View source for 2205/He Who Predates the Nature of the Soul

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/05/10
|Location=Great Painting of Ariamis <PoA>
|Synopsis=Desperately pressed for some form of objective, untwisted judgement, people seek the counsel of the Everlasting Dragon. Priscilla finds a piece of her race.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=6, 42, 70, 168, 183, 253, 395, 560, 705
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|pretty=yes
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Though the Archives has become a place of life, Anor Londo has plunged into darkness, the Tomb has been abandoned for something more, New Londo has had its doors cast open to the sun, Lost Izalith stands still and empty, and the Abyss unsealed yet quiet, it seems the only place in all of Lordran that has remained unmoved by the collective will of the multiverse is the enigmatic ocean at the roots of the world. Ash Lake is just as it was before, and perhaps just as it always will be, untouched by the workings of the myriad realms above. The still, glassy water stretches out into a dark, bottomless infinity on every side, vanishing into a horizon of faint mist, and the endless repetition of gargantuan trees the width of entire towns whos interlocking branches span the underside of entire countries. The twisting, serpentine paths of ash-white sand remain undisturbed. The only marks in it are the footprints of the last venture, unmarred by so much as a gentle breeze to obscure them. The aura of the place is just as overwhelming as before; the vague sense of staring into an infinite cosmos and feeling very, very small.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Only Priscilla isn't here. Oscar has elected to do something else, for reasons she keeps to herself. "We cometh today to seek counsel from the sole surviving dragon of the Age of Ancients." she states simply, looking towards Mizuki. "I cannot say how well advised this move is, but as the primordial serpents hath shown their colours reflected in one another, obscuring the truths they knoweth, I can hope that their ancestor, unmoved by the machinations of the age, shouldst be less inclined to agenda. As before, mind thineselves and thine conduct, and abandon all delusions of influence. A dragon cannot be made to feel anything by the words of other beings, if indeed they feel in any recognizable way at all."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"If the dragons exist in persistence, its natural inclination should be to encourage persistence," Psyber says in a pretty tired tone. He's here, in person even despite the risk, and has a can of energy drink in his hand. He stretches a bit and looks around, "Therefore, framing whatever changes or plans we have in the context of persisting status quo lacking in emotion should appeal to its natural instincts." He suggests hesitantly, "Or, in theory, that is what I would do."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Today they are on a mission of diplomacy... no, information gathering.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren is here as a phantom, in his armor, Just In Case.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He does take off his helmet as they walk, though. Priscilla explains about the dragon, and Staren nods. He does not have a problem believing that there is something out there that cannot be swayed to agree with him. He shrugs at her commentary, "Seems worth a shot. Maybe he won't want to talk to us, maybe he will. He can't be swayed to help us, but there's something else to keep in mind... do you think there's any chance he'll /attack/ us?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Last month, if you were to tell Reiji Arisu that he would someday walk in the very origin-depths of a world, he would have called you crazy. Now, he can scarcely call anyone anything. The exorcist follows Priscilla wordlessly, his weapons locked passively in their sheaths and holsters. The aura of this place is... Overwhelming. Not in the sense that it's /painful/ but in the deep, indescribable feeling of awe that charges every mote of air in this place.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Water and Wood. That's what he feels here. Water and wood and the infinite ashen earth beneath. This is where everything began, and that notion overwhelms all other thought.<br /><br />For now, he listens to the conversation, follows along and simply opens his senses to the world around him.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I can't be the only one who'd be really happy to just hear the truth. Advice is a bonus to me." States Emiya Shirou, who's standing with the group hands in pockets and eyes mostly on the sandy trails.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He WOULD look up but then he'd probably get dizzy and fall over again like he has four or so times between all the visits to Ash Lake.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"They Last." Nathan says, audibly capitalizing the second word as he emerges from the weird depths of phantom summoning. "One assumes that defines them as much as anything can define them, really, as much as anything can manage to put some definition to the unknowable. I'm sure, really quite sure that my diplomatic nature is useless here. All based on the human psychology, all based on the human thought processes." He makes a plaintive gesture as he begins to walk. "Well. I'll be careful, I'll be as cautious as I can really be, and back off if things get negative."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He sticks near Psyber, by instinct now, and heads on out, trying to get the group started. he remembers, very clearly, the path they had to take to the dragon before, and so he'll head for it. The path to Anor Londo's specific tree, and the nest that is formed at its base. He recalls it rather clearly. As he does, he speaks to the others, of course...