2024-08-04: Wounds Old and New
- Log: Wounds Old and New
- Cast: Mariel, Misty
- Where: Falkewin Hillside
- Date: August 04, 2024
- Summary: Mariel and Misty are both investigating the salted area around the Great Tree in their own ways, and run into each other. They get to talking about the various issues that plague all three worlds, and resolve to work together to do what they can to heal the land.
============================<* Falkewin Hillside *>============================= Falkewin Hillside consists of rolling hills, which become deeply forested the further south and east one goes. A mighty river splits the land, forming the eastern border with Lakehaven Heights. The land is vibrant here, with rich forests -- but there are also Hellions in no small number. The entire region is shadowed by huge mountains, with the highest among them - Rayfalke Spiritcrest - standing among the tallest in both worlds. Travel is frequent here, and the roads into Glaivend Basin and to Ladylake are well-traveled. BGM: Tales of Zestiria - An Exciting First Journey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4LhvxIU9fM
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
Mariel did not have a good week.
There's really no point in dwelling on *exactly* why it was a bad week because you can have your pick. The massively destructive attack, destroying the very life of a region and the people in it; the fall from space (the actual trip to space was fine, though; teleporters are normal, and Mariel has been in orbit before, albeit not in a Federation ship); the aftermath.
Mariel landed near the edge of the destroyed region, and managed to recover almost her entire satchel, thanks to Venetia's shoving it back at her when she threatened to drop it. She has not been back to a town or city, so others may not *know* that yet, but Mariel has spent so long living by herself that she simply didn't think to check in. She was worried about other people; it slipped her mind that they may be worried about her.
Mariel has an impromptu camp on the boundary, or border, of the salted area. Her campsite is mostly a small firepit (currently not burning) on rocks about a twenty minute walk from the boundary, and is on a hill, overlooking it.
Mariel is sitting at it. It is uncomfortable for her to be here, and not just because of her senses; what it represents is something even worse. While she has chosen to stay on the grassy, rocky area, she is sitting on the ground near a pile of salt retrieved from the disaster. The salt is on a flat piece of slate, which she has also placed a small quartz crystal on in a very particular place, for no apparent reason.
<Pose Tracker> Misty has posed.
This isn't one of Misty's favorite weeks either.
Certainly there was the umbrage that the Ten Wise Men would destroy an entire ecosystem to get what they wanted, that was a large part of that. But there was also a more personal component, in that the Ten Wise Men represented a part of Energy Nede that should, by all rights, remain dead and buried. They represent a part of Energy Nede's culture that they've had to evolve away from.
They'd lost far more then a single great tree and its environs, after all.
But she has managed to make contact with several other people, and continues her efforts to help track down and check on people that were involved in the incident. But the salted area looms everpresent in her mind, and she's allowed herself some time to investigate a little, in between all of her searching efforts.
Which for her involves traversing the perimeter of the salted area taking readings with her Pokedex. They won't do her any good by themselves, but... she's got people she can take this data to. But the more contacts she can make with people from Filgaia and Lunar who know how their local ecosystems work...
She hasn't given up the search entirely, though. A rather largish blue pokemon with a fearsome (some might even say atrocious) apperance is snaking his way through the sky in slow spirals while Misty works. Suddenly it spots Mariel, then turns to headback to Misty. Moments later, Misty arrives on his back, jumping down and patting his side. "Thanks, sweetie. You wanna take a break?"
Gyarados nods, and Misty recalls him to a pokeball. Then Misty heads up the hill, waving and calling out to announce herself. "Hi there! You were at..." She's doing her best to be cheerful, but her voice falters for a moment before she decides to sidestep what she was going to say. "... we met the other day, didn't we? I'm Misty Kasumi."
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
Mariel is not hard to find, as she's making no particular attempts at stealth - certainly not from the air.
She feels the Gyarados coming before she sees them, and looks up, startled. She's expecting a monster, not a pocket monster, out here; she relaxes a moment later, though she still stands up, lifting the slate off her lap and setting it veeeery carefully on the ground to not disturb anything on it. She lets Misty come to her, out of politeness.
