2019-03-09: Veruni 101

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<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    Today is a day for learning! Dean loves to learn! Especially history. The past is full of fascinating information (about Golems), battles (over Golems), artifacts (Golem parts), and people (who also loved Golems). Plus, the secrets of the world (Golems) is all in the past! People need to know their past if they want to unlock the future! (... ..... ........with Golems.)
    
    This, though... this is no learning center. Who learns while *sitting quietly* in a *room* full of *chairs* with some old guy *lecturing* them?? Not Dean, that's who. He fights to keep his eyelids open as Elvis attempts to teach him, Rebecca, and Avril about the Veruni and *their* past, and he knows there's gotta be some Golem facts in here somewhere since the Veruni are supposedly all about them too, but there's been a critical lack of Golem facts so far and He Is Dying. 

<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.

"...Long periods of unknown effects within the sky beyond and upon another planet have physically changed the Veruni's evolution! And while some look like the spitting image of a Human, such as Avril here," Elvis continues his spiel, gesturing toward Arvil. "Others suchs as myself have some outstanding features, such as my arm and hand structure. We are much denser physically and have assimilated keen abilities to access magic that is innate to all Veruni..."

So many books and musty tomes have been piled up on a rudimentary desk, with a drawing board behind him. Elvis seems at his peak educating others of Veruni culture. He seems quite excited and long-winded in his descriptions, much to the chagrin of SOME assembled here.

"It is believed it is due to the harshness of the astral sea that the changes came about. And while the knowledge of what happened on the planet we attempted to stay was lost, speculation could believe it may be related as well. I was lucky enough to be still in my prime upon landing back on Filgaia."

Eyes spot Dean, and the man just takes a deep breath. That delinquent. Ah well, mayhap Avril can translate better to him.

"Was there any particular subjects you would want me to go into detail about?" he asks his... class??? WOW it has been ages since he actually lectured. This is refreshing!

While much of this is to be kept secret, it is a little hard to say 'no' to royalty. 

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


Rebecca on the other hand has her travel diary open on her lap, and she's jotting down things every so often with a quill, lowering herself down to dip it on an inkwell on the ground, before returning to it -

Wow! She must be a diligent student!

How can one stand against the world?
Ludicrous.
Yet with those strong arms around me curled

Stopping, she tries to consider her words. Tapping the edge of the feather to her chin.

Oh she's not really listening to Elvis at all. This is what she hears:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_BU5hR9gXE

After a moment, she looks sideways at Dean who must be suffering, having no formal education. And Avril who looks... well...

The girl considers it for a moment, then keeps a hand to mark her place on the still drying ink. Turning to the back of the book, she jots down a quick note, then tears out the page with an audible rip, folding it up.

And passing it sideways to jam it into Dean's hands. She then juts her head towards Avril - making it clear that she wants him to pass the note to her.

If Dean reads it, or it reaches Avril - or gets caught up... the note reads in still drying, smudged ink.

What's a good rhyme for ludicrous?

Rebecca then quickly straightens up, as Elvis asks the bane of all students in a class. Questions.

She's suddenly stiff, straight, not so much as a peep. The picture of innocence. Maybe she has questions - but maybe she's afraid of the answers she'd get from this guy. 

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Avril, on the other hand...

    ......Avril has been taking notes.

    Her expression the picture portrait of concentration, she punctuates her note-taking with the occasional question.

    Indeed, she may possibly be the only one currently asking questions.

    "If the divergence due to travel amidst the stars has engendered changes upon the Veruni, have there been any cases where the changes were negative in nature?"
    So far, to hear it -- and see it -- it seems to have been mostly beneficial.

    "For that matter, I had questions about the Veruni culture--"

    "Oh, and, I did want to know more about their ancient history, or what can be recalled of it--"

    "What of religious belief? It appears the mirror held some significance, for instance--"

    She's, without a doubt, the only one asking questions, and she certainly has a number of them.

    Though this still does little to address the proverbial elephant in the room: why have the Veruni taken the stance that they have with regard to humans? Why did they -- even if they are desperate for a cure for VR factor -- ally with the Metal Demons?
    What of Volsung?
    And what is VR, precisely, anyway?

