Welcome to the final days of Amaurot. The fabric of our star began to fray and the unchecked energies of creation begat malformed beasts. Our dread made manifest our deepest fears.
Its source came from depth within the star. It's reasoning, well, we never got close to its true source.
This is but a dream, a reflection. Nothing can truly hurt you here. Even I have nearly perished in some of my experimentation here and was only rewarded with a slight headache upon waking. You'll be fine.
Unfortunately, so. Ah, but would there have just been monsters, how easily we could have dealt with them. However...
[He pulls him close switching his grip from hand to wrist and he starts to navigate the burning city. Firey comets drop from the sky to the ground. Sometimes on unsuspecting Amaurotites. Though Emet-Selch does try to find the path with the least amount of charred corpses, but they do litter the ground.]
The land buckled; the cities burned; the waters ran red with blood. And once the fear has taken root, it cannot be expunged.
[A building or two will collapse around them as if a sinkhole had swallowed the entire multi-story skyscraper up.]
[I mean, there isn't really much to say, or more like, he didn't know what to say.
Just seeing the amount of bodies, the burning flesh, the deterioration, the bloody water...he'd practically be frozen stiff if he wasn't being dragged by the wrist. It's one thing to see it in memory form, and indeed he thought of Valour's own memories, but seeing it around you is definitely a different experience.]
[Emet-Selch keeps quiet as well as they walk. It is a good five minute walk, but they'll eventually end up on a rocky, dark purplish black platform. Very final boss like. They'll leave the burning city behind them.]
Just a little further and you can see the end of the world.
[Well... that is a matter of perspective. Emet's is different than most.
He pats his shoulders.]
Do not fret, our star was saved. Zodiark was his name, the will to the star manifest, and by His benevolence did we live. Though the cost was high. Half of my brethren did willingly sacrifice themselves so that the other half could live.
[And thus some tears finally manage to escape from his eyes, whether from the stress or from the idea that so many people had to die or maybe it was a little of both. Either way, it just happens, and he had to wipe the away.]
[Emet-Selch raises his hand and snaps his fingers. The world goes dark again for a brief moment before he's standing on the same platform with nothing but an expanse of purple and black Darkness as far as the eye can see.
However, instead of be terrifying. It is oddly... comforting. Peaceful. Like a blanket cocoon after a particularly bad day or the arms of a loved one wrapped around you.
Emet-Selch still stands before him, but he's wearing something more mage-like though the hood is pulled back and he still has his third eye and the two toned haired, still under the guise of what he looks like in Imeeji. Though in one hand he holds an orb, a replica of his star. The fires of it are starting to burn down, and it is one the mend.
Though at the tears, he pulls Wildfire into an embrace.]
My dear, Wildfire. Are you sure you want to continue?
[Sorry about all the spikey bits on the robes, he'll try not to stab him.]
[Look! It's amazing the Ascians don't like stab themselves or something. Even the gloves have claws. How do they even eat? Not the most functional design.
He kisses the top of Wildfire's head and pets his hair once before stepping back.]
Very well. Should you change your mind, all you need to do is ask.
[He holds out the orb.]
Naysayers would arise against Zodiark, against His Grace. Those would band together to summon one of their own, Hydaelyn. And they fought and fought and fought, but in the end Hydaelyn was the victor. And with a single strike She smote Him, shattering Him.
Ah, but Zodiark was the star given will. And so with Her strike not only did She sunder Him, but the star as well.
[He drops the orb as it hits the ground it shatters and in its place fourteen orbs float about them, each 1/14 of the brightness, the brilliance, of the original star.]
And in the end, only three of us survived the Sundering.
We did. After the Sundering, we ventured upon these fractured shards and found beings bereft of what they once were, forgetting everything they once knew. Feeble, confused, and weak creatures. For Hydaelyn's ability is to envenerate Her foe. Were she to strike you in twain, two copies would remain --- half in soul, half in lifespan, half in vibrancy and everything forgotten.
And so we do toil for the Great Rejoining. To restore what was broken, these fragmented pieces. To give rise to Zodiark that He might revive our brethren sleeping in the endless dark.
And, thus, should I enter graduation 'tis precisely what I plan to wish for. To be honest, I'm not sure if they can bestow such a wish, but fewer and fewer options I am presented with as time continues to march forward.
You're gonna revive this Zodiark dude, huh . . . I mean, couldn't you just wish to revive them in the first place? Like "hey, fix my home, thanks". Skip all the extra steps if you can.
'Fixing' our star is equivalent to the revival of Zodiark. He is the star, it's will. And above all else, we must prevent the tragedy that befell my people --- the original cause of the star's ailment. Without Zodiark, we simply invite the same disaster again as too consumed we were with finding a solution, we were not able to pinpoint its source.
As for the other matter, I did tell you before, didn't I? Back at that House. My will is not fully my own. When a primal is summoned, any primal, their energies flow back into the summoners forceably aligning them. Try as we did and precautions we did put into place, there is no avoiding such power.
You summon . . . these primal things, and you sorta move together . . . yeah, I guess that was kinda how those ghosts were, weren't they? Is this Zodiark dude a primal or something?
[For some reason, even after hearing all of this, he feels even more uneasy.]
Zodiark and Hydealyn are the eldest and most powerful of Primals. I suppose you can think of it as a possession. I did not experience that myself, so I can't tell you.
Speaking of, now you can understand my tension with Auracite, and with the Exarch on sensitIV. They are from these fractured shards. But that matter is between us, and I do try to keep it that way. I would prefer our dislike of each other not directly impact BARiTONES.
Huh . . . But they seem pretty normal to me . . . I dunno if I'd call them, uh, weak creatures. When you were saying fractured beings being weak and feeble creatures, I was imagining like . . . lvl 1 slimes or something.