"Yes, that's right," Mariel says. She seems none the worse for wear, except being a little bedraggled; she's been living in the wilderness for a few days. Her robe is perhaps not as clean as it could be, and has a little tear down the bottom; her hair needs a brush, mostly notable because she has extremely long hair, though she keeps *herself* clean even if she has no easy way to do laundry.
"...my name is Mariel." Which Misty probably knew, since she heard her introduce herself rather hastily to the Federation to try to ensure Ethius wouldn't get himself killed. She isn't close to Ethius, but she certainly wasn't going to allow that...
"Were you looking for someone? I have not seen many people, here."
<Pose Tracker> Misty has posed.
Misty is used to both working with pokemon in general and in particular working with a notoriously temperamental pokemon while insisting he's really a sweetheart. It might be part of her reputation as a Gym Leader on Energy Nede. But how she got to that point is a story for another time.
She's been in better condition herself. She's used to camping, or at least she was, but without the benefits of a free, government-provided hostel, well... she's roughing it, just a little bit. A long bath and soak are definitely in her future when she returns to Energy Nede.
Her clothing, on the other hand, seems fine. Must be all that Symbological enchantment that's so common on Nede.
"Mariel, right. Pleased to make your acquaintance." That does ring a bell. She appreciates the reminder, though. There was a lot going on that day and it was hard to take in every last detail. Such as Ethius' life being threatened.
"Well, not in particular. I've been trying to do what I can to look for the people who had to evacuate the ship, though." When she reaches the top of the hill, she looks back, towards the salted area. "But I was taking a moment to..." She tails off for a moment as she sighs heavily. "... collect some data, I guess. I don't know. I doubt the researchers I know will have encountered something like this before, but... I gotta try."
She looks to Mariel. "But I also found you, so I guess there's that. Are you doing okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
Mariel doesn't have anything Symbological on her. Nede has her beat, there. She may have some Elw-made things... but it doesn't, apparently, extend to her clothes.
Well, technically it does, because she sews a fair number of them herself. But magic, that robe is not.
Mariel isn't sure how to respond to Misty and it shows on her face before her expression smooths back. She wasn't expecting someone to be looking for her. "...I've seen something like this before," she says, instead, in regard to the gathering data. She's old enough to remember... and there's newer things, too. "How much do you know about Filgaia? Not Lunar, but the planet." She looks up, gazing toward the Blue Star for a long moment.
While looking up: "I am... all right. It's hard, to see destruction like this." Mariel looks back down, not quite meeting Misty's eyes; she's a little shy, apparently. "But I'm not hurt enough for it to be a problem. Physically, it is just bruises... and I would be a poor herbalist if I couldn't treat those." Her satchel was sitting next to her as she sat; now, she bumps it, just gently, with one foot.
<Pose Tracker> Misty has posed.
She wasn't looking for Mariel in particular beyond 'looking for anybody involved with the ship crashing.'
But she sees that look on Mariel's face and winces a bit herself. "Sorry, thaaat's a loaded question, isn't it?"
But she's seen something like this before. "... you have?" That's interesting... but also distressing. "It... wasn't caused by the Ten Wise Men, wsa it? I don't think I've missed any of their sightings..." She frowns as she contemplates that. "Filgaia, that's the planet up there. I've visited it before." She looks up to the Blue Star, too. "... I fought them for the first time, there. I... I didn't think..."
She didn't think the second time could end up so much worse, but she can't quite bring herself to say that.
Misty shakes her head to clear those thoughts. "I've heard a few things. That there's something happening with the environment. Beyond what the rifts are doing, I mean. That's... part of why I wanted to visit Filgaia to begin with. And Lunar."
Misty isn't shy, but she's not about to force eye contact, either. Hard to see. ".. Yeah," she agrees, in a quiet voice. "I'm still... processing, everything I've seen" But physically she's fine, and capable of tending to her injuries. There's a small nod at that. "That's good to hear. I've got some extra supplies. I can share them if you need it, but it sounds like you might have that covered."
