm not a murderous sort. Even if you have spoken far out of turn."
He turns on a heel. His massive white cape flutters after him, and he begins to walk away -- but it is an insult, as he openly shows his back to Lanval and his plea. "The Goddess in Pentagulia has no further need of your services. Nor, I should think, does her ear need the prattling... of a wine-sodden, washed up drunkard, who asks questions of others instead of finding answers for himself. I suggest, Lanval, that you find yourself new work. There are loyal Seraphim to take you place."
He smirks -- and then barks out a laugh. "You are the weakest link. Goodbye."
And then, Ghaleon keeps walking.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"The company he keeps includes a famous adventurer's daughter you menaie!" Sephy calls after him.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Damn, Lanval," Talise remarks with a quick blink as the Water Seraph drops his Domain on the peanut gallery.
Lanval starts asking some difficult questions. The fact that he can even be that regal is slightly stunning to her. All of a sudden she's seeing him less as the disheveled Lanval she knows and more as the man on the spring wall.
"An Earthpulse," Talise murmurs. Her understanding of those is significantly more limited than her understanding of Althenian tales of ages past. The rest she understands more clearly: Lanval was a Lord of the Land, and the Guard torched his vessel despite his being an active servant of Althena. Something that she'd have known were she in touch with her own deeds.
But Ghaleon doesn't appear to be about to answer him. Talise sets her jaw ever so slightly, then lets her breath out through her nose as she begins to put a few things together.
"Hey, SASSHOLE!" she shouts after Ghaleon.
"Think about this one!" she calls in a slightly more level tone. "This is all happening after she decided booze and music were banned. Y'know, ways people get rid of their negative feelings. So why's she allowing negative emotions to fester, huh?"
sTalise raises her voice to keep shouting to keep up with Ghaleon continuing to walk. "Why don't you ask her why she's letting Malevolence spread like that, Ghaleon?! Be the damn Dragonmaster instead of listening to your Bitmey Smears albums like nothing's wrong!!"
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
From the driver's seat of the carriage, meanwhile, Benedict Greygust has been watching all alone.
"Althena's thong, they are literally sassing the Dragonmaster," he murmurs to himself in disbelief as he hopes to Althena he won't have to get his crossbow out. He's not sure he could even load it before Ghaleon set his everything on fire.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Lanval draws upon his power with mirthful laughter, and washes away the interfering Seraphim. ...Layna whistles appreciatively and looks back at him.
She doesn't say a word as he speaks, with a power and authority that she never expected to see from Lanval. She doesn't need to interrupt this, especially when he divulges some rather important information.
...The Inn itself was his vessel? And the Guard moved to burn it...did they know this was the case?
Layna looks to the ground with a rare, pensive frown, before looking to Lanval himself. As he lists off problems and potential threats.
...Threats which Ghaleon ignores.
"...So that's it, aye? You're just gonna turn and walk away?" Layna asks with a shrug. "...'Fraid to chip your nails by lifting a hand, then? You've been ignorin' calls to intervene in the war and now you're gonna ignore this, too?"
Layna shakes her head.
"The problem's not just gonna go away." She says. And Talise has some good points to raise, too.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
The point of Ghaleon's finger is, even without physical contact, like a knife running deep. It cuts through the air of joyful revelry - it makes it disappear, with but a gaze. It is as though it never was, when he speaks, decrying his lack of loyalty. Questioning his judgment...
The white cape flutters, and it is as though it were slapping him as he is summarily dismissed. He is no longer in need by the Goddess. Left to his own, among this lot - just about the only lot he has for friends and companions, now.
He falls to his seat like the layabout vagrant he is seen as, as the bright color in his eyes fades. The eyes go half-lidded, as others speak up on his behalf. Sephy touts his association with a famous lineage via being her friend. Talise keeps following up with further pointed questions, jumping on the hooks and implications his own inquiries have made. Layna asks if this is simply just going to be it, how it is, that these issues will not be addressed.
...
Lanval finally found the courage to dare question what's been happening - to bare anything and everything he withheld from his most trusted friends that he did not want to let on. He may have forever stolen away their faith in the Goddess. A vector in which to find himself enshrined anew, forever lost - even before an implied prospect in the Dragonmaster's own words.
