Final Fantasy: The Transcendent Throne [IC]

[Merilan]

Hiiro couldn't help but giggle a little, perhaps her usual complaint of 'that doesn't explain anything!' pre-empted for once. "Um, no, that's fine. You're totally a my-own-pace kind of lady, like someone else I know. I hope you find out something neat about that Materia."

She pulled her boots up and laced them up, before hopping to her feet. "I'm going to go see if anyone needs help. I'll..." She paused, and then picked at her hair embarrassedly. "I'll see you later?"

[Lord Raziere]

Zupon's Request
"Excuse me Captain Vanstar. I would like permission to access the library in order to assess the structural damage, and if possible to either repair or perserve some of the more important works to the city. THey survived the war, it would be a shame for it to be loss now. Additionally, for a portion of the city it may provide for a moral boost; at worst if the building is reliable it would provide some shelter. It wasn't very far from the windmill, with any luck the damage is within my means to repair."

She nods at Private Olra's concern.
"Good work Private Igrid, your dismissed."
She then turn to Zupon.
"Hm. Very well. I grant you my permission. See what you can do about it."
Relkana then walks over to get some breakfast then takes a seat with Arkos.
"Arkos. One of my solders raised a concern about the corpses in the wake of the flood. I think it would be best if we start planning out funeral rites. Best we honor and mourn the dead as soon as possible. I'll help out personally of course. Though for some reason he specifically said something about corpses in the former materia fields. Don't see why. Though if I recall correctly there was a battle at this town right? During the war? Did anyone from then get buried at the time?"

[Hazuki]

Hiiro

"As do I." Mylin steps back to allow Hiiro to pull her boots on, and gives a brief nod at her farewell. "I'm certain you will. Good luck with...whatever it is you decide to do. Farewell." She inclines her head to the Aegyl, then turns on her heel and pulls the hood of her cloak over her head.

With Mylin subtly striding away from the tents, Hiiro is left with a decent view of the area. Renne, the fire-making magician from the night before, is helping Markos and a few villagers make breakfast - although they've been approached by Captain Vanstar. The private who got his nose broken by Masenko, the woman who now owes her a favor, is approaching said woman - whose robe has been shed and whose cybernetic arms and spine are now bared to the warm morning wind.

~

Relkana & Renne

The townsfolk sitting beside Markos moves out of the way to let Relkana sit beside him, and the bearded man turns his attention to her. "Relkana. There was a battle, although I don't think many of the good folk here would call it that. I wasn't here at the time, either. But from what I know...your people toppled The Giving Hand and slaughtered the soldiers below the hills. By the time Garlandyne got around to cleaning up the mess, that...Materia started to grow, and that took precedence." He keeps working with his hands, preparing another hollowed-out dragonfruit that he hands over to one of the waiting folk of Ordur. "Now that the Materia's gone, we can see the corpses."

[Merilan]

Hiiro peeled out of her tent and waved at Mylin as she headed off, and then sighed and smacked herself on the cheeks hard, twice. "Okay, let's do this, no time to huff or anything!"

She paced along to where everyone else is and waved, perhaps unusually a little more chipper than she was yesterday. Did something good happen? "Good morning!" she sat down by the fire near Renne and said, "Do you guys still need help with breakfast? I could help take things down to some of the shelters if you needed..."

[Lord Raziere]

Relkana
"So.....nobody got buried. And the weird materia....did it grow anywhere else aside from around the corpses?"
She was starting to form a hunch about this materia. And she didn't like where it lead. Nevertheless, she had to confirm the suspicions forming in her mind. She took a few more bites of her breakfast.

[Hazuki]

"No." Markos answers plainly, as he takes some peeled fruit from a woman beside him. "Simmy mentioned it had something to do with magic in the blood," He places that fruit, and a few others, in a warm pan before him. "But I doubt that it matters now."

[Lord Raziere]

Relkana quickly finishes up her breakfast.
"Doesn't matter anymore my left foot! If this Simmy is right, then people could start growing crystals from senseless slaughter of people using magic! And that is wrong, no matter what benefits this materia brings. Though I doubt its effects are positive. Anything that comes from slaughter and blood spilt like that, is dark magic. And now its washed away, to who knows where."
This just became more than just the problems of one village. She got up.
"I will be investigating the corpses of the materia fields myself. I need to confirm this."
She starts marching off to the former materia fields. Unlike him, she had more than the concerns of one village to worry about.