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amalthea is here. Summoned from Njorun, the unicorn knight arrives, resplendant and golden as the sun. Though the gold phantom does not look too pleased with her current situation, various greetings are given in low muttered grumbles as she adjusts the belt of her surcoat- which looks hastily thrown on. If anything she looks somewhat disshevled, and a little addled, but she is here, once more, lone eye surveying the depths of Ash Lake.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"One serpant wants light and fire, the other desires dark. And a man is torn between them with choice." Murmured more to herself than anyone else, before she returns to the moment. "I guess looking to the dragon for advice isn't too bad an alternative."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Somewhere in the back of her mind she is musing: 'It is Mother's day. Why am I dealing with this and not getting footrubs, breakfast in bed, and my dog bringing me the paper and my slippers?'<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Do you attack a single ant that leaves you and the things you're concerned with alone, Staren?" Nathan says, rather casually. "Really, can't imagine we're worth it much. Can't imagine that what we see as it 'speaking' even really involves a lot of attention. Things like this, you know, you have to take things that look like consciousness to be just one fraction of what's there, what it is. Might attack us though, I suppose. Just, nothing you could ever really predict."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mizuki returns today with a fragment of Lordran held neatly at the side of her arm. A shield so bright that it must have been infused with the moon itself - or perhaps even a soul - rests there, refracting the unchanging, constant atmosphere of the Ash Lake as Mizuki makes her way ahead. She keeps the hand beneath its expanse tightly clasped, as if to clench her own apprehension. In earnest, though, she has no clear idea why that nervousness exists; she has been here before, and on that occasion she had been outright placid. Is it because her foresight is warning her that what she is told today may not bode well with her? Or is it because that same sense has identified these as the last moments of the realm? Whatever the case, she's not going to let those feelings overwhelm her. This is important to her, even if Psyber's plan is likely to be the one the group advances with regardless.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mizuki waits silently for the end of Priscilla's introduction, and when the cue is given in the form of silence's return, she steps forward. The humble bow she greets the endless one with, and the sober expression with which it is paired, is the very quintessence of the changes to her person that have come of this sojourn, and those like it: she has become a more modest person, in word if not in mind and deed, and this will enable her to make more of what information she may be given this evening. Perhaps ironically, it also seems to make her all the more reminiscent of her to-be conversation partner's timelessness. These attitudes better fit a being that has had the eons necessary to develop their appreciation of the world, after all, and in a funny sort of way it might better fit her too.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Greetings again," She wisps as she steps back from her bow, "and thank you, as before, for welcoming us here." She gives a final nod, links her hands at her waist, and begins properly. "As you may or may not already have gleaned, our number has recently communicated with the serpents whom represent the most overt choices of this world's future. They have told us of what it means to fuel the flame, they have informed us of the frailty and transience in the age thereof; but they have also of the potentially transfiguring consequences associated with the coming darkness. We come to you, therefore, to verify their claims, and to ask whether your epochs of life might have taught you some other alternative. So, to begin: do you know what the darkness would do to humanity, were it to consume them -- and the world -- so completely? Could the Age of Darkness truly be called the Age of Man? We will, at your bidding, allow our conversation to branch from there."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another, quick, supplemental bow is given. Once she has retreated to give the dragon the floor, she gives a glance back to Priscilla, then Psyber, then perhaps even Mister Hall, as if to confirm some query which she does not know the words for.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hopefully this trip will be worth the trouble.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nathan has something more odd to say to Shirou. "Think we've been hearing the truth, you know, up until now. It's just been enough truth to put some agendas into motion, get some... Schemes working." He sighs, heavily. "Though I guess, that might as well not be the truth. Might as well not be the truth at all."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"You read too many comic books," Psyber says in a flat tone, "There isn't a clear truth all the time and the fact is that both Serpents are probably right. And neither Serpent is right at the same time. You want my theory on it? Plan A is push the Agenda of the Gods, and probably valid in its own right. Plan B is probably turn humanity back into shitsack hollow husks without souls, which is technically immortal so the other serpent is correct." <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"This world, much like its weather and its dying sun, is very grey. Light or Dark, truth and fiction, exist only at the perimeters."