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
Mariel agrees, "Yes, I'm fine with supplies. Though if you know the paths to a town - " A town that is still there, she means " - I would appreciate it; I don't know Lunar as well as I know Filgaia."
But about seeing things like this before... "Twice," Mariel confirms. It's hard for her to process, too, but at least she has history to draw on.
And then, because this is her camp, and therefore she is host, and more importantly it gives her a few more moments to not actually talk about it, she asks, "...would you like to sit? It might be more comfortable, though I don't have very much food to offer." She does have some, but she was only preparing for one.
She sits, anyway, and gives Misty time to do so before she continues. "You've heard correctly. Filgaia is..." Mariel trails off. "It's hurt," she says, like it's a living being. It may as well be, to her. She goes for the simplest summary: "Five hundred years ago, there was a war. It ended with the use of a weapon, to save the world. These days it is called the Day of Collapse. The weapon drew on Filgaia's energy, and... it is why we have the deserts, now."
Mariel takes in a breath, lets it out, slowly. "I do not blame the person who made and wielded it. It wasn't meant to do that - and it was supposed to save the world. It certainly wasn't his fault alone; he had help to build and use it, from people who knew better. But instead... it iwa a slow death instead of a fast one. Like bleeding out... I have been trying to stop it, but..." She can't do it alone. She admitted as much years ago, but isn't ready to do so to Misty.
Fortunately (?) there is another topic: "And more recently, in a place called Slayheim, a weapon was used. An ancient ARM, a lost weapon - and it turned the living land to salt. Like this. That's what I was doing with the board," Mariel says, glancing toward the slate. "I was seeing if it was the same. And it is; all the life drawn out, leaving only dead minerals behind."
"I haven't been to Slayheim. I don't even like being this close to a place like this." Mariel shudders. "And I do not get involved with human politics, so I wasn't following the battles as closely as I couldhave. But I know enough about what the results were."
<Pose Tracker> Misty has posed.
"Directions I can help with. I managed to find my way to a town called... Lastonbell?" Misty searchers her memory. "Lastonbell," she declares with a more definitive tone a moment later. "I know some other Drifters made their way there, too."
Sure she's been flying around on a giant water pokemon, but she'd been keeping track so she can get back there, at least.
Twice. Misty draws in a sharp breath through clenched teeth, and instantly looks more... distressed. And possibly tense. "Twice?" she asks, with a distinctly dismayed tone.
She nods at the offer of sitting. "That'd be great." She pats her backpack as she shrugs it off and sits. "That's okay. I packed extra for myself and my pokemon. I'm good for a few more days." But she sits, drawing her knees to her chest to hug them as she looks over to what's left of Marlind and it's surrounding area.
Misty lists quietly as Mariel explains about a great war that wounded Filgaia/. DAy of Collapse... she'll make note of it later. Right now is for listening. And Slayheim is added to her list of places to visit, too.
"I don't understand how anyone could just... do something like that. It's..." Misty sighs. She looks to Mariel. "You said... you had some kind of connection to the land, right? That you could sense its... Ley, right? Do you mind if I ask you something?"
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
"Not recently!" Mariel adds, hastily. "Well, the Day of Collapse wasn't... it was five hundred years ago, about." Slayheim was within a decade.
'I don't understand how anyone could just do something like that...'
"The wound caused by the Day of Collapse wasn't intentional." Mariel looks down, toward her knees. "I don't know why it happened. Maybe there was a - a resonance between the two warriors. Maybe there was a mistake in how it was made, though I don't know how nobody would have seen it... Maybe there was something else. But it wasn't his goal to injure the planet so."
"As for Slayheim, I don't know. Perhaps they didn't know what it could do. But perhaps they did, and thought it acceptable... I don't agree, if that's so." Mariel does look up. "And with the Wise Men - they appear to be taking energy. I don't know for what, ultimately, but they must have spent so much on that portal they shot the Calnus through..."
