2019-03-23: What's Up, Spira? We Brought You a New Religion

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===========================<* Kilika - Town Center *>===========================

Kilika is an island off the southern coast of the Spiran mainland, consisting of a small port and village, a large jungle and a Temple of Yevon. The island is renowned for being the hometown of High Summoner Ohalland, who was a star blitzballer before retiring from the game to complete his Pilgrimage and defeat Sin. As a result of this history, the Beasts are one of the most-loved teams in the entire league, and even rival blitz players will stop to pray at the Kilika Temple before a particularly critical game.

The port of Kilika was recently ravaged following an attack by Sin, and the surviving residents are slowly rebuilding. They have received unexpected support in the form of the outlanders who serve the false goddess Althena. A few dozen soldiers and craftsmen are using their strange arts - as well as old-fashioned skill - to help with restoration. The Temple of Yevon has put out the word that this assistance will be tolerated so long as the Guardsmen refrain from proselytizing their false creed; an uneasy sort of feeling hangs over the entire village as a result.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXsmMuXLtuQ

<Pose Tracker> Ghaleon has posed.

It is a strange mixture of fate and luck that brings the Dragonship Destiny back to Lunar. Inside of the huge, armored ship, a voice cries out: "We're at an angle!"

The luck, however, is ill luck.

On the deck, crates and people alike begin to fall down as the Destiny appears out of thin air -- nothing but a titanic flash of golden-white light, tinged blue at the edges, and then Symbological runes that flash and vanish. Crates slam down into the water, before the Destiny does the same. The prow of the ship slams into the water, and a massive splash comes up.

A second follows, as the ship's stern falls back into the sea with another titanic splashdown.

    -=-=-

Fate, however, is what brings help to the now-beleaguered ship. The Destiny hits the water in the shattered remains of a port, wooden piers that criss-cross having been terrifically damaged. And, beyond that port, a fleet of over a dozen wooden sailing ships are hurrying. One ship, the Silver Wind, hurries ahead of the rest -- Althenan magic filling its sails to make it go quicker.

Ghaleon, Dragonmaster of Althena, steps up to the side of the ship. His eyes are on the Destiny, rather than the people of Kilika -- who are assuredly now staring at so many newcomers -- and his lips purse.

"Get ready to assist the injured! And prepare to make landfall at once!" Ghaleon's fingers clutch the railing, and he looks back over his shoulder, to the other Guards (and their allies). "It seems that fate's sense of humor is unchanged!"

OOC: If you have been transported from Filgaia, you are aboard the Destiny! Which just crashed into the water. If you were already on Lunar, you are aboard the Silver Wind!

<Pose Tracker> Black Wizard Borgan has posed.

Borgan, as it turns out, is on the ship with Ghaleon.

At the moment he is actually at the very prow of the ship, arms spread wide with his staff clenched in one hand; the runed banner streams backwards off it in the wind and the speed of the ship's passage. He's not even on his platform, having stepped down off it to be on the deck proper (it floats obediently behind him and to one side, out of the way).

This is because he is doing *something* with the water to make it go faster, pushing the ship as if it was in a friendly current. Around the edges of the effect, some ten feet from the sides of the boat, there is a decidedly unnatural churning in the water where the water being moved quickly passes alongside the water that isn't.

Ghaleon did want it to go faster. And this time, Borgan saw the wisdom in accepting orders without complaint. 

<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.

    MOMENTS AGO...

    The Destiny cuts a knife-edge through the tundra outside fallen Elluria, hounded at both flanks by enemy Gears. Anti-vehicle shells slam into the landship's side as it maneuvers, tearing through sorcerously-reinforced steel. On the bridge, Leo barks orders to the crew. Gunners channel sorcerous power into focusing prisms; beams of arc lightning tear free from the Dragonship's turrets, slamming into one of the Gears harrassing it. Electricity crawls over the metal giant. Its gun falls from fingers that suddenly refuse to work.

    And then, a pillar of light rises from the distant Sorcery Globe, and Symbols of great power etch themselves onto the fabric of reality. Leo's mouth falls open. Mere moments ago, he was watching Vinsfeld's posturing in a nearby crystalline surface, but the man just pulled one over on him.

    "BRACE!" Leo shouts. The Destiny, and its crew, are flung across space.

    A tremendous splash.

    To those just arriving, it's clear the Destiny was in battle mere moments before. Its hull is pockmarked with bullet holes, and several of its many legs have simply been broken off. Its hull is watertight, though, and that spares it what could've been an ignominous end.

    "I'm going abovedecks," Leo says. "Porthos, you have command until my return. Guardswoman Pearl, come with me." The bridge crew goes about their business as Leo rises and stalks towards the door leading to the nearest ladder. Healers tend to the wounded. Smiths use fire magic to weld patches into place. If nothing else, the Destiny's crew is disciplined enough to keep working despite the sudden, dramatic change in scenery. It helps that many of them are belowdecks, and don't have a very good view of what just happened.

    A hatch swings open, and Leo clambers out onto the Dragonship's deck. What he sees is enough to stun him into complete silence for a good ten seconds--that's as long as it takes for him to notice the presence of the Dragonmaster's own ship. "Send up a flare," he says, to a gawking smith. The older woman pulls a flare-tube free from its mounting, raises it into the air, and fires.