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Something seems to snap Reiji out of his reverie. "It's not like," he says, shrugging, "We always have the truth to operate on. Even if we did, it might not help. Even without it, we need to keep moving forward as best we can on the information that we /know/ is solid."<br /><br />He shrugs, then. "Otherwise, that Kaathe jerk will probably win in the end, anyway."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tomoe was always a bit unsettled here even coming as her avatar? She had never forgot her first experience here. That sword had left her wary of this world to be honest. She wonders about Pris's words <br /><br /> "Good point if they don't care they won't have any issue to lie or double speak. Well hopefully." <br /><br /> She knew what her job was today, it was to cover VIPs like Nathan Hall, So Tomoe once more steps in ready to act as body guard for Nathan as they are walking for the Anor Tree. She says nothing else and seems to be going on alert now. Her face was slightly tenses as she kept an eye out for trouble and those who paid attention her long ears might twitch once and while, perhaps she's trying to zero in on things she's heard?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The echoes of voices and the soft crunch of sand are the only sounds that follow the group through their long and solitary journey through the shadows of all the world up above them. The sun fails to penetrate through the hanging ceiling of fog that drifts from the interminable heights above them, drifting to settle in a shroud over the lake, and yet the air above the endless, onyx waters is tinged with an eerie, greenish hue, not completely unlike the skies of a certain, hidden world. Every so often, there is the strange sensation that something might be moving somewhere below; that something might actually stir in this place more ancient than both the Abyss and the First Flame itself, but all that greets them are the half buried bones of strange unreconizable creatures of monolothic size, filled in with white dust from eons of rest after the distant, murky memory of the battle that must have slain them. Priscilla is curt and concise along the way, as if reluctant to break the silence of the place, even with her quiet tones. "It is doubtful that any one being shouldst knoweth the entirety of all the world. A creature of Fire cannot knoweth the depths of Dark, a creature of Dark cannot knoweth the world of light, and a creature of neither cannot knoweth what it is to want, or to fear death. There art many truths of many worlds, and each wouldst see its own survival."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The total solitude of the trip is a heavy reminder of the murder of Gwyndolin, as justified as it may have been at Psyber's hands. No declarations of blasphemy, nor righteous intervention await the party on the long and lonely road. Only the imperceptible shifting of the mist, and the endless stillness of the water. Nathan leads them infallibly towards their end destination, proving his estimates at Priscilla's advice correct. The dragon has not moved from its spot in months. Probably years, if not centuries. For those who don't know what to look for, the collossal silhouette of the creature is impossible to see in the crisscrossing shadow of the great roots that spread from above it until it moves; potentially for the first time since it was last visited. Its strange skin of living stone blends totally into the petrified surface of the Archtree is sleeps in the hollow of, and with the equally lifeless egg sat in its nest of broken branches; the object alone larger than an entire man. The shadow spreads from the crater in the sand and races over the assembled Elites as the dragon spreads its strange array of four wings, bathing them in a deep, intimidating, and yet tranquil darkness. Its outer jaws spread open slightly to reveal its second set of teeth, issuing a gout of colourless steam as it lifts its massive head.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nathan, Shirou, Amalthea, and Mizuki are spared the brunt of the Everlasting Dragon's examination, but Psyber, Reiji and Staren and Tomoe are new arrivals, and so the being's featureless grey eyes sweep over them, and with its gaze comes a sense of presence that simultaneously crushes ones shoulders and pierces through their heart, feeling as if the air around them is collapsing in on itself and the ground beneath them is shivering. It's clear it uses its physical sight only peripherally, barely interested in their visible shapes, and studying instead of what it can make of their inner nature with whatever kind of power it might have. Its voice is equally as difficult to recognize, swirling through the bone-white sand and pallid fog, thrumming on the surface of the water, and hammering on the ears from no direction at all; a cacaphony of inaudible noise that translates to the mental impression of infinite, hissing voices, and the reverberation of some great mechanism going in reverse. It fades in and out, no sentence ever quite stopping or starting, leaving the string of 'words' with no beginning or end.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mizuki is the first to address it, and with its previously expressed concept of interest in her, she is the first to be given a response. ". . . the Fire has failed you, and so has the promise of the Dark . . . and so you have turned your backs on the wheel of the world . . . returning to its beginning, and peering into the fog . . . in hopes of answers . . ." The creature shifts its titanic bulk so that its heads soars high above the party, looking down on them in much the same way as the serpents, though from a far more dizzying height. ". . . the Dark was born at the same instant as Fire . . . brought into the world in the same instant . . . and from the Dark . . . they came . . . those that would become the Lords, and he who would become man . . . equal as nothing amongst nothing, until they found souls within the flame . . . an Age of Man will be so as none but Humanity will inhabit it . . . the world will continue to exist, caring little for the light or dark it has been cast into . . . and yet even an Age of Man cannot last forever . . ."