2018-10-11: You Can Yet Fly Higher
- Log: You Can Yet Fly Higher
- Cast: Riesenlied, K.K.
- Where: New Petra
- Date: 11th October 2018
- Summary: Riesenlied meditates to the nature of the Malevolent leaf she procured from Linga, and a familiar presence visits her...
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
A year ago, a certain white-armoured Trial Knight met a Hyadean who was much on the fence, struggling between a desire to see her people flourish... and a desire to stay loyal to a leader who she viewed much-- or perhaps, exactly, like a father. Such struggles clashed with each other, and people suffered for it.
Since then, Riesenlied's resolve has seen her go places -- to the depths of the Guardian Temple, where the Guardian of the Sword placed a geas for her to show that the Hyadeans were more than killers, overseen by the Trial Knight themselves. And despite the destruction of so many villages, so many settlements...
... below where Riesenlied now kneels, there is a village.
New Petra, a settlement created for the Azadians who so recently lost their home to Sin; it is reminiscent of Wayside, a gathering of prefabricated buildings and tents and caravans surrounding the Fereshte, their ramshackle airship with the dragonshead configuration.
She's kneeling, perhaps in prayer or meditation, upon that same cliff that they once first met; when they spoke of conviction, and what it is one must do for their goals... much has happened since.
For one, the degeneration appears to have eroded her further; both of her feet are now misshapen, in the shape of a Dragon not unlike her kin. Her skin possesses a pallor that's unhealthy, and even still...
... she kneels in the presence of a Malevolent item -- a rootful of Artemis Leaf she plucked from the Sacred Grounds of Linga, in the hopes that she may ease its curse even a little. And to understand, even if she may not get there... a little of what ails this barren earth.
<Pose Tracker> K.K. has posed.
A familiar place, this cliffside is. A home to many discussions. About conviction, about trust. Strength and limits. And the place it overlooks, home to peace and violence in equal turns. A long journey across worlds ultimately brings the Tainted who once struggled to find her place in the scheme of things back where she started, yet not the same as when she did.
Perhaps it's fitting, to come full circle.
And perhaps, too, it is fitting that here, at the place of their first real discussion -- the place where they truly began to delve into the root and nature of her drive -- Riesenlied will find that she is not quite alone.
Before, words would herald their arrival. Today? Today it is simply their shadow, cast over Riesenlied and the leaf she kneels before in an attempt to grasp its tainted nature. It is not the sound of words, but of armor that indicates just who is there, the heavy shift of metal bootfalls indicating their presence before that shining white silhouette falls into the peripherals of Riesenlied's gaze.
And for a time, the Trial Knight simply stands there, overlooking that cliffside, hands behind their back, stance implacable. One might assume they were looking over the grounds of New Petra, assessing it, and this is not entirely untrue...
... But Riesenlied would feel the weight of K.K.'s wordless attention on her for an equal time, as well.
"'Tis a sight," are the first, three words they say, but whether they mean the settlement, the leaf, or Riesenlied's precarious state, is an open question.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
The leaf is much like her, in so many ways, is it not?
Tainted. Stained by a presence deep within the earth that... she honestly did not quite understand. Of course, she's seen Malevolence stain the lands, the wildlife; she's seen Glenwood and the way even Hellions can prowl amongst the villagefolk, unaware of their true nature.
Yet here, in Filgaia of all places... to have stained the ground such...
It was as if the screaming land had contracted something else.
She hears the bootfalls, the presence that carries a lot of weight and stature. She quietly pauses... perhaps sensing them, more than she sees them.
It has been a long time since their last meeting, back in Lunar. When she questioned why...
"Yes..." Riesenlied whispers. "Much... has happened. For so many people, better or worse... the world carries on forward, inexorable."
<Pose Tracker> K.K. has posed.
"'Tis a fact that must be reconciled," intones K.K., their words carrying through the tinny warp of that helm that conceals them from the rest of the world. "The world marches on, despite victory or tragedy. And for all that you have seen, there is more triumph and suffering yet still that has gone on beyond your notice, or mine."