    A single golden streak rises into the heavens, and explodes. The Destiny is not in immediate danger, but needs assistance nevertheless.

<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.


 First, the Althena-blessed call for land.

 Second, the Dragonship Destiny quite literally crash-lands into a ruined port with enough force that Amelia Rose stumbles to a knee even as the Black Wizard and grand Hero (????) has the Silver Wind ferried along. The healer pushes herself up and grabs her dog's lead with a frown. Silver barks three times in quick succession.

 "Stretchers, bandages, splints! We'll use the Silver Wind's hold as a makeshift aide station for the worst of the wounded, then establish something permanent when they're safely ashore. If they walk, they wait. Someone get me surgical gloves that aren't full of sea salt." Comes Amelia as the Dragonmaster gives the order, turning about to prod the small army of laymen and less senior clergy specializing in healing and white magic.

 Wiping off a bit of sea spray, she kneels briefly beside her guide dog.

 "Be my eyes, boy. May Althena guide our hands." She half commands, half prays along with her canine companion. She's soon over to the side of the ship, flanked by a well organized gaggle of burly orderlies and fellow mages. Her attention is quickly focused on keeping them that way, getting functional eyes on the situation, and generally readying to put her Goddess-given talents to full bare in order to save lives both heathen and holy.

 Her right hand clenches her metal cane, filled with excitement and anxiety that gets the adrenaline pumping. Doubly so as the sound of a flare hits her ears. A distress call. What her nameless minions tell her only has the elf choking down a scowl of displeasure. 

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
ABOARD THE SILVER WIND,

Margaret, the Black Pearl of Neo-Vane, stares over the railing. This is some shiz. Her head tilts back then as she sees the flare fire up, and at this point she puts her pipe back into its case and slides it into the pocket of the gauzy cloak she had been wearing. Which she then takes off. As she does this, she asks the assemblage - or perhaps, primarily, Borgan - "This wreckage is thick enough to walk across. I'm going to do exactly that. What madness is this? Has the Destiny been falling in with some alien fleet from the Blue Star?"

Margaret shades her eyes. "That's Leo with the flares. Starlight Express!" And with a galactic swirl of darkness and lightning-bright sparkles, Margaret leaps out and skip-hop runs swiftly, deftly, across the crates and flotsam and jetsam, to leap up onto the Dragonship's deck.

"Hoh! White Knight! Fancy meeting you here," Margaret says, voice slightly too fast as she continues to radiate vaguely galactic and nebular sparkles. "You're just in time. I suppose the Goddess blessed us both!" 

<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.

SILVER WIND

Ivan boggles as a ship manifests from nothing and lands hard into the sea. He casts a wide-eyed glance back at the others to see if they found this development as mind-blowing as he did, and is agitated to find that they did not, and are instead continuing as if ships manifest out of nothingness and need to be dealt with every day. He struggles to school his expression. It is also evident, as they near the town, that something terrible happened here. Has that monster already struck? The one they're hunting? The one that laid waste to Azado, when Talia was...

He swallows, wanting to take action, but the enemy has already fled. His skills aren't as good for cleaning up destruction as for causing it, but still.

"I'm at your disposal, Lord Ghaleon."

Surely there's something better to use him for than play-acting as a bodyguard in light of these circumstances. 

<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.

With all the hard work the Destiny has been doing lately, from transporting people to doing amazing things in the Photosphere to outright damaging the Photosphere... and getting rescued off of an icy mountain by one Rosen Master Of The Dark That Is Not Borgen ... well, in Skylr's mind, it has a new name: Destiny 2: Destiny Harder.
 
 She does have a sense of amusement, folks.
 
 That being said, the Destiny and crew are not going through a good time right now. Enemy Gears, electricity everywhere, gunners, and Skylr just waiting for stuff to settle down. However, let's be real, things aren't settling down anymore. Leo yells 'brace', and she promptly does so. At least she's got a good steady stance for ships.
 
 When Leo orders Pearl to follow him, Sky isn't one to be left behind, and she promptly sneaks up after the two to the deck, wobbling a little - her face lighting up when she spots the Silver Wind, however. 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Things that are supposed to be Kaguya's problems? Well, there's a list. It's kind of a long list, at this point, because responsibility is sort of a drag. She did not, however, expect that list to include 'a ship, appearing out of nowhere, at an angle, in the water', and that is very unusual for her. But...

Whatever. The point is, near Ghaleon, a girl with short blonde hair and the attire of a foreign noble--white tunic, green embellishments, boots, heavy bracers--inclines her head at the instructions, looking first to the Dragonship, and then...

Well, she's not doing anything about the ship. She is not doing anything about the water. But she is watching, while she sees the strange sight ahead, and when Ivan turns to look at the others--

Kaguya has a strange expression on her face. It's not distress; it's not surprise, exactly. She's... staring. She's staring because she's not entirely certain that she's willing to accept this new reality yet. ...It passes.

She lifts a hand to wave at the people already assembling on the deck. "Hey!" she calls, and puts her hands around her mouth to let the sound carry. "Any of your people who were near that dock missing?"