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Whatever emotions Psyber feels from the crushing gaze upon him, he stares back at the Dragon in an even manner and a steeled professionalism that belies the churning in his gut. Looking at his inner nature reveals many things, a merging of man and celestial, and immortal being that will likely outlive most iterations of humanity barring something overtly ending his existence, these are core to Psyber and so clearly in the dragon's view. Psyber blinks his eyes a bit and stares back at him, tilting his head. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He narrows his eyes a bit and says, "A wheel. Fire and Dark." Psyber repeats after the dragon. He'll allow Mizuki to take the most point on this, out of respect to her and as well out of a desire to kick off some kind of cross-immortal conflict with the dragon, "Day and night?" He ponders, watching the beast. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Tell me. Why would the two Serpents wish for two separate outcomes?" He has a THEORY, but he doesn't want to say it out loud.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren shrugs as Priscilla explains about the limitations of beings by their natures. "But what if a being transcends their nature? Becomes something different, a being of fire, and dark, and earth, and air, and light and water?"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When the dragon rises, Staren puts his helmet on and watches it warily. He doesn't know the difference, in appearance, between the dragon they're here to see, and some other monster, after all... but he doesn't fire.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He breathes a bit deeper as the dragon examines him. He flinches and then stares back, hardening his expression.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He jumps slightly when it speaks, removing his helmet again when it 'finishes'. "...Perhaps we will make a new age." He looks the great beast over. He can't help feeling a bit uneasy -- this thing might be able to kill him, and even though he's a phantom, that's hard to shake from his consciousness, let alone his subconscious. "Will you tell us what we need to know, to forge a new age?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If nothing else, Reiji was prepared to encounter something close to- if not exceeding- the divine. Dragons were counted among the highest orders of spirits. Even so, the great Ryuu of his homeland wasn't quite like... This. This was no spirit. It was a creature so ancient that it was more materialized eternity than physical matter.<br /><br />And it is /looking/ at him.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Reiji feels his heart catch in his throat as the dragon's eyes peer at him. Through him. Under his skin, within the confines of his flesh, it digs to find the very essence of the man named Reiji Arisu. What it finds is a spirit above that of most mortal men- a soul with deep connections to the spiritual and the elemental. It sees the taint left upon it by a monster's claws. It sees the sleeping, deadly power that could be released should this man ever decide to open the floodgates of his soul and empty himself completely into the world.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It sees a constant flow of five powers around two, swirling and transforming from one to another within a circle of eight symbols, and it sees the soul that dwells upon that mandala and /is/ that mandala.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Reiji's breath slowly leaves him as the Dragon's gaze moves elsewhere. His shoulders slump slightly as he catches it again, forcing himself back to some modicum of presentability. "Dark and Light were born at once. They're twins, two sides of one coin," Reiji summarizes. "But the world existed before either were born. And it will exist in some form no matter which gains power over the other. So you're saying that the world itself is constant, but the ones who dwell upon it, and the state in which it exists are not."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"That... Makes sense," he nods. It does- it adheres to some of the very principles by which he knows /his/ world. If everything is cyclical, and nothing is permanent, then the world will persist even if man may fade. "But what if we do something to... Maintain the balance? Reduce the great swells of flame and dark to smaller, more frequent swings. Cause them to... Coexist, instead of just allowing one to dominate over the other. But... If we do that, then the distinction between Dark and Light may become blurred. Both may lose their meaning."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tomoe has seen a lot of thing in her short time in the multivese, but nothing quite like this. She's kept silent but she's more than a bit awed as they arrive to see this thing. The Dragon was hard to spot, yet when she did? She can't help but be more than a little shocked.. She does not move but the purple haired woman seems to be for once? Very out of sorts with how it's just seeming to bore into her with it's gaze. The air doesn't feel right nothing feels right here now. She chooses after the dragon is done looking her over she'll move a bit closer to Nathan even as it starts to converse with Mizuki. She makes no hostile moves but she's ready to take a hit for the General, if it's needed.