Mariel hesitates. Well, it's hardly a secret now, is it? "That's right," Mariel agrees. "I am an Elw. We are - we were - the first people of Filgaia, before humans and elves and all the rest. And we are closer to the planet - we are tied to it in a way the other peoples aren't. It hurts me, to be in places like that," and she nods toward the salt. "The Ley is what we call the flow of certain energies, on Filgaia. It arises from life."
"What do you want to know...?" She might not answer, of course, but, well. Misty is polite and much as Mariel doesn't always like talking about herself, none of this so far is a secret.
<Pose Tracker> Misty has posed.
Not recently, but... how long can a planet be expected to bleed?
... Then again, Nede has managed to last in its current state for far, far longer than 500 years.
"Still, even if it was an accident, I just..." Misty sighs. "I mentioned it on the Calnus, but... we lost most of our planet, nearly 40,000 years ago. What's left is just... a fragment, preserved with all of the technology and Symbology that we have. Our ancestors set out to conquer everything they could, and somewhere along the way destroyed most of our planet."
".. I doubt that was what they intended, either." Misty looks down. "I don't know whether that makes me feel better or not, knowing that we're not the only ones who have damaged our own planet because of a war."
And the Calnus... "... at least it's energy they no longer have to use. But I can think of better uses for it." Like leaving it where it was.
It hurts her to be this close. In a way that Misty will--blessdly?--never know, though she can feel plenty of anquish of the emotional kind as it is. "I'm sorry."
As for the question... "Have you been to Energy Nede? I was curious... how does it feel to you?"
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
"It isn't your fault," Mariel says - but she won't meet Misty's eyes when she says it.
Instead she reaches into her satchel and rummages. She retrieves some remarkably intact-looking apples, despite everything, and offers one to Misty. The other, of course, is hers. (The ordinary red kind, not one of her magic apples - but they're still pretty good.) It covers for Misty explaining. She knew some of it; that's why the Ten Wise Men exist. But hearing all of it together explains some things. "It makes me feel worse. That so many people can make mistakes like this."
"Energy Nede..." Mariel considers her words. "I could tell, as soon as I got there, that it wasn't a planet. It doesn't have a planet's energy. It's..." Mariel thinks of the best way to explain it. "It's shallow. It's the difference between a fountain and the ocean. There's life there, but the way it fits together doesn't feel quite natural, and it doesn't have the depth that the whole world's biosphere together would. I thought it was a space station at first, an artificial environment, and that it felt different because it was a different world, not one with links together like Filgaia and Lunar. I suppose it is, in a way."
"I know your people must have done everything they could to save anything, but..." Mariel shakes her head. "I'm sorry if that's not the answer you were hoping for."
<Pose Tracker> Misty has posed.
Not her fault. "I know. I just..." She looks to Mariel. "Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved the ocean. Just... everything about it. Swimming in it, the pokemon that live there, the smell of an ocean breeze. I even specialize in training Water-type Pokemon. I started on my Journey to claim the title of Champion. When that didn't pan out, I stayed on it just so I could travel and keep learning more about the oceans."
"I probably would have gone to school to study oceanography, but I ended up taking over my family's Gym, instead. But... I've still tried my best to teach the children that visit the Gym's aquarium all about the ocean, and the importance of protecting it."
She looks to Marlind again. "On Energy Nede, protecting what we have is so important, because we have so little of it left..."
Misty blinks and reaches out to accept the apple. "... are you sure? I've got more than enough..." But if Mariel insists she'll accept it readily, looking it over before chomping into it. "Mmm!" She hastily chews and swallows the bite. "This is really good, Mariel."
But she listens with keen interest as Mariel explains how she perceives Nede. She's nodding along and eating more of the apple as she reflects on what Mariel is saying. "I suppose, depending on how you look at it, you could call it a space station. Our planet isn't large enough to sustain an atmosphere anymore. We have the great symbological barrier that contains all the air, and provides artificial sunlight..."
"Our ancestors managed to do a lot. We've saved species of pokemon that existed in the other lost regions. We've saved what culture and knowledge we could." She offers Mariel a small smile. "I don't know that I was expecting any particular kind of answer. I was mostly just curious. I've always loved our oceans, but... you have a link to the land that I'll never have."