Impure. It's a thing that some would observe with derision about the state Riesenlied is in, much like that leaf. Inundated with a contradiction of nature, or a nurture of thousands of years of a warhawk culture. And yet...
"You whittle away at yourself for the sake of others, Riesenlied." The observation comes after a handful of silence, accompanied with the slight pivot of the knight's heel. "Your pound of flesh has become more a lion's share."
And then, without a word, the knight lowers themself; for one who seems so at home in the dramatics of imposing stature and claiming higher ground, K.K. seems to think nothing of kneeling beside Riesenlied, next to that leaf; there is little more than the smallest twinge that runs through the fingers of their left hand as they settle both in their lap, and tilt their horned helm towards that leaf.
"Tell me," they say, seemingly in lieu of addressing Riesenlied's flagging physical state, "what understanding have you yet gleaned from this?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Your pound of flesh has become more a lion's share.
She has whittled herself away in many ways; physically, as her body continues to degrade in the face of so much duress in their adventures, their hardships, and the danger that they face. And often, so much, far too harshly; as Garrett Stampede thrusts the blade of the Sword Dancer and she interposes herself in the way; as the weave of an unknowable veil of spiritual prowess threatens to drag her beyond her senses in Uzda il-Jam... as the screech and gaze of the Clysmian of Obsession, Sin, rattles her deep within her heart.
None of her gains has come without sacrifice. Yet she perseveres.
"To bear the weight of the world itself would only crush one person..." Riesenlied whispers. "We all have our limits. And yet... it is true. I am stubborn..."
That leaf continues to flicker and weave a little, the faint blight of purple surrounded about it present to both their senses. K.K. kneels before them...
"... I can only glean... emotions. A deep and withered cry, from the very depths of the earth itself. It has sustained so much pain, even before the blight of Malevolence that has tainted that land--"
A pause.
"I learnt... in the Old Moon, in Lunar. From an old friend of Lord Siegfried's. The scar brought upon the land that drained Filgaia such of its splendour, in the Day of Collapse..."
She lays a hand a little closer to the leaf, careful to not directly touch it.
"It was... brought upon by Elw and human hands, in desperation to our brethren. An act of great aggression that rent the Guardians low and weakened as they are now."
<Pose Tracker> K.K. has posed.
We all have our limits.
"Mm," exhales the Trial Knight from behind that faceless mask in a way that comes out more a metallic rasp of pensive thought. "'Tis just so. And to know them is a thing all must endeavor towards if they would mean to accomplish what they desire. Even you, Riesenlied. I told you once, this brand of 'Tainted' you carry is not the weakness some would cast it as. But 'tis a sword of dual edges, as well."
But for now, their warning words fall by the wayside in favor of listening to the Hyadean's words on that leaf sweltering with the poisonous brand of Malevolence. Their head cants to the left for a few silent moments before they reach out -- and lay clawed, gauntleted fingers upon that impurity-soaked thing.
"At its face, Malevolence does naught else but give face to the trauma and contradiction that lies within us. 'Tis a thing no different whether it be from the get of man, or the scars soaking the land. There is much regret in this world, Riesenlied." Turning the leaf between their fingers, they do not flinch from that Malevolence -- but for one that so surrounds themself with it, perhaps that is simply to be expected by now. "And though it survives, there is much to it that makes it fertile ground for Malevolence's seeds. But 'tis not just suffering that makes such things so insidious.
"Oft times, 'tis the best of our intentions that fell us so deeply."
They quiet, then, as Riesenlied speaks. Slowly, that clawed gauntlet retracts as their attention turns to the makeshift village, centered around an airship that has traversed between worlds. Lunar. Where they found...