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The dragon's answer garners a small frown from her. She shouldn't have expected much from one so inclined to speak in riddled metaphor, she supposes, particularly when she knows that archetype so well; fittingly so, as in a manner of speaking she fits its definition herself. Still, even she can't help but to be bothered somewhat by how... oblique, that reply was. It was more a synopsis of their condition than it was an answer to her question, so rather than responding immediately, she falls back to a more ponderous state. With a hand clasped at the base of her chin and covering her mouth, she muses: how to coax an answer out of this being? Surely it's a bit unfair to expect a proper reply when you have not phrased your question with all the requisite specificity, so she'll try this again. Perhaps a bit more definitively.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;First, though, a nod; a polite acceptance to deny any presumption the dragon may see festering within Mizuki's spirit. She does not attempt to hide her egoism -- this one can likely read it in her either way -- but she does wish to demonstrate that she would do so were it more purposeful. So she begins thusly: "You are correct -- we have deemed that neither solution is satisfactory. It may seem preposterous that we seem so preoccupied with the limited timespan of the Age of Fire, I know; our perspective is already so mired in things momentary and fleeting that we could hardly perceive a difference ourselves. And yet, our awareness of the cyclical nature of things forces us to reconsider. What we seek is not something earnestly permanent nor objectively best, and what -I- seek does not even mimic this vestige of purpose. I seek to craft a world that will better serve humanity, and humanity alone. Furthermore, I define humanity as an entity fully capable of the emotive expression, experience, and thought it currently demonstrates, if not one that serves the same purpose with a more vivid mechanism."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"So I will ask again:" She continues, arms gradually finding their place behind her back, "what would the 'taint' of darkness do to the human spirit? Would it bend it such that it could not feel and think as it currently does? And to supplement that, what would be the best way to sustain this personage? I have heard that humans are a blend of light and dark. What could we do to best preserve the balance between the two opposing forces if that is the case? What option could give humanity the most cause to flourish, in your mind, and how could we achieve that balance in a lasting way?" She is silent for a spell after she finishes speaking, staring the dragon down in a way that could almost be misconstrued as 'piercing'.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And when she speaks again, she does so thusly, and in a quieter tone: "You and I seek the same thing, I feel: the continuation of a cycle in a way that warrants the least interruption. And the best way to build that cycle, I believe, is in a way that displays itself prettily. That way it will not inspire the interference of any Gods nor any mortals. Our party has the tools with which to restructure worlds as we see fit, but we lack the critical awareness and knowledge that would make our efforts fruitful. All we ask of you is to give us that which we lack."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Unfortunately for Shirou, everyone else has already asked the good questions. he was far too stunned by the disorienting and awe-inspiring being before him to say anything important or intelligible for a whole forty seconds or so - instead, he simply stared, dumbstruck for the second time.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Getting him to that point? That isn't easy.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The explanations others offer shake him out of it though and get his own headgears churning. "This means Kaathe's idea would doom humans. They wouldn't be who they are anymore..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nathan has been examined once. Thankfully, he doesn't need to be examined a second time. Though oddly, the dragon would find something different if it chose to. He presses on, though, stepping forward to ask his own question. When he speaks, it's with his old voice, a less exhausted and faltering sort of voice. "You mean to state that the First Flame differentiates the Light from the Dark, so the Age of Man would come to an end through lack of definition. And that the Lords came from the Dark, and became those of Light. That there is a defined wheel, of the world." He considers these potential facts, and then asks something more odd now. If this is known to the Dragons, perhaps they know it through some experience of their own.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Light and Dark, and the border between the two, define this world. We cannot hope to understand what defines your mode of existence. But I ask now: The mode of your existence, the paradigm of your reality as you see it, is it similarly so defined by opposites, even if I cannot understand what might oppose? What is the worth of a world fleetingly defined by just light or just dark, and what is the value of a world defined by both forever?" He's trying to get a broader, more abstract perspective in a way. It's a prompt to determine, in essence, the value of the third option in the first place, as assessed by this inhuman creature beyond comprehension.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Psyber takes a moment to wax philosophical at Reiji, "A world of total control by Light or total control by dark is similarly undefined. A world of pure light cannot sustain dark, nor can a world of pure dark sustain light," he counterpoints to the exorcist, "It's the principle of Yin and Yang. If properly alligned, they will coexist and through that define eachother. It would not blur the line, but rather clarify it."