    It's into this that Avril recieves a note. She unfolds it carefully.
    Considers it carefully.

    And then, out loud -- the picture of innocence! -- suggests:

    "What about, 'crude device'?" 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    Dean does...... *ttttttry* to pay attention? But while he does at least read a book from time to time, they're... well. They're all action-adventure novels. About Golems, usually. They didn't include big, confusing words like 'evolution' or 'assimilated' or 'speculation'! His eyes are practically spiraling as he clutches his head. He'd rather take on a hundred monsters than deal with this.
    
    By comparison, Rebecca really seems to have it together. Dean peeks over at her, and not only does she appear to be paying attention, she's even taking notes! What's up with that?? Then again, she always did like to write. ...schmoppy poetry, but that's still writing, right? Rebecca meets his glance, and he makes a face like this at her:
    
    n_n;;;
    
    Then Rebecca scribbles up a note and hands it to him to hand to Avril. Dean gives it, and her, a confused look... but he knows better than to read something Rebecca's written that isn't meant for his eyes. He passes it over to Avril without attempting to peek. Or at least tries to--if Elvis catches him passing notes, and he's not attempting to be all that subtle about it since he doesn't realize this isn't a thing you're supposed to do in class, there might be hell to pay.
    
    Especially since he asks a question! This, though, Dean has a quick answer to: "Hey, Veruni have a lot of Golems, right? You guys do a ton of excavating!" dean how do you know 'excavating' but not 'evolution'--right, golems, carry on "What kinda cool stuff do you guys do with them once you've dug 'em up?"
    
    Well. It's something, anyway. Not nearly at Avril's level, but it's. Something?? It's a good thing that Dean isn't the type to get jealous or feel bad about himself, because even with Rebecca's seeming diligence, Avril's more impressive by far. Gosh, she's smart! And asking really difficult questions! He doesn't understand them any better than the lecture itself...
    
    She gets a blank look when she remarks at the note, though. "What about a crude device?" he asks. Commenting on someone else's comment on Rebecca's writing is fair game, right? Right?? 

<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.

It seems Rebecca and Avril are taking notes! Excellent! Rebecca doing are more or less cliffnotes version it seems, while Avril is doing more long-versed. "If I recall," Elvis starts with toward Avril's pointed question. "There were a few cases upon landing that a few Veruni came on disadvantageous terms with their ablities as they were devloped for a different environment, but not insomuch as to endager them."

Well, that is a mountain of questions! The one most readily answered is that of religion. "We do not have a dedicated religion, no. Our beliefs were put to work on that which can be made physically manifest. Not to say it is frowned upon. As for the mirror, well-- it is wholly possible religion held a place before our exodus! There is a certain styling to ancient Veruni objects that harken to stylings religious items have in the present."

And then Avril talks aloud. "Cr... huh? Crude devices? Like what, old era technology? Wait are you passing notes?!" he asks abruptly.

The man snaps a look toward Dean and abruptly changes topics to his suggested. Saved by the Dean. "Yes, Golem technology!" An intelligent mind has an idea why Dean is asking about excavating Golems, specifically. "We had programmed and enchanted Golems for all sorts of needs! Building, excavation, harvesting... Unfortunately with the turn of command to a... different goal," he says with a sigh. "All Golem production, even with how limited it is in current form, has been dedicated to military grade units."

"Digging them up, huh?" The Professor muses. "Many of the old era Golems, found in ruins far exceed anything we can make-- finding those would be a great boon to anyone able to do so! It is such a sad loss of knowledge that time takes from us..."

And then he decies to put Rebecca o nthe spot! "Do you have any questions for me as well, young lady?"

Tearher is looking right at you, look out! 

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


Rebecca meets Dean's face with a little shrug, and a grin. Sorry Dean. You wanted Golem Adventure class, and instead you got sucked into the world of Academia.

Rebecca is paying attention to Avril's questions though. She may not understand everything about what she's asking, but she knows they're very smart questions. It's something she admires about her. That intelligence.