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
Mariel brightens at Misty's words. "Really? I am not as close to the ocean - I am an herbalist, a florist. I learned to grow flowers and other plants. But I do like the ocean, too. A long time ago, I used to live near the shore..."
...
"Well, it was a very long time ago," Mariel admits. "But I'm glad you have something like that." She is; it sounds like Misty was serious about it, which is - well, it's understandable to Mariel. She certainly feels a similar link herself to other aspects of nature.
"And I'm glad you could save as much as you can. It's just..." Mariel looks out over Marlind herself. "I've been focusing on places like this, and Filgaia. I don't know what I could do to help Nede. I would, if I could, but..."
She's only focused on places she can see that are still living - and Nede, ultimately, is an artificial recreation. A little like Elw Borea, in some ways; an echo of the way the planet used to be. "Just because I have the link doesn't make your attachment any less important," Mariel says, instead. "You shouldn't feel jealous at all."
<Pose Tracker> Misty has posed.
Misty can't help but smile at seeing Mariel brightening. "Yep!" Not as close to the ocean, but instead flowers and plants. "That's still really cool, though! Other parts of nature are really cool, and needed even! I just... have one thing at the top of my list."
Misty is polite enough not to ask how long 'a long time ago' was. "Thanks!"
She looks out to Marlind too. "I appreciate it. I'm not sure what more we could do, besides... building the rest of Energy Nede from scratch or something. But I don't think that's happening anytime soon. In fact..." she looks to Mariel. "It's kind of funny you should say that. Part of the reason I wanted to come see Filgaia and Energy Nede was that I wanted to see if we could use any of Energy Nede's knowledge to help out Filgaia and Lunar. But..." There's a brief glance to Marlind. "... we might need some expert help, to start understanding something like this."
"Thanks. I appreciate you saying that. I guess... I just had a thought that if everyone could be as in tune with the land..."
<Pose Tracker> Mariel has posed.
Mariel did say she was old. She just doesn't look it; she looks closer to Misty's age than any ancient being.
"If Energy Nede could help," Mariel says, "their knowledge and expertise, I would listen. It's good of you to think that, though Lunar is healthier, in many ways... not perfect, of course. There are problems here." Including at least one evil god. "But it wasn't bleeding, the same way."
"Or wasn't..." One last glance at Marlind as she finishes her apple. She intends to set it on the edge of the salt, to see if it grows, or even rots... it's a longer project than she can wait here for now, though, she'll have to go back to town first.
She eventually speaks again: "I stayed on Filgaia because I wanted to help it. I wanted to see it green again... if I can do anything about this, too, I will. But I don't think I can do anything today. ...Would you be willing to point me toward the town you mentioned, or take me there? I would appreciate it."
If everyone was in tune with the land... "It might be nice," she admits. "But I don't think it would solve every ill, either."
<Pose Tracker> Misty has posed.
"Well, I did go visit Filgaia first..." Misty admits. "But I'm sure I could find people on Nede willing to help. I do use my expertise to collect data on the ocean's ecosystems for researchers to study, so I have a lot of connections there..." She briefly holds up her Pokedex, but can explain more about how that works later.
"At first I was just hoping that I could make some introductions... introduce some of your scientists to some of our scientists, enable some collaboration..." She frowns a little. "But after what I've seen, I might need to do something a little bigger." She offers Mariel a smile. "I'd be really glad to have your involved. I figure... while we're neighbors, we should help each other out as much as possible."
Or it wasn't... but it could be now. Misty's exrpression dampens again and she nods. "I want to find a way to fix this," she says quietly. "Our past mistakes shouldn't be allowed to cause more trouble for other people." Yes, Filgaia already had its own woes, but... they shouldn't add to them.
She finishes her own apple, then holds up the core. "Do you want this for compost? I'll compost it if you don't need it."
"I'd like to see that too." She stands up and dusts herself off. "I can definitely give you directions. If you want, I can even give you a ride on Gyarados."
"No," she agrees. "But it'd be a start."