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Right," he says to Psyber, crossing his arms. "I know that. You can't have one without the other. The problem is allowing them to coexist without letting them mix into one another. They need to maintain definition. The world needs night and day, not just... eternal twilight." Reiji pinches at his chin, "We need a way to ensure that. Adding some fragment of the Dark to the Great Flame without preparing for it ahead of time could be as disatrous as just letting it gutter out. As Nathan says, the boundary is just as important as both light and dark."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"No, yeah, I definitely see your point about that," Psyber says, taking a few moments to scratch his fingers under his own jaw line as he considers it, "What if we sealed the piece of the dark in a specialized container and placed it in the core of the fire. Separate, but integrated? Contained, but still part of the greater functionality?" He muses the thought over as he considers Reiji's point.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Might work. But then they might not actually come into contact," Reiji considers, his hand migrating to squeeze at the bridge of his nose. "A vessel could... Maybe work. It'd be better to find a way to allow them to flow into one another without actually mixing. We'd need to be able to build a boundary that could /move/ around both light and dark. Like the interface where oil and water meet."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The dragon has patience for these questions. The dragon probably has patience for anything. It's entirely uncertain what it could possibly gain by explaining anything to anyone, but equally mysterious as to why it would choose not to. It's as if it makes no difference one way or the other whether they succeed or fail, and whether an Age of Fire or an Age of Dark should come instead, and yet it feels that this interference in the cycle of the world should be as natural an outcome as if it had been left alone; in a sense, enabling the inevitable. That said, both Psyber and Reiji can feel a keen, if inscrutably alien interest in them. The dragon's 'gaze' never quite leaves them entirely. ". . . the child has summoned more, strange souls . . . and yet she does not command them . . . they seek their own ends, for the sakes of others . . ."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It continues without actually addressing anyone in particular, answering as if it were all one, nebulous, indeterminate crowd asking; like the askers are single members in an incredibly vast audience. ". . . there are more than two, and their natural design is to be creatures of hunger, born of the Dark the same as the others . . . without finding souls . . . they once advised them, but only one chose the court of the sun . . . it is his kinship that would have him enact the Lord's will . . . rather than be beholden to his successor . . . for even serpents are imperfect . . ."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;". . . to become a being of everything is to become a being of nothing . . . all things exist only by their estrangement from another . . . to see all is to see from no perspective . . . to become closer to the Everlasting . . . as others have sought before you . . ." there is but a brief flicker of the sight that had greeted some of the members once before; of endless scribbled soapstone prayers and the phantom figures prostrate before them. ". . . they seek not of simple fear of death . . . but out of fear of what they might become . . . as humans have been taught terror of their true selves in times past . . . but the comfortable lies of the gods are not without merit, as to cease to live and to become Humanity . . . means to abandon everything man has ever known of itself . . . to relinquish all understanding of life, and yet to yearn for it endlessly . . . for such is the flaw their ancestor could not excise from himself . . . even now, as he waits from the crushing Dark . . . for the gods to desire Fire, and those of the Abyss to desire Dark, is only the desire to continue to exist . . . only man has a choice at all, of which world they would live to see . . . and if they choose to live in a world of both in perpetuity . . . then so shall be the order of things . . ."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;". . . a time before disparity cannot be returned to . . . the flame can fade, but not be unlit . . . should Dark purge all Fire, after a time, it will only arise from the blackness once more, and when Fire should blot out all Dark, the shadows will creep from its edges inevitably . . . there is no worth in one or the other, and so the world will not have it for long . . . for even before either, there was balance rather than nothing . . . no Fire nor Dark . . . and yet all things contained within one . . ."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Priscilla seems to have caught onto something in the narrative here. Something that could perhaps simply be ancient, obscure knowledge, or perhaps simply something in her blood, that prompts her to ask: "In the Age of Ancients, the world was unformed. A land of grey crags, archtrees, and everlasting dragons. As the stones and the trees see both light and dark without alteration, thou art able to bear the passing of ages without changing. Thou cannot be simply neither, for then no age wouldst allow thine empty existence. Tell me, what is it what thou once saw before the dawning of Fire? From what couldst opposites be birthed of?" The dragon fixes on her in particular, a physical rumbling issuing from it in such a way as can be heard as a definitive, non-metaphysical sound. The distant fog drifting across the lake and swirling around the very edges of the archtrees begins to swirl, roiling as thunderclouds.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;". . . the Ashen Mist . . ."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There it is. That stare again. Peeling away the layers of ego and consciousness that he's built around his very /self/ over the decades of his meagre existance. Reiji flinches, briefly, pausing in his musing to actually meet the dragon's stare for the first time.