It seems a reasonable question to her, anyway. After that, she--...Steps away from the railing, and bends her legs, starting to stretch a little in preparation for getting a little closer. 

<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.

Naelle's belowdecks during the Destiny's traversal of space. She lurches around, but, catlike, manages to keep her balance.

"Don't worry, everyone, the Destiny's a tough old girl. She'll hold together!" she reassures anyone who's listening. "I wouldn't wanna bring her into battle again before we have a chance to patch her up, though..."

She's already working on that, or at least, on getting some pipes that were knocked loose in the dramatic landing.

But then the Boss goes topside, and Naelle, with catlike curiosity, quietly follows, tail swishing back and forth as she pads with catlike stealth and balance up to the upper deck.

Her stealth lasts only so long, though, for once she has taken in the situation, she points needlessly at the Silver Wind. "Is that the Silver Wind?!"

Naelle, try to keep up. 

<Pose Tracker> Ghaleon has posed.

ABOARD THE SILVER WIND:

Ghaleon tilts his head up into the skies, to see the flare that rises upward. Borgan's magic has done a lot -- and the way that the wooden galleon cuts through the water too easily, as though lifted. Or as if the water is pushed back. Being a former Premier of Vane, Ghaleon is well-equipped to understand what Borgan is doing. He murmurs his approval.

He leaves the preparations to Amelia and Kaguya. He hears the crews hurrying to get the supplies that Amelia calls for; he also watches as Margaret leaps over. Ghaleon turns, to look at Ivan. "Leap over to the Destiny. See if they need any help."

The Silver Wind is quickly pulling up; it isn't long before it is along side. Crewmembers on the Silver Wind begin throwing ropes, which lash onto the railings of the tilting Dragonship. It is still, however, a leap to get across. Ghaleon stays quiet, leaving the greetings to the others for the moment.

In fact, he's really scanning the horizon. Did the same monster destroy this place? He wonders the same as Ivan. He wonders, indeed, if it might still be here.

<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.

    Despite clinging to a bar on a wall to keep from falling, a rough landing such as this one is, somehow, not the worst experience Pearl has had travelling between worlds. This time she isn't landing in a desert with lungs full of water. Being on a ship merely whisked away from a heated battle is much more pleasant.

    Still, she had been below deck and not in the thick of the fighting, as there had been no boarders. Instead, she is ordered to follow, and she does with a simple salute. As such, she is only a few steps behind Leo when he is stunned into silence. Pearl's own reaction is similar. This is far from the battlefield they had been on mere moments ago. "...Where in the world are we?" She says, surveying the wrecked village briefly. As Leo gives orders, Pearl keeps an eye out for attackers. It would be a shame to be robbed of a battle so close to combat.

    As Margaret makes her sudden appearance on deck, Pearl turns, stance shifting briefly into combat, only to lower it as she realises she's not an enemy to face. Instead, she turns her head to view the Silver Wind. An abundance of friendlies in unfamiliar waters is... a surprise, to say the least. A quick glance to her fellow guardswomen as they make themselves known, Pearl shakes her head a little. "This is... unexpected." She says, throwing her hat in to the most obvious observation contest. 

<Pose Tracker> Black Wizard Borgan has posed.

Borgan does not verbally respond to Ghaleon because he's a little occupied with shifting the ship, though he does give a very slight nod of acknowledgement. Margaret doesn't even get that much, though he does keep an eye on her when she goes in case the Starlight Express interferes with whatever magic he's doing.

Fortunately, it does not.

The Silver Wind moves in a way a ship that size, powered by sail, really shouldn't. It coasts up alongside the Destiny and then slows, losing its speed as the current guides the ship to a stop, and then vanishes. Furling the sails is someone else's job, but it will stay mostly in place now - entirely, if they drop an anchor.

Lowering his arms, Borgan steps back up onto his platform, switching his staff to his other hand. "What a mess," he rumbles. "It looks like they dragged it through a war." Because they probably did, granted, but Borgan frowns to actually see it.

"WHITE KNIGHT," he booms, raising his voice to carry. "What have you done to the Dragonship?" He sweeps the staff to take in the whole mess. Then his gaze shifts to the city - well, town - proper. "And the rest of this town does not look any better." That part doesn't carry as well. 

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
"Isn't it JUST," Margaret tells Pearl, eyebrows raising. She is unarmed, at least, and she puts a hand on her hip and grins at Pearl, before her attention turns back towards where Borgan is bellowing. Looking away from Borgan, she rolls her eyes, and asides to Leo, "He's upset that you damaged the ship." 

<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.

"Hey, don't blame the Boss for the Destiny's condition!" Naelle leaps to Leo's defense whether he needs it or not. "She's been through some pretty darn rough treatment lately and she's in remarkably good shape for that!" Naelle's tail twitches slightly. "The maintenance crew are some of the best around, after all," she says, with some pride despite the feud that drove her out of the regular maintenance roster into the ranks of the frontline Guard. 

<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.