And as Avril gets the note, Rebecca considers for a moment, and starts penning it down in the margin.

Crude Device

She then holds up a thumb's up at Avril, giving her this smile and mouths 'Thanks.' Before looking at Dean and waving a finger side to side as if to say 'Nevermind that'.

Before she cringes at Elvis' question, "I had to ask Avril an important question." Rebecca decides to clarify, to try to get her out of hot water. After all - it's an important note being passed to his Queen.

She's happy when it seems to move on to Dean's question about golems. And there's this slight eye roll, but it's done with a smile. She knew Dean had a one track mind, so at least he was getting a little bit of his 'Golem Adventure' class after all. However - then Elvis suddenly asks her a question.

And there's a little 'meep' noise out of her as she straightens up in her seat.

"U-Uh-" Getting the impression that if she had no questions that'd earn her some punishment like - ten thousand squats, or a one hundred thousand laps around Old Petra, she clears her throat nervously and asks.

"So - earlier you were talking about Veruni biology..." The girl thinks. Her mind is suddenly moving a mile a minute trying to pick out the words from the constant stream. She's no academic, but she's spent her whole life thinking on her feet and she's trying to do so now. "... let's go to something simpler. Since Veruni... evol...ved... from humans, it means their bodies are basically like humans - but better?"

There's something about that question that sounds a little leading - like she's trying to pick out a lesson that would be more practical for her purposes. "Now that implies they'd have the same weaknesses as people, albeit - maybe better protected weaknesses... but is that always true?"

Perhaps she's pushing it a little right now, simply because Avril is in the room...

"... do Veruni have any physical weaknesses in particular - that they developed that are different from the folks they developed from?"

... but more particularly, it's because the idea that Lord Volsung is coming back for her looms larger in her mind.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

     "Hmm. I suppose if any changes were truly unfortunate, then they would not have been passed along, either," Avril surmises after a moment's thought. "I wonder what it is about travel between the stars..."
    She feels like she can almost remember the answer -- as if it were something she would have known of, once.
    Something that she lacks the vocabulary or experience to explicate now.

    "I see. So it is possible that there are old sites with religious meaning..." Avril continues, pausing only long enough to jot down another note.

    ...And possibly those with a connection to the mirror.
    They had spoken of the moon the last time, during that incident. Perhaps, then...

    'Crude Device' is, at best, a near rhyme.
    But it's better than nothing.

    Avril blinks at Elvis' approach, glances back at Rebecca, then down at the note. Which she then primly tucks into her notes. "Yes. She had asked me a question about ancient Veruni technology," she says, scarcely missing a beat. ...She may be missing out, in a sense, what Rebecca did that was wrong, but she can't miss that her friend is in a bit of a pickle.

    Besides, when Dean chimes in, that provides her with the best possible cover for Rebecca.

    "Such as Golems. There are some that predate the Veruni's return, are there not?"

    Yes, there are. A fact which Elvis elaborates upon.

    "I recall the Princess' 'Asgard', but I know not of its origin. Similarly, there is the Golem Lolithia..."

    Which elicits a troubled frown as she remembers what Volsung had said.

    It was a name of power.

    'do Veruni have any physical weaknesses in particular...?' Rebecca asks after.

    "...There is VR Factor," Avril murmurs, gazing at her notes as it troubled. "...But that is not what you are asking, is it..." 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    Really, you don't have to know Dean for long to get why he would be interested in the Golem side of Veruni culture/history. He lights up when Elvis touches on the topic, this time paying rapt attention, nodding vigorously every so often with a keen "Uh huh?" His face falls when he hears that Golems of late have been turned to military uses. "Oh... That's a real shame. Golems are real cool, no matter what they do!" Firm nod. Then he looks sad again. "...But I always feel bad when Golems are used just for fighting. They can do a lot more than beat stuff up! It's not fair to the Golems to make that *all* they do..."
    