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He can't hold his gaze for long. It's hard for a mortal to even consider true eternity, let alone stare directly at a creature that has lived it. Still, it feels as though he's gained... something, from it. Some measure of knowledge that he can't quite yet grasp. And so he listens.<br /><br />Fire can't be unlit.<br /><br />Darkness cannot be fully vanquished.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But there. Those last words. That's his answer. "Yes," Reiji murmurs, his brow furrowing. His eyes lift to the dragon once more, but his thoughts obscure his true perception of the creature. "That could work. If we could find a source of this... Ashen Mist. This substance of origin- something that's neither light, nor dark, but cave rise to both. We could create an interface with that, I think. We could enable Light and Dark to coexist, with the Mist as the boundary distinguishing the two."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He pauses, considering, then. "...Of course, it's just a theory. I've got no idea if it'd actually pan out. But if you've existed this long, and if your essence is that of the Ashen Mist, then it stands to reason that we could use it as an interface."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren shrugs at the comment of a being of everything becoming a being of nothing... although, "The Everlasting?" he wonders what that is. He shakes his head at the accusation that he seeks it. "I fear it. But it seems to me the world may /need/ a being of everything..."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Most of the other talk is lost on him, really. He's kind of lost track of all this.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"...Maybe not just a boundary," Reiji murmurs, stroking his chin again. "A filter. A generating point. If light and dark draw one another, then a soul passing through the interface could be decomposed into component parts, which could then be cycled back into the greater respective wholes."<br /><br />Another pause. He considers again. "That could take some doing though."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Psyber is suspicious of the dragon, as True Immortals are often wont to be of one another. A curious side effect of being outside of conventional movements of mortality is that you become naturally suspicious and wary of others who are the same. He watches the being out of the corner of his eye, as if perpetually expecting an attack. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Though when he speaks, it's to Reiji, "Mn. Yes. The theory holds water. Definitely something we can get purchase on there. I'm not sure WHAT, yet. We'd have to do a study of the nature of the Mist, but definitely something." <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He scratches the back of his head, "The How to set it up will be complex, but I think it's doable if we're combining skillsets."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nathan immediately recognizes something. His voice becomes incredibly firm. Psyber may recognize the incredibly focused, energetic tunnel-vision that Nathan once dedicated to pursuing Elliana so regularly. Nathan may not be so broken after all "The ancestor." He says, hyperfocused on that one stray word. "The ancestor is still waiting from the Dark. You know where he is. We seek to bring disparity to a state that benefits all; not to be Everlasting ourselves, but to bring permanence to the world itself, and to the disparity therein, to make disparity itself like you. If we are to do this, we must know. How do we find the ancestor of Humanity, in the Dark?"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;They need that soul to construct Psyber's eternal fire. Nathan knows that much. The dragon's demonstrated knowledge of it. And so the Librarian focuses on the most important part, figuring that the Dragon, even if they're explaining the Ashen Mists, will eventually progress the explanation to the point where it could describe the chronology of humanity's ancestor, and where he might be found. "And how might we use his Soul, and the Souls of others, to bring about the disparity you once saw birthed from the Ashen Mist?" The second part's a little more risky. Nathan is practically asking that the dragon blast some ancient eldritch knowledge into his brain here.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Tomoe listens to the dragon it's words. It's getting into the sort of thing that leaves her scared. The Dragon seems to be speaking honestly an if it is? Dear God in Heaven, this is way over her pay grade. Hearing of what might happen to Man and the little bit that? The Fire and the Dark can not go away forever.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"The Ancestor of humanity?!" This topic has come up before but it shocks Shirou enough to echo it. What would such a person or creature BE?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;... WHERE would they be in all of that Dark?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Every time we've thought this was solved it's only gotten more complicated." he murmurs ponderingly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What makes Lordran different from all the other worlds that Mizuki has encountered?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why is it that she is so enamored of its atmosphere, its beauty, its contrast of decay?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Until this moment, she could not have said. She had no words or clever semantic parsings with which to communicate her adoration, least of all to herself. But now with these words of the dragon, she does not think, but she knows. It's as a metaphor for human existence not just here, but everywhere; even if it holds no bearing in reality, this has immediately become her truth: that this world's balance between light and dark, life and death, is something so founded in profundity that her mind, in that moment, becomes an entirely uncommunicative swirl. The darkness is representative of all the comfort of abstraction, of dreams, of perfect communion, yet also the death of individuality. Then light is the herald of definition, or reason, of spatial configuration, but also the harbinger of confusion, distance, and paranoia.