"So I have heard," utters the Trial Knight. "A great dragon of metal, who came to Lunar ages past. I have heard a tale similar from Siegfried himself, inundated by his own perception. And man has yet their own view still, of great and terrible monsters that nearly laid them low, that they would have done anything to survive past. And betwixt them all, a thousand perspectives more, many oft in direct contradiction with themselves."
Their head turns, Riesenlied's way. The polish of their faceplate reflects little but the woman's own reflection as they speak next.
"You know well the ugliness of man. Enough to kill a world simply to survive the next day. You know the ugliness of your people. Enough to scourge a world of their enemy for the sake of their own survival." They gesture, simply, towards that leaf.
"What do you see in that, Riesenlied?"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied, in truth, is not too surprised to hear that K.K. had heard of the tale. Ragnell was with them; she would've expected her to relay the tale -- and in a way, it wasn't exactly news she would've wanted kept to a limited audience.
The truth hurts, but it is fundamental that people know the truth.
"... it is. I am trying my best, to know how best to fight my battles, whether they are on a stage of violence or others... and in turn, to rely on those that I walk with."
That leaf continues to bristle, and Riesenlied gazes as K.K. touches the leaf, their clawed, gauntleted fingers upon the impure.
"We all have our sins, our flaws... they are magnified upon one another, borne more ill as history continues to march -- and the truth is lost to hearsay, to stories, to books and records interpreted without context."
She glances down towards the village, as she watches several human Azadian children play with a Hyadean whose legs are made of accordion tubing.
"There is much anger, much hatred. Long lives make for long lasting wounds, grudges that are as fresh today as they were centuries ago..."
A pause, as she clutches her hand upon that necklace of hers. The Dragon's Tear.
"It... hurts, of course. It hurts deeply, to hear of the sordid history of our ancestors; the desperation and fear that led them all to reach the viewpoints they did. Whether it were the Elw, the humans and their weapons; whether it was how Lord Siegfried turned when his hopes were so dashed--"
Her lips firm gently.
"... but it doubles my desire, my resolve, for co-existence. Even now, amidst the fear that creates walls amongst us... we have started to create something fragile, something small, but..."
There is a fonder smile.
"Something wonderful."
<Pose Tracker> K.K. has posed.
Something wonderful.
From where they sit, the Trial Knight listens. It is so difficult, in those moments of silence, to perceive what they might be thinking, be feeling. Even their voice is oftentimes a mask. They present the world with a purposeful exterior, one that cultivates a certain image, and does it expertly. Of something immovable. Of something inhuman. Of an unfeeling force.
But here, with only Riesenlied as company, the fond warmth in that tinny tone would be unmistakable for someone with so keen an intuition.
"Ever will such things exist, as long as man walks this earth. Hatred, violence. Scars. You must needs understand, they are inseparable from their natures, because they are all of them their own entities. Each a unique life. A unique story. A unique world. And some times, those worlds will not -- cannot -- coexist without conflict. They create ugliness for naught but the root cause of their irreconcilable differences. And yet..."
Their head tilts, and their voice grows firmer still -- not in harshness, but in passion. Conviction, perhaps.
"... it is the selfsame thing that creates such splendor in this world and beyond, too. And yet such passion gives birth to the strongest seeds of Malevolence. To burn out the ugliness at its root, one would have to rob the world of the very thing that makes it so beautiful, too. So we endure. We strive to make the beauty last as long as it can, or at least ensure that we may live past the ugliness to see the other side of its coin. For it will come, and it is a thing more precious than any other. 'Tis life. 'Tis humanity. 'Tis you." That faceless, horned helm turns back in Riesenlied's direction. The one who made this community possible.
"And 'tis a truly wonderful thing indeed."
They exhale then, slowly. Their hands, in their lap, curl into each other in a mild gesture.
"Riesenlied. I am attempting a thing I know not the outcome of. 'Tis something I must do, and I shall not shy from its path. Should we see each other again before then, it will as like not be on peaceable terms. But I would have you know this now: whatever may come, you have my word I will live true to my oath to you and deliver my judgment of your progress to the Guardians. They will not be allowed to turn a blind eye to all you have accomplished." To say such things about the veritable lords of this planet might be audacious -- and yet, they say it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Because, after all, they gave their word.