Taking the dragonmaster's instruction with the same deadly seriousness he brings to any suggestion that could be construed as carrying some flicker of a challenge, Ivan vaults the railing of the Silver Wind at the earliest plausible opportunity and swings into a flip onto the deck of the Destiny. He doesn't hit quite when he's expecting to, because the ship itself is still lurching, and the descent is extended by a few stomach-churning seconds. His landing is just unsteady enough for him to imagine pitching unceremoniously back over the railing and into the sea, but his footing holds. He shakes it off and looks around at the hurried movements of the crew around him.

"Hey! I'm here to help!"

He isn't sure quite what to do now that he's here but surely--IS THAT THE WHITE KNIGHT LEO?!

Why do these things have to keep happening now? What's the point of coming face to face with famous heroes and having uncanny experiences when he can never tell Talia about any of it!?... it's all just... wasted on him. 

<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.

    Leo lifts a hand to shade his eyes, and scans the deck of the other ship. The growing tension in his heart dissipates in a wave as he catches sight of familiar faces--and powerful ones, at that. The Dragonmaster alone would be cause for celebration, but a fellow Hero, and other loyal and distinguished members of the Guard? Things seem a lot less troublesome than they did five minutes ago. "Indeed it seems so, Guardswoman Margaret," Leo says. "Give Lord Borgan and the Honored Dragonmaster my best."

    The Destiny's crew stay on top of things. Several sailors take the ropes, and lash them to sturdier parts of the Destiny's hull. Leo walks along the hull to supervise the process--those who stayed behind might note he's dressed strangely for the climate, wearing a heavy woolen cape. At least, for a few minutes. It isn't long before Leo just discards it, handing it off to a sailor to have returned to his quarters. The odd slowness in his stride, though, that stays. Was he injured?

    'WHITE KNIGHT!'

    Leo's ears swivel to face Borgan; he gestures to Naelle, because even if she is defending him, yelling at another of the Chosen is undignified. "It certainly sounds so," Leo says, to Margaret. "GOOD AFTERNOON, LORD BORGAN!" Leo shouts. "REGRETTABLY, WE WERE ENGAGED IN BATTLE WITH HOSTILE HEATHENS BEARING METAL GIANTS!"

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
The ear Margaret has closest to Leo folds back against the side of her head as she leans visibly away from him. She raises an index finger at Naelle which segues into a thumbs-up as she works silently through this sudden pain. 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya, not having had anything more to do with Vane than admiring Lemina's scamming abilities, doesn't really know the details of what Borgan is doing, and it doesn't terribly concern her. He's good at it, and it doesn't look like it'll drag them under, and it's making the boat rock less, and that part is the most important. She does laugh, though, at Borgan's assessment, and at the loud question he mentions. "Really banged up, huh? Kind of impressive. Must have a story..."

And Leo starts to tell some of it. Kaguya glances over him, over the way he's moving, and then inclines her head. "All right," she says. "Here's to not being on a ship."

Kaguya bends at the knee and leaps through the air abrubtly, sailing up, up--and landing with a loud noise on the dock, hitting a crouch with a little exhalation. "Whew," the small warrior says, rising after that, looking to the assembled people. "Hey--We're friendly, but uh--"

She gestures over her shoulder, "Nobody expects a ship to appear out of nowhere, right?" She grins. "Nobody fell in the water when it came, right? I wanna make sure we're not going to lose any of you when we pull ashore."

She has pointed ears, sharp teeth, and... is... pretty young. But she looks confident. 

<Pose Tracker> Black Wizard Borgan has posed.

After he calls across to Leo, Borgan's platform lifts away from the Silver Wind and toward the Destiny. Borgan does not require a rope to get where he's going.

This, at least, means that Leo probably doesn't have to yell back quite as loudly, if he's willing to wait for Borgan to approach. Borgan takes his time. He does not feel any particular need to hurry.

And when he gets there, he just *looks* down at Naelle for about five seconds. He is scowling. "When I wish to hear from you," he says, "I will ask you. In the meantime, go make yourself useful. Hammer a plate of armour, perhaps. Or bail any flooding. Fish out anyone who fell in. You look as if you would be good at fishing." He makes a flicking gesture with his free hand.

Then he turns back to Leo. "Well. It is lucky for you, then, that we came to this place. The journey from Pentagulia was *not* short. You are in Spira, I'll have you know." He pauses, and then adds, grudgingly, "Probably. We haven't yet spoken to the townsfolk. But we certainly travelled across the sea for long enough." 

<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.


 What a mess indeed. Amelia won't contemplate what fresh, but clearly righteous, crusade the Destiny went romping through with the White Knight at the help. This is mainly because there's injured to take care of. As the two ships are lashed together and within leaping capacity?

 Two barks, a pause, and two more. The priestess touches something on her cane, and the metal length goes limp into it's whip form. A few steps back, one dramatic twirl later, and Silver tugs on the lead.

 The end of her whip manages to wrap around a pipe on the Destiny with the dog's help, a click, then Amelia is yanked over to the other ship as her cane folds back to it's normal size. Silver does a quick circle, and then makes a running leap over to catch up with his mistress.

 The healing Guardsmen follow suit even as half their number are working on supplies and setting up places for the injured to rest. Amelia is a bit more hands on, kneeling over a fallen Dragonship crew member. A minor litany of Bless Litanies, and she perks up.