[Merilan]

Hiiro couldn't help but overhear the conversation just on the other side of the flame, frowning quietly. "U-ugh... I wonder if that was why Mylin--" A pause, as she just realised, looking to Relkana. "Oh, by the way, she's off just now to go study it. That's fine, right? Even if we ask her to wait she'll just bluntly tell us she doesn't know anything about it anyway. I've got a way to call her when needed."

She picked up and put her hands to her pocket. "Also, I'll come with you, if you don't mind. You could use a hand, right?"

[Lord Raziere]

"Yes, thanks I could use a hand. As for Mylin- she is doing as expected of her, so. Yes. That is fine. Help is always welcome, Hiiro 'Huff' Hatsuzuki."
She said with a small smile. She heard Hiiro huff enough times during the night to tell that it was a tic with her.

[Merilan]

Hiiro blinked, and-- and then stammered out of her good mood already, "I-- hey, don't come up with weird nicknames for people you just met! H-huff!" Before pausing and realising she's just validated Relkana. She sulked and folded her arms.

[aturtledoesbite]

Renne watches Tiri cook, slowly getting the hang of the recipe. She'd never really put any serious effort into cooking before (why would she need to?), but it was actually a little fun once she got into it.

Then the aegyl, Hiiro, came by. "Oh, good morning, Hiiro." Renne was about to continue, but it seemed the other conversation grabbed the winged girl's attention. Renne didn't say anything to add to it, but she had to admit, the whole issue with the materia intrigued her. She thought back to see if she had learned about anything that might explain things.

Spoiler

Show

Knowledge: Arcana to see if Renne knows anything about 'magic in the blood' or said blood causing materia to grow or anything like that: (1d20+8)[22]

[Hazuki]

Renne

Renne definitely knows about magical ability running in bloodlines, and through creatures - the Tarutaru themselves have natural resistance to magic, and even the dullest of their numbers can feel other magic in the air. She's read a few papers on affinities for particular types of magic running through families, and one pointing out that Viera would have severe back problems from their fondness for high heels were it not for a curious blessing among their kind.

As for Materia growth, the current widespread theory on Materia is that it's a fungus-like mineral that grows when exposed to magic for extend periods of time. It reproduces through absorbing enough magic that it grows and creates another, lesser form of itself, but Materia "spores" are sometimes found and, with enough magic, start to form proper Materia.

[aturtledoesbite]

Recalling the spore theory, Renne felt the need to correct the captain. She spoke up from where she was, replying, "Excuse me, ma'am! I don't think that it's 'dark magic' or anything sinister like that." She considered making the argument that there was no such thing, that magic was just magic and it was the application of it that caused positive or negative effects, but Renne didn't really want to go into that discussion right now. "It's possible that the magically-infused blood -- which could have resulted from any number of methods -- just provided the proper conditions for the materia to grow, and the flood washed away all the blood, and with it, the materia."

As she said it, Renne noticed Masenko's magitek grafts. If augmented soldiers like her were involved in the battle that took place, that'd definitely explain where the magical blood came from.

[Zwordsman]

With permission granted. Zupon returns to the library "Ok Mizy. You stay outside in case alright Kupo?"

Zupon will spend the next while to access the structure and conditions of the building.

[Lord Raziere]

Recalling the spore theory, Renne felt the need to correct the captain. She spoke up from where she was, replying, "Excuse me, ma'am! I don't think that it's 'dark magic' or anything sinister like that." She considered making the argument that there was no such thing, that magic was just magic and it was the application of it that caused positive or negative effects, but Renne didn't really want to go into that discussion right now. "It's possible that the magically-infused blood -- which could have resulted from any number of methods -- just provided the proper conditions for the materia to grow, and the flood washed away all the blood, and with it, the materia."

"Your right, but there are still such things as demons, necromancy, dark knights, rituals where the acts to make the magic happen are inherently wrong. A bunch of people being senselessly slaughtered is not an act that influences magic in a positive direction. It corrupts. Materia and their abilities do not form at random. My armor has Cure materia. My sword has Darkness materia. They are apart of my equipment of the army, and they were made with certain methods replicable. The conditions of how the materia made determine what their abilities are. I shudder to think what materia forms from the slaughter of so many people, infused with their blood, their dying moments of fear, anger, confusion, grief.