Would the star be restored the would live nigh for eternity as they were meant to be. Their souls restored. Their abilities restored. A cease would finally come to their petty wars, their squabbles, the way the faction massacre each other if only we could reclaim that sundered paradise.
But I would be lying if I said I had their best interests at heart. To revive our brethren, our loved ones, our families. Would you not do the same?
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Welcome to the final days of Amaurot. The fabric of our star began to fray and the unchecked energies of creation begat malformed beasts. Our dread made manifest our deepest fears.
Its source came from depth within the star. It's reasoning, well, we never got close to its true source.
[And sure enough around him indistinct robed figures cower. Though they are huge. Emet-Selch himself probably does not reach their waist. And beasts prowl the streets and the sky.
He holds out a hand for Wildfire to take.]
Come. Let me show you. And do not stray far.
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What are these monsters??? It's definitely enough nightmare fuel for the next month, that's for sure.
He's definitely reaching for that hand though which, at the moment, is notably trembling.]
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This is but a dream, a reflection. Nothing can truly hurt you here. Even I have nearly perished in some of my experimentation here and was only rewarded with a slight headache upon waking. You'll be fine.
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[:(]
And they were real for you...
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[He pulls him close switching his grip from hand to wrist and he starts to navigate the burning city. Firey comets drop from the sky to the ground. Sometimes on unsuspecting Amaurotites. Though Emet-Selch does try to find the path with the least amount of charred corpses, but they do litter the ground.]
The land buckled; the cities burned; the waters ran red with blood. And once the fear has taken root, it cannot be expunged.
[A building or two will collapse around them as if a sinkhole had swallowed the entire multi-story skyscraper up.]
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Just seeing the amount of bodies, the burning flesh, the deterioration, the bloody water...he'd practically be frozen stiff if he wasn't being dragged by the wrist. It's one thing to see it in memory form, and indeed he thought of Valour's own memories, but seeing it around you is definitely a different experience.]
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Just a little further and you can see the end of the world.
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[But he goes to take a look anyway even if he isn't sure he wants to.]
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We couldn't deny it anymore. The star was fading. Dying. We saw we had to weave its laws anew. To imbue the star with a will of its own to survive.
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He pats his shoulders.]
Do not fret, our star was saved. Zodiark was his name, the will to the star manifest, and by His benevolence did we live. Though the cost was high. Half of my brethren did willingly sacrifice themselves so that the other half could live.
But if only that were the ends of our woes.
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What happened after then...?
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However, instead of be terrifying. It is oddly... comforting. Peaceful. Like a blanket cocoon after a particularly bad day or the arms of a loved one wrapped around you.
Emet-Selch still stands before him, but he's wearing something more mage-like though the hood is pulled back and he still has his third eye and the two toned haired, still under the guise of what he looks like in Imeeji. Though in one hand he holds an orb, a replica of his star. The fires of it are starting to burn down, and it is one the mend.
Though at the tears, he pulls Wildfire into an embrace.]
My dear, Wildfire. Are you sure you want to continue?
[Sorry about all the spikey bits on the robes, he'll try not to stab him.]
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Not when you put on this PRETTY VILLAINOUS CULT-LIKE LOOKING GET UP BUDDY.
And still, he seems to relax at the hug, and he finally wipes the rest of his face, tears stopping.]
Yeah. I can't stop now.
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He kisses the top of Wildfire's head and pets his hair once before stepping back.]
Very well. Should you change your mind, all you need to do is ask.
[He holds out the orb.]
Naysayers would arise against Zodiark, against His Grace. Those would band together to summon one of their own, Hydaelyn. And they fought and fought and fought, but in the end Hydaelyn was the victor. And with a single strike She smote Him, shattering Him.
Ah, but Zodiark was the star given will. And so with Her strike not only did She sunder Him, but the star as well.
[He drops the orb as it hits the ground it shatters and in its place fourteen orbs float about them, each 1/14 of the brightness, the brilliance, of the original star.]
And in the end, only three of us survived the Sundering.
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You lost everything...
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And so we do toil for the Great Rejoining. To restore what was broken, these fragmented pieces. To give rise to Zodiark that He might revive our brethren sleeping in the endless dark.
And, thus, should I enter graduation 'tis precisely what I plan to wish for. To be honest, I'm not sure if they can bestow such a wish, but fewer and fewer options I am presented with as time continues to march forward.
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'Fixing' our star is equivalent to the revival of Zodiark. He is the star, it's will. And above all else, we must prevent the tragedy that befell my people --- the original cause of the star's ailment. Without Zodiark, we simply invite the same disaster again as too consumed we were with finding a solution, we were not able to pinpoint its source.
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[For some reason, even after hearing all of this, he feels even more uneasy.]
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Speaking of, now you can understand my tension with Auracite, and with the Exarch on sensitIV. They are from these fractured shards. But that matter is between us, and I do try to keep it that way. I would prefer our dislike of each other not directly impact BARiTONES.
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Huh . . . But they seem pretty normal to me . . . I dunno if I'd call them, uh, weak creatures. When you were saying fractured beings being weak and feeble creatures, I was imagining like . . . lvl 1 slimes or something.
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Would the star be restored the would live nigh for eternity as they were meant to be. Their souls restored. Their abilities restored. A cease would finally come to their petty wars, their squabbles, the way the faction massacre each other if only we could reclaim that sundered paradise.
But I would be lying if I said I had their best interests at heart. To revive our brethren, our loved ones, our families. Would you not do the same?
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[??????????]
I don't think I'd dislike them though if their souls were like. Kinda missing. Did they do something to make you upset?
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