 "Lord Leo?" She can't help but sound a bit relieved at the sound of the hero's voice. She is an unabashed fan of the man.

 "Evacuating the injured, my Lord. You're unharmed, I'm sure?" Amelia, however, also sounds somewhat doubtful of her own words here. 

<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.

    "No," Leo says, to Kaguya. "But--HEAD COUNT! I WANT ALL SAILORS AND GUARDS ACCOUNTED-FOR!" The authoritative tone trails off as Leo coughs; he grips his stomach with one hand, and clenches the other against his mouth. The coughing continues for another few moments before he gathers himself. "You there," he says, to Ivan. "Check for breaks in the hull. I don't want either vessel dragging the other under; we're seaworthy, but I don't want to take chances."

    The good news: the White Knight acknowledged Ivan's existence, and gave him an important task! The bad news: everything else.

    "More than capable, Guardswoman," Leo says. He smiles a little; Amelia Rose was one of the first Guards to come with him to Filgaia, and the last he saw of her was shortly after their return. "I'm--" Leo coughs into a fist. "Spira. The Goddess does work in mysterious ways."

<Pose Tracker> Ghaleon has posed.

"Hmm, hostile heathens and metal giants. Well, well, well." Ghaleon laughs, arms folded behind his back. He stays on the deck for a moment, turning -- first to peer at Kaguya, and then see her leap. He blinks, before he sighs, and then Ghaleon starts yelling: "Get people across to help evacuate the wounded! Listen to Priestess Amelia, and be sure they're all across."

He doesn't barge right over yet. There are two of the Four Heroes over there; he trusts them to be useful.

    ON THE DOCKS:

When Kaguya flies through the air, landing on the dock with a crunch, a trio of three young teenagers look up at her. They aren't of the height to actually stare down at Kaguya. They open their mouths, and then they step back, before shaking their heads. They all make the sign of Yevon with their hands, then bow.

"N-No!"
"Um, what's with your boats? There's so many!"
"Did you see Sin?"

ON THE SILVER WIND:

"Oh, drat," Ghaleon says. "I'm letting Duchess Kaguya be my diplomat."

He continues doing exactly what he was doing before.

<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.

 That's a lot of people. Some she recognizes. Her gaze goes over the group, though, and falls slightly, wondering where Mauri is. Then again, she supposes someone has to stay back on Lunar, even if she would like to see her. Skylr's gaze flickers over, her smile brightening when she spots Amelia and Silver, giving them a wave, and noticing her gaze.
 
 "Yes, he's injured, he got stabbed clean through, and no, he hasn't learned how to take it easy yet and relax." The white mage says, glowering at Leo a little. She's probably done this to him plenty at this point.
 
 She does lift one hand, her prompt little light healing sparkles in her grip as she shifts her weight and hurries over to him, beckoning to Amelia.
 
 "Hello, everyone! Althena truly blesses us today!" 

<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.

    Even among 'allies', Pearl finds herself running threat assessments, as she always does. It's a real good thing that they're allies. The knowledge of where they are is useful too. Not as out of reach as before, but perhaps far enough. She relaxes, at least a little. "The heathen lands, then." She says, quietly.

    The martial artist, however, finds herself at a loss. Borgan has made quite clear that piping up and asking questions towards the people in charge is probably going to be frowned upon, so she looks to Margaret, the closest person. "Why are so many of Althena's Guard in Spira?" 

<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.

"Boss!" Naelle cries, choosing to ignore Borgan's rudeness as Leo starts coughing. (She's also ignoring Borgan's order to go be somewhere not-here.) "Boss, you can lean on me if you need to!"

She does *not* miss Margaret's thumbs up, but right now she's worrying about the boss! 

<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.

GIVEN A LEGITIMATE TASK BY THE WHITE KNIGHT LEO. +20 admiration! (Note: Ivan was a little like this with Ghaleon, too... initially. The shine wore off quickly when the dragonmaster started ordering him to assassinate seagulls). At any rate, Ivan accepts the task with fervent determination and charges off at once to inspect the hell out of the ship.

But when he makes it to the edge looks down over the hull, a concern occurs to him, and he charges back with more or less the same intense energy.

"Uh, is that an underwater thing, Lord Leo?"

Wouldn't the most concerning holes be underwater? What are boats, how do they work. He knows how to stab people and light things on fire, why couldn't anyone need one of those things. 

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
Margaret's ear slowly folds back into place. Pearl asks a good question. In the distance, Margaret can see Kaguya making contact with the natives, which, she is sure, is going to be a disaster, but, she tells herself, I shouldn't assume she is exactly like Silf in all ways.

"Well," she says, glancing over her shoulder - the black-sailed Raven Mist is there, she assures herself, and then Margaret puts her hands on her hips.

"You recall, of course, Azado," Margaret says.

"In the aftermath of that, crusade was declared against this great horror, Sin," Margaret says, pursing her lips. "The reason for this entire fleet is that, of course, we were unable to apparate across the seas, and it was thought vital to travel in strength in case of attack. The Dragonmaster took personal interest in the organization of the expedition. It was also vital, naturally, to do what we could for Azado... it is simple happenstance, or perhaps Fate itself blessing us with the Goddess's charity, that we came together at such a time. Think of it, Leo! A few days either way and we might have been devoured peacemeal by -"

Margaret gestures at Spira, "That."