And even if the effects are "positive", Renne, the fact of the matter is that its still made from the slaughtered blood of people dying in droves, and no positive benefit of such Materia is worth killing so many if its the only way this materia and its effect can be made. Yet people being people, might try to make some by such methods anyways. I can't let that happen, and so I cannot leave whether your right or not to chance."
The existence of war itself was proof enough that people were willing to kill thousands just to get more resources and land. She didn't stop marching towards the field, or even turn to look at Renne. She had to confirm it for herself, well-known academic knowledge or not, science was done when you tested an actually went and found proof with your own eyes, not just accepted the experts knowledge blindly. Her own guilt wouldn't let her stop anyways.

[Hazuki]

Relkana, Renne, & Hiiro

Their view of the fields is dominated by the familiar toppled statue of Barbaricia, covered in cracks from toppling into the fields, and with gaping holes on various parts, from which some of Garlandyne's forces had emerged. Now that the Materia is gone, they're treated to the sight of a vast swathe of Coroheim corpses, clad for battle, and many of them decomposed in the humid air. All of them are still clad in armor and wielding their weapons, which have lasted much like the statue itself, where their bodies had not. Yet not a single shard of Materia remains.

~

Zupon

The library doesn't seem to have survived very well - while the construction was sturdy, the crushing waters of the flood caused the roof to collapse, and with them a corner, then two walls. The entrance seems relatively intact, but slightly warped by the destabilization of the rest of the building. The stone base seems to be about the only thing that's almost intact.

"Why do you keep saying Kupo?" Mizy asks, pointedly.

[aturtledoesbite]

Renne gave a forlorn sigh. Every now and then, the House had to deal with people like this who decried certain kinds of magic (or all magic, if they were particularly bold) as being 'dark' or 'evil' or any number of unkind descriptors. Almost as bad were the people who espoused certain magic as 'good', though at least they tended to not form mobs. Neither of them actually tended to listen when people tried to explain to them otherwise.

As the captain walks away, Renne turned to Markos, quietly saying, "If you'll excuse me..." Renne follows, mainly out of an interest of not letting the captain act on her prejudices vis a vis magic.

When they reach the battlefield, Renne has to turn away. The years had certainly not been kind to the bodies. Still, it wasn't nearly as grotesque as her brother's 'projects' had been. She scanned over the field, looking for any trace of magic that might remain.

Spoiler

Show

Using Detect Magic.

[Hazuki]

Renne detects numerous magical blips spread across the battlefield, although none of them are particularly potent - it's quite likely that they're the objects soldiers were carrying with them, whether weapons or otherwise.

[Skald]

Jack carefully approaches Masenko.
"Uh... hey." He begins. "Yesterday- when you called me a murderer... I- That's not who I am. Ending your life was never my intent... but- I was wrong. I underestimated you, and had you been as careless as I, I'd probably be dead right now- and I could have just as easily overestimated you, which would have led to the same fate for yourself. There was more than enough bloodshed during the war, no need to add more."
Jack lets out a slight chuckle. "I guess Relkana's starting to rub off on me."

[Hazuki]

Masenko first turns to face Jack with nothing less than a glare, her remaining muscles tightening. By the end of it, her eyes haven't quite relaxed - but they do seem to avoid looking at him. "Yes, well...don't do it again." She tells him, then runs a hand through her short-cut hair. "Is that, uh, all or can I get back to..." She glances at a large piece of wooden debris in her left hand. "Stuff?"

[Merilan]

Hiiro swept down along with Renne, not feeling like she could really inch to Relkana's speech about dark magic. She... really didn't feel like she understood enough of the situation here to really know whether the Materia borne from the bloodshed was intentional or not. Maybe Mylin's research could shed a clue on what really happened.

"I'm headed down too," Hiiro declared, and decided to just keep her eyes peeled out while Renne investigated in a more magical manner.

Spoiler: Perceptron 2000, go!