"And I would give you warning, of a thing that may yet loom on all our horizons."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
It is, indeed, difficult to determine what the Trial Knight may be thinking and feeling of... but there are some things that they have shown to be inexorable of. Their purpose, their movement... moving ever-inscrutable towards that purpose. They have said as much... that they will come to blows, sooner or later.
"That ugliness... exists in me as well. In this year alone... I have discovered so much I have repressed. Out of trauma. Out of fear. Out of guilt... and I have allowed that wound to fester..."
A pause, as she listens to them speak of splendour, in the world and beyond. Of the ugliness they have to push through... to see life on the other side. Life...
"... I know. You have made it clear such even upon our first meeting... yet-- yet I still appreciate all your guidance, all your thoughts and feelings. For they reflect the very state upon which we exist, upon these two worlds..."
She is reminded of their last meeting. Do not shed your tears, they said. Not over a thing such as me...
"There is an artefact that awaits me, which has eluded me due to my fearful memory," Riesenlied admits in turn. "... it is a Medium -- a Medium of Life, of the Guardian that I bear the closest connection to, Odoryuk."
She sucks in a breath.
"It will be a path fraught with pain, to try to reach towards that past... but I must. The Guardians have borne their own witness to our promise, and Odoryuk has himself reached out to try to crumble that wall, ever so slowly... so I will."
She looks towards the faceless plate of the Trial Knight. "And if I were to succeed... I would like to try and learn to cleanse. The Malevolence that so taints the earth..." A pause.
"I am no Shepherd. I am chosen by no Seraph. The Flames of purity are not mine to command. But..." a bite of her lips. "But a part of me still yet wishes to ease their suffering. No matter how small. This... this I tell you. Because that is my desire."
<Pose Tracker> K.K. has posed.
"'Twill not be an easy road, confronting that side most would opt to hide. To face the things you regret. But you will persevere." They state this as a certainty. After all...
Riesenlied's path has never been an easy one, and yet here she remains.
And as they speak, the knight presses their gauntleted palms against their legs, rising with a fluid ease back onto their feet. "I will bear witness, to what I can. To see what you may achieve. You are no Shepherd, nor a Seraph. You do not wield the silver flame. You are not of the get of man, and not privy to their affliction as they are." Arms cross over their chest. And the warped words that follow are nothing less than absolutely certain:
"But when I came upon you, you could not glean anything of the spiritual world. You had still not even found your own way, save for the barest scraps of wants. Now, you are inundated in the spiritual. Now, you have accomplished all this." That hand sweeps out, toward the Azadians, toward the Hyadeans. Towards everything.
"If there is but one thing I have learned in this life, 'tis that naught is impossible. You have flown high, Riesenlied. You can yet fly higher still."
The praise might come easy, but hardly faint. But they preface the warning of their next words. After all, for everything good...
"... There is one thing you ought know. In my time back upon Lunar, Ragnell and I were set upon by the Lord of Calamity. He sought information on a man of Filgaian legend. A man he claimed even the Goddess Althena feared." That Althena was not even of the divine when she knew of this person, goes unspoken. At least for now.
"He called this man 'Ganondorf Dragmire.'"
They turn, then, as if to leave, as they often do. However, the knight pauses after, head tilting to look at Riesenlied from over their armored shoulder. A moment of silence passes by.
"Ragnell once told me you remind her of someone. I know not that I would agree, but... a word of advice. Perchance 'tis one you well know now, but our habits are things easily fallen back upon:
"Sacrifice is not an ignoble thing. But to sacrifice all of yourself does naught but deprive the world of the good you might yet do for it. You must think of yourself as well as others, Riesenlied. For their sake, as much as yours. Or you may well leave those who depend upon you with naught but memories to protect themselves with."