She pauses to give Ivan one of those looks that takes four seconds to complete.

"So that's why we're here," Margaret tells Leo. "Oh! You'll be glad to know that the Red Priestess is recovered from her assault by the vicious bandit caravan kinship - have you news of them? I hope you won't think me unkind if I hope that they were all RIPPED TO SHREDS in the chaotic maelstrom, because it would CERTAINLY serve them right." 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"Oh, we've got..." A whole bunch of soldiers, "A lot of people lined up to help!" Kaguya answers cheerfully. Then, leaning closer, "We saw saw Sin." Pause. It occurs to Kaguya that this could be misleading, "Though it was months ago." They're bowing. This, of course, seems entirely appropriate to Kaguya, because she has gotten very used to people bowing in her presence. ...The fact that they aren't yet tall enough to look down at her is even better. She can't account for the weird gesture, of course, but--

"Sin's actually why we came," Kaguya explains. "We'd never seen it before! Seeing what it did to our poor coast town," what was its name again, "Passado," that sounds right, "It made an impression. Until now, we've never seen anything like it." She thinks, anyway. Probably. She... read at least most of a Glenwood history book. "So, we made preparations, and sailed across the sea. We came in numbers, knowing our foe was powerful..."

"And so here are the forces of Althena, to seek the monster named Sin. And with the unexpected arrival of friends we long thought lost... Well, it seems to me a good omen!"

Kaguya bows, gracefully, but also, boyishly, because like she's getting anywhere near a curtsy.

Kaguya hears something about the 'vicious bandit caravan kinship' and has to press her lips together before she rises to suppress a laugh.

The secret alien smiles. "So please--take me to your leader." 

<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.

    "There are ropes," Leo says, to Ivan. Several of the Guard's smiths are doing just that--dangling from ropes on the side of the ship, using fire magic to spot-weld patches into place. The scent of hot metal filters up from the ship's stern. "Guardswoman Sylkirk," Leo says. He folds his arms across his chest, and fixes her with a stern gaze. "Where has your discipline gone?" He pauses a beat. One ear swivels to listen to the two healers conspiring against him. "I am more than capable of standing on my own, and in the event I am not, Guardswoman Paer or Priestess Amelia will be the first to know."

    Margaret delivers exposition. Leo's scowl softens. At the mention of Mauri, he lets out a deep breath. "Thank the Goddess," Leo says. "I'd--I'd feared she was in Azado when that monstrosity arrived, but I couldn't find her."

<Pose Tracker> Black Wizard Borgan has posed.

"Indeed," Borgan says to Leo.

He looks around the Dragonship again. It's not swaying so much anymore, at least (not that he cares; he's on his platform). "Then perhaps I should leave you to it," he says. "Ensuring the Guard has come through it intact. I expect we will be working together now that we're here." He just lets Margaret explain why, in fact, the Pentagulian contingent is here.

Instead, Borgan gives Naelle another look-over. "And as for *you*," he adds, his voice raising slightly again, "I believe you were given a direction. Make yourself useful."

With that, he turns, his platform lifting up again. (At least he doesn't watch long enough to make sure Naelle actually does anything.) This time he's heading toward the docks, where Kaguya currently addresses the people of Spira. Borgan doesn't speak immediately, of course - he wants to see what's going on. He's probably the very least competent of the Four Heroes at diplomatic speech. Surely he's just going to keep his mouth shut and -

Oh, no, he's talking.

"Azado," Borgan corrects, because he is exactly enough of a pedant to do that. He smiles as he comes up behind Kaguya, floating over the shallows rather than the dock itself, and Borgan's smile is not an entirely pleasant thing. "But ultimately, we come from Pentagulia. I am the Black Wizard Borgan, greatest of the wizards of Lunar and leader of Neo-Vane, accompanied by the Dragonmaster himself - and yes. Take us to your leader."

It sounds nice. He likes that phrase. 

<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.

Naelle bites her lip. "Sorry, Boss," she says quietly to Leo.

And then Borgan reiterates his order to be somewhere else, and Naelle, looking utterly miserable, scampers away, tail curling around herself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," she berates herself as she hurries belowdecks, intending to join in damage control.

Once she stops crying. The sea air here must be way saltier, it's irritating her eyes. 

<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.


 One of those long ears twitches in annoyance as Skylr gives the Althena's honest truth. There's a full-bore Grumpy Healer frown sent to Leo's general direction to go along with Sky's own magic. Sometimes it's best to double team heroes that have a reputation for getting themselves hurt.

 "...It's been too long. I see you haven't changed, my Lord. At least you have someone to ensure you stay standing." She vaguely motions to the sound of Sky. Silver gives a happy greeting bark to Leo!

 And then she's tossing a sparkly regen spell Leo's way. As Skylr joins her, however, she perks up just slightly.