Show

(1d20+12)[25]

[Skald]

Jack gives Masenko a curious look. "Yeah, I'll leave you to... what ever it is you're doing out here. I should report to Relkana anyway."
Jack proceeds to find Relkana.

[Hazuki]

Hiiro

Hiiro's search leads her to discover a great many things. One is that most of the corpses haven't been stripped of any of their equipment, and while most of them are equipped with valuable weaponry (Gunblades among them), as well as advanced Coroheim armor, some have accessories. Pouches with a capsule or two, fresh despite their conditions. Curious conch-shaped devices that poke out of their packs. Boots with half-retracted weaponry. While some of these items are broken beyond apparent repair, most are simply scattered - yet she still can't spot a single scrap of Materia. Another discovery is that decomposing bodies are incredibly pungent, and best avoided at all costs.

Now that she can see it in the clear daylight, she also notices that the soil is very slightly tinted red. Probably best not to think of why.

~

Jack

Jack finds it relatively easy to spot Relkana, considering her wings, horns, and Officer's outfit. She's standing at the edge of the Materia fields, looking at them alongside a child and an Aegyl taking flight.

[Merilan]

Hiiro made a little face as she considered the facts; she didn't have any filtration at her nose for the awful smell or anything, but she couldn't just let up. It was also not really her place to, um, loot the bodies... it'd be terribly disrespectful. But she couldn't help but note the presence of gunblades amidst the mix. It made her feel a bit foolish to be so stubborn about an old, junky model Katarina discovered in a ruin years ago when... well, modern ones are in use. But she'd kind of gotten really attached to the junker, however clumsy it is.

"I can't find any Materia at all," Hiiro announced, loud enough for both Relkana and Renne to hear once she swept back from her reconnaissance. "It's kind of odd. I'd expect -- well, some of them to get stuck, or not roll about as much... given that everything else seems to still be here. Is that particularly odd to you, Renne? Like, I'm sure they don't... dissolve in water..."

She kind of sounded like she was drawing to a kind of realisation, then blurted out, "How-- how clingy to magic is Materia? Like -- like if the flood was a magical flood, would the Materia just stick to it? Markos said as much this wasn't any natural disaster."

[aturtledoesbite]

Renne shakes her head. "It wouldn't stick to magic or anything like that. But...I don't think they really stick to what they're growing off of, either, so they might have just been loose enough to be carried out by the force of the water? I'm not really sure about that, though..."

[Lord Raziere]

Relkana kneels own and tries to check in depth as she looks into the magic in the area. Maybe Renne was right. But there was a school of thought that one should be careful and responsible with magical power. White magic and Black Magic were not the same, and being a Red Mage, she knew that more than anyone. They had different feelings and uses, and had to be wielded with responsibility but in different ways. It was not as simple as all magic being the same and free to use as one wished. Black Mages had the responsibility to not use fire magic to burn down villages. Similarly any magic user had the responsibility to not sacrifice innocent lives to power their magic. Garlandyne's academies taught her that much, if not the war.

Spoiler

Show

Use Detect Magic and roll:
Knowledge Arcana: (1d20)[6]+6

[Hazuki]

Relkana detects numerous magical blips spread across the battlefield, although none of them are particularly potent - it's quite likely that they're the objects soldiers were carrying with them, whether weapons or otherwise.

[Merilan]

Hiiro patted her head for a moment in thought. "I guess... it seems-- it just seems so convenient that this flood managed to wipe away every single last bit of Materia away. I guess the only way we'll know is to follow the flood down, though."

[Zwordsman]

"mm?" Refraining from saying Kupo now that it has been pointed out, Zupon responds, "Well.. I suppose its a natural habit? I grew up hearing it, and everyone I know was the same. Plus it is kind of fun to say."
Writing some notes down about the library's structure damage and pinning it to the outside. "Sadly the library will take some work, Mitzy don't let your mother in side until its fixed ok? Don't go inside either of course."

Scanning the town a bit, "I wonder if there is anything else I can help with.. For now I should write a letter to my bosses and have someone going for supplies drop it off in the next town. Someone ought to be making that trip fairly often soon. I'll ask the Captain later. Kupoo" Thinking so, he finds a nice spot and beginnins to write a letter.

[Skald]

Jack 'reports' to Relkana.
"Alright, I'm here. What's going on? What needs to be done and all?"