His eyes close as he nurses the gourd closely. He was as good as excommunicated. He may well be exiled from the Silver Star, as he already seems to be in the eyes of his own kind... only short of an easily accessible means in which to actually enact that. He is stuck down a lonesome road that will last far longer than the mortal lives of those who still profess faith in him today. He pushed for the answers he sought, and in turn, gained nothing.
He lost everything.
In a bright puff of sorcerous energy of the appropriate aquamarine hue, the water spirit's manifestation disappears and fades inside the expended bottle that he calls his present vessel.
It was muddy and humid not long ago.
Now it is completely dry.
Lanval vessel rests motionless, without light or sound to indicate his presence.
It is entirely without mirth.
<Pose Tracker> Ghaleon has posed.
"Now, now, dear Talise," Ghaleon says. He stops for a moment, and looks over his shoulder. "Who am I to question the Goddess's will and design? Who are any of us?"
Sephy's words ring in his ears. A smirk crosses his lips; his eyes note Layna, lingering on her for a moment. "And you think that I owe you an explanation? Tsk, tsk. The designs that Althena and I have, to set the world to rights, are our own. And you..."
He looks down at the bottle, as it clatters down.
"...You are the last people I would share those plans with." He turns his head, then, and takes a couple more steps.
Then, he vanishes.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
The sight of Lanval collapsing into his bottle without a shred of mirth nearly breaks Talise's heart.
When Ghaleon vanishes into the ether, Talise opens her mouth a little, her reply hanging on the very point of her tongue. She clenches her teeth and swallows it, then breathes out a long, pained sigh.
Dropping into a crouch, she picks up the fallen bottle which houses her Seraph friend. She cradles it in her hands like a precious thing. "Lanval," she murmurs, her voice a little throaty with emotion.
All of a sudden, he seems closer to her than ever. Both of them are rejects in the eyes of a Goddess they loved.
She hugs the bottle close to her chest as she comes back to her feet, closing her eyes as she does. For a moment, she doesn't say anything.
Finally, she states, "Something is wrong with Althena. That's more clear than ever. The Seraphim are Althena's servants, and Lanval is one of them, too. He's an old Seraph... and the Guard destroyed his vessel as though he didn't even matter. The way the Guard has allowed the war in Glenwood to go on... the weakening of the Barrier... the ban on music and alcohol... the fact that she resurrected a dead man to be her Dragonmaster...."
She looks back to the others, a haunted look in her eyes. "...I can only think of three things," she says. "Either a, she turned deranged after her long sleep; b, she's being influenced by some kind of dark power...."
Talise squares her jaw. "...Or c: That isn't Althena at all.
"It's a Hellion pretending to be Althena."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Aw, Lanval..." Sephy sniffles.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"...Nah. I expect you to get off your ass and do something." Layna replies, shaking her head. She doesn't get a reply - Ghaleon is gone, without deigning to give them any further words. Layna rolls her eyes...then walks up to Talise, resting a hand on her shoulder and looking down at the bottle cradled in her arms.
"...Aye. Aye, I think you have the right of it, lass..." She murmurs in reply. "He mentioned 'the designs he and Althena have, to set the world to rights'."
Layna sighs and massages the back of her head.
"...If what you're sayin' is true... I get the feeling those ain't gonna be good for any one of us."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"I can see Althena brushing me off," Talise says with a scowl, eyes lowering to Lanval's bottle.
"But Lanval - whatever you might think about him... - Lanval is a Lord of the Land. Those are very specific things. They're special Seraphs who rule over a place and protect it in her name. And Lanval doesn't seem to be infected by Malevolence...."
Talise moves over to give Layna a serious look, her lips briefly tightening as she purses them. "...No," she murmurs. "I'm easy for her to just dismiss. I'm nobody. I'm just some chick who thinks she's America's Next Top Dragonmaster and she's Simon Cowell about to kick me off the stage." Thanks, Working Designs. "But if she's brushing off Seraphim, then something more is going on. We need to figure out what is wrong with her.
"And help Lanval."