 "Even when surrounded by heathens, we're in the Goddess' care. An auspicious start to our holy task!" Amelia's already getting fired up with holy fervor, even as her dog is leading her over to a Guardsman with a broken leg. She directs a few of her peons to peel off and assist Sky's healing efforts, and to generally spread out. The Priestess' hands work deftly, feeling about and setting a splint with practiced motions. 

<Pose Tracker> Ghaleon has posed.

ON THE DOCKS:

The crowd around Kaguya is growing larger by the moment. A few adults have come over, now; a few of them are looking down. One of them blinks, and then tilts his head to the side. "Passado...? Never heard of it."

There are a few murmurs in the crowd; exchanges between the lot of the people, and a few elders pull the adults back from the strange, fanged woman that could be a danger if things go awry.

"Who's Althena?"
"They're here to fight Sin?"
"That's great! But--"

One of the elders steps forward, then shakes his head. "Ah... our elders were killed when Sin last attacked," he says. "And... I am afraid we have no Maesters, and Lady Yuna has already departed, so--oh Yevon, that is a very large man!"

The crowd steps back a little as Borgan floats over on his enormous platform, and they all stare at him for a moment. One of the children hides behind one.

"I-I don't think we have a leader!"

ON THE SILVER WIND:

Ghaleon has decided he is bored, now. There is a flash of light, and then he reappears. He ends up next to Ivan, and glances sideways at him for a moment. The Dragonmaster cocks his head to one side. "You look as if you have seen a flopping fish, Ivan," he says.

But then a moment passes, and with a slight note of alarm: "Where is Borgan?"

<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.

    Pearl listens to the explanation in whole, before nodding. "We are here to find a way to kill it, then? Good." A crusade she can understand. Still, even she can recognise the difficulty in fighting a being like the thing that attacked Azado. She takes a second to watch as Borgan floats away, and orders beyond 'follow Leo' still pending, she finds herself asking Margaret a second question.

    "Do we have a strategy in place?" Maybe a less answerable, but still pertinent question. Hunting a monster that big and powerful is not a simple thing. 

<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.

 
"Ask the Dragonmaster," Margaret tells Pearl.

IN THE BACKGROUND, Griz the man in a leather vest vaults over the railing of the Silver Wind, doing three somersaults in midair before coming into a three-point crouch on the dock with a loud thump.

He begins to rise, slowly. He moves with a machine like jerking precision: his own fruit of the same study of Filgaian ways of life that have inspired certain other innovations in magic. One arm comes up, crooks hard enough to make biceps pop.

"Heyyyy-- if you don't have any local authorities -- then we'll just have to take care of you guys, right?! Until things," and here he leaps upwards with a shower of snow crystals, "All shake OUT. You said you were attacked by Sin, though? Like, recently...???" 

<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.

Ivan is a little reluctant to leave the discussion of how to kill Sin; he had been wondering, himself, what the leadership planned to do about a beast capable of destroying an entire city. But with the appearance of Ghaleon, he is suddenly very keen on being anywhere else, and grabs hold of a rope to head over the side.

"SORRY LORD GHALEON I AM VERY BUSY"

And then he proceeds to live a now-well-worn dream of escaping the dragonmaster's jabs by literally leaping off the side of a ship.

The rope holds, however, so he doesn't end up on the water. 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya stands up a little straighter as she sees the crowd, though it... frankly doesn't make all that much of a difference, because she remains much smaller than the average adult. Passado... Oh. Azado.

"Thanks," Kaguya says brightly to Borgan, in passing, and presumably will forget again any moment. But...

Hmmm. "Oh, he's big, but when you get to know him, he's got a big heart, too!" Kaguya lies, openly, freely. ...She's reasonably certain it's true in a technical sense anyway. "It's fine!"

Griz shows up; Kaguya, naturally, holds any further words until he's had a chance to make his entrance, out of professional courtesy if nothing else. If only she could see Ivan back there hiding...

"Well, sure, if you don't have any leaders, then I'd be happy to help take care of you for the moment! I'm the Duchess Kaguya Alathfar, of Hyland." Pause. "...Althena's our Goddess, naturally. The one who'll give us the power to defeat Sin."

Beat, "You can just call me 'Your Grace', I don't stand too much on ceremony or anything," Kaguya says as she starts to walk down the deck. "How about you tell me what's damaged, and I'll pass it on to our leaders so we can start on your repairs?" 

<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.

 Skylr is in awe of Amelia's Grumpy Healer look.
 
 One day, she will get there... one day.
 
 "Yes sir, we know what you're capable of, but even you should know the power of working together at this point. It's how all those drifters get along, even that--" A pause. Skylr sighs- "Even that horrid caravan group." She does not sound very happy about her wording there. 

<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.

    Leo lets out a soft sigh, as through resigning himself to the tender care of the medics ahead of time. His ears fall, ever-so-slightly, as he hears Naelle scamper off, but it doesn't last long. "Once we're on dry land," he says. He watches as Ivan dives over the deck, immediately setting to work. "Well-disciplined young man," Leo says, to Ghaleon. "What's his name?" Of course, Leo doesn't ignore the presence of the crowd forming, either. He can't exactly vault off the Destiny, but he walks up to its bow, and perches on its draconic figurehead--a position he is very, very familiar with. He leans over, and listens.