    The concept that old era Golems are better than current Golems gets his attention, though. Like--moreso than it already is. "Really? If the stuff from the old days is better than what you've got now, does that mean you've lost some technological know-how over the years?" he wonders. "How'd that happen, if you guys went to the stars and back? Did you not have Golems after you left Filgaia?" It's actually a decent insight, all considered--and one can thank his trip to Lunar for his easy acceptance of Veruni space travel, at that.
    
    Elvis is not keen on the note-passing. Dean goes ?? at this, but, well. If Rebecca had to ask Avril something important, that's all there is to it! He doesn't question it when she waves him off, either. Rebecca *does* like her privacy and all. Instead, Elvis asks Rebecca a question--and Rebecca, the obviously diligent student she is, manages to ask one, even if it takes her a bit to word it clearly. Dean blinks over at her, then nods slowly, thoughtfully. Kaguya had been plenty strong, and Volsung had been out of this world... And then there's Elvis himself, who's just like. The Muscle Professor. If they knew about Veruni weaknesses, it'd make people like Volsung easier to fight... though Dean has a feeling Elvis is not really going to be quick to share that kind of thing.
    
    "Yeah, the VR Factor's, like, a disease, right?" he says, nodding from Avril to Rebecca. "I think it's only really bad on Filgaia for some reason. At least, Kaguya was doing a lot better when we were all on Lunar. I think Matilda was doing some research on it, too." He perks. "Oh, and I wanna hear about Asgard, Lolithia, and Sado, and all those guys! But especially Lolithia," he adds, nodding again to Avril. He remembered what Volsung had said, too. His brows furrow; as he recalls, the Metal Demons last had Lolithia in their custody, and with the Photosphere gone... "D'you know where she is now?" 

<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.

It seems Rebecca does have a question for him! Excellent! For a moment he thought she was slacking off. "In basic terms, yes! Evolution is a lifeform's way to adapt to new environs to keep from being rendered obsolete. The extreme circumstances of our isolation caused us to evolved into beings capable of surviving great hardships!" A pause. "That isn't two say Humans a worse than us, merely circumstances have granted us a great advantage."

If it were any other Veruni, they probably would have just said 'yes', but Elvis was always the pragmatic one, being in favor of both sides of the same coin.

"It differs from person to person for Veruni," he begins to comment. "When it comes to specific weaknesses, but basic understood weaknesses would still apply, yes! Our structure is relatively the same. If you dislocate an elbow it serves the same purpose as if done to a Human, or a Veruni."

Weaknesses, huh? "The only one that coems ti mind is... "We weigh a great bit more than a Human of the same caliber. possibly you could put that to use? Otherwise it would still be on a case-by-case basis."

A turn to Avril. "Our vessel generated localised gravity-- it isn't unlike standing under the stars in the badlands. Though when it is the only thing you see for so long, the wonderment wears thin."

"Those Golems bear the likeness of ones made even predating our Exodus, yes! Whether or not it was by our divergent ancestors or some other force, I do not know. But they do hold incredible power."

"Ah-- yes, I do suppose that is a good weakness." Elvis had all but forgotten it in his teaching rhetoric. A frown forms on his face. "Our physical dominance comes at a cost-- We are so foreign we are being rooted from the land by an unknown force. My research has deemed it to be solely spiritual or magical in effect," is stated toward Dean. "It isnt a natural malady. It causes weakness, atrophy, and eventually death. Medicines have been made to resist it, but there is no cure as of yet. I believe the cure lay in the Guardians."

"Golems have quite a few fascinating uses! One of my favorite kinds were the remote operated Scry models, for either when you couldn't be present or the environs were too hazardous! You stood upon a platform, and you used your latent magics to operate it, and could see what it saw. Quite a good use, for such a construct!" It seems the two have a fondness for Golems in common.

"Well, there was supposedly quite the calamity upon another planet we touched down on. Much was lost, so I hear. Even the reason for why we fled it is beyond me. We recovered some knowledge, but not everything. As for Golems, We had a few aboard our vessel, but they were largely unneeded."

"Hm... Perhaps investigating the Photosphere's previous resting place may yield results. It has to be somewheres."

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