<Pose Tracker> Black Wizard Borgan has posed.

There is indeed a suspicious Borgan-shaped hole on the Silver Wind near Ghaleon. (And on the Destiny, for that matter; Naelle is safe.)

Borgan was not expecting to startle small children. Yes, okay, he normally has an impact, but he's not *frightening*, is he? Though it's not bad to be frightening, really. At least he is smiling, though it only helps in that it makes him look less immediately threatening; he's never going to be a handsome man and he is certainly imposing on his platform.

And so Borgan makes a great sacrifice.

He steps onto the docks proper. He's still like seven feet tall, and he certainly towers over Kaguya - but he's not flying on a magical platform and that makes a significant difference.

"Maesters," Borgan says, testing the word. "You know, that has the same origin as the word 'magister', which is one of my titles. See, we are not so different! I would be interested in speaking to these Maesters if a meeting could be arranged. But yes, as she says, we are here to do battle with Sin after it came to our shores. Though I am not sure how we could dock here with the harbour so damaged. It may have to be repaired."

Is he making it worse? Better? Even Borgan doesn't know! 

<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.

Naelle re-emerges soon enough from belowdecks, with a clipboard in hand. She's still looking thoroughly chastised, tail curling around herself, but she marches up and waits for to be acknowledged this time, so she can be disciplined and a proper Guardswoman.

And now Borgan is mentioning repairs, and she can't help it--she pipes up again. "Oh, our people could help with the repairs, sir!" she offers. "I just talked to the maintenance crew and they need some supplies to do some of the repairs on the Destiny properly. I have a list. Maybe we could offer to trade with the locals?"

Helpfully she holds out the clipboard.

Naelle isn't good at reading the room. 

<Pose Tracker> Ghaleon has posed.

ON THE DESTINY:

Ghaleon watches Ivan leap over the ship. "Hm, hm, hm. I do have an effect on people," he says with a dry chuckle. Then, he looks to Pearl. She asked a good question; Margaret said to ask him. He is in a giving mood today.

"Our first step is to speak with the locals, establish ourselves, and understand this... beast," Ghaleon says. "So we can know what we intend to kill. Once we've established ourselves here--it seems like Kaguya and Borgan are on it--I'll be taking my leave of you all. I have my own ways of... gathering information. Hm, hm, hm... interesting times."

He glances back at Leo. Then, he shrugs his shoulders. "Ivan. One of the sellswords we hired. I won't be taking him with me for my little trip," Ghaleon says. "So you can use him as you see fit, Leo."

ON THE DOCKS:

"Eh? You'll help us?"
"Wait, you can help us rebuild?"
"But I've never even heard of this Goddess Althena..."

The crowd looks back and forth between themselves. Finally, one of them looks up -- and then their eyes widen. Finally, one nods. "I-I think we can let you stay here! We can help your people find... um... you may need to build lodging. And we could send a boat to Luca, to say you've arrived? It's a large city, to the north."

The fact Borgan is like a maester seems to be putting them more at ease.

<Pose Tracker> Amelia Rose has posed.


 Amelia, upon hearing that sigh, looks somewhat pleased for a moment. Yes, that is the brave, put-upon Hero that she admires. Luckily Leo is free of any healer ministrations for the moment, though, as Amelia is knee deep in her work.

 She will, also, totally teach you the ways of Healer Grumpdom Sky. It helps when you're an elf.

 As she goes from patient to patient and the various peons are carting the injured off as necessary, one ear perks towards Borgan and Kaguya. Interesting. What sort of heathens are these people!?

 "Ahhh, it hurts Lady Priestess!"

 Amelia 'looks' down at her current patient, scowls, and unceremoniously pops his arm back into it's socket. The added healing is a little less pain numbing than usual. New recruits are such babies. 

<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.


    As the Dragonmaster gives his explanation. Not as directs as she would like, but the man in charge has said the plan, and that's good enough for her. Pearl nods deferentially to Ghaleon. "Understood." She doesn't ask further questions; there's a history of that being a bad idea. Her quetion answered, she returns to Leo. Healing the sick or assisting with reconstruction are kind of the opposite of her strong suit.

    "Your orders, commander?" She asks explicitly, as she's probably done enough fact finding for one day. And she still hasn't got to punch anyone, though that's unlikely to change any time soon. Unless someone in the town gets antsy about invaders or something.

That would be nice. 

<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.

Dangling on the side of the ship, Ivan has a decision to make. Leo didn't... actually answer his question about whether he was meant to look below the waterline. The hull within immediate view checks out, and there are others already tending to it, so...

He eyes the water dubiously; at least he has the rope to hang onto, but... there's maybe a bit of an irrational fear of ducking his head under the surface, though if asked he would call it just an uncomfortable sensation (or refuse to admit to it at all). But it is. An extremely uncomfortable sensation. Who knows why; maybe something's wrong with his ears. The pressure doesn't feel right. And the cold.

But the fact that he's reluctant to do it makes him all the more certain that it was precisely the thing he was asked to do.

And he's not about to back down! (or go back again asking for clarification.) So he makes his way down the rope hand over hand, and gradually lowers under the waves.

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