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For a moment, Mizuki's eyes gloss over. Her gaze begins to wander like the dragon's own until she is gazing absently to the Ashen Mist their final words had indicated. For a long, long time, she looks there, distantly, almost longingly, her neck canted full back so that she could almost be studying the sky. 'This,' She concludes for herself, 'is where arose the first mistake.' This is where the perfect balance of grayness distinguished itself into two constituents which became the playthings of demons and humans respectively. This is where their 'battle' began -- right here -- and above which that war will wage eternal, unless somehow it is again suffused in the fog from whence it came. That fog of purposeless undefinition wherein all things are one.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mizuki's eyes close, now, and her body, before rigid, falls completely slack. The arm hefting her shield lowers itself and her fist finally looses its grip. It was roundabout, but the dragon had indeed answered her question: darkness would swallow humanity, make them one with one another, but steal away their ability to craft, to distinguish the things she so loves. Misunderstanding would be no-more, but something like Anor Londo could never exist there either. There's a sinking feeling in her chest which is promptly succeeded by one almost soothing, akin to when one takes a drink of water after a long day of travel. She has come all this way in her thoughts of things only to arrive back at the one, eternal, immutable truth that, in the end, there is no ideal. There is no answer. 'Victory' in the vein of the existentialism which founds this world is destined to be Pyhrric, always with stipulation; that relieves her as much to know as it infuriates her.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After a long time of silence, the young lady's head rears back to regard the dragon. This time, her arms remain slack, her manner unkempt, her features tempest-tossed. There's almost madness in her eyes for a moment, but almost pure calm -- a contrast of her own to contribute to this whole affair. To soothe the disparity, she takes a final gust of air from the stagnant realm around them, saying:<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Were it that I knew," She pauses briefly on that syllable, "were it that I knew a way to make man the beneficiaries of perfect dark while also filling them all with the radiance of a perfect flame, I would no longer need to seek your counsel. As it stands, though, I remain the fool who insists that the perfection of each can be ascertained with each of them separate. While I admit I am tempted by the perfect balance of the mist, that is not the balance that I seek -- and not, I do not believe, the balance that my compatriots do. I will maintain my consideration and allow you further explanation, if you will, but for the moment I need peace. I should ask no further questions when I am already so baffled by those answers you have posed."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;". . . the reasons you seek what you do are irrelevant, as is my place in them . . . if the world desires it, it will be so . . ." the dragon is clearly addressing Nathan for that part. ". . . the Abyss is defined by its yearning for its other half, and its progenitor by an endless thirst for its power . . . bring the seat of Fire to its depths, satiated with its original souls, and you will find him . . . inevitably . . ." Nathan is unlucky enough to be immediately beset by a private, split-second vision the likes of which someone else had been attacked by last time. Of a familiar endless blackness, but with the feeling of something beneath his feet, the shapes of something firm and definite in the dark, the rising and falling chorus of indecipherable noises, and a sea of pinprick white eyes staring at him from all around. Even for those brief few moments lost in illusion, his skin burns as if exposed to acid, and his heart aches as if it were about to break at any moment. There's a good chance he understands what it means, but there are no instructions forthcoming. What to actually do with all the pieces gathered is possibly beyond even the dragon's ability to dictate.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;". . . there has been much done, I have listened, through earth and water and time . . . you seek to draw souls into a kiln of Dark, and yet you still require a Flame that feeds on Humanity to sustain the furnace . . . and a way that the two would not annihilate the other . . ." whatever it might think of Psyber in return is completely inscrutable. It must be obvious to the dragon that he is from a completely different cosmology, and yet that only seems to make it more inclined to speak to him and Reiji. ". . . in the Age before Ages, we peered into the Ashen Mist without end . . . for within it was contained all places and all times . . . from which the world was given form . . . and from which phantoms still draw their shape . . ." it might even be acknowledging Mizuki. ". . . the Flame cannot be unlit, but the Ashes can still be cast . . . if you would desire to place the seed within the Kiln between its flame and its shadow . . . I will act . . . so that the Mist that will shroud the archtrees may awaken the hatchlings . . ."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The fog thickens, its swirling intensifying into a violently whirling, and yet utterly silent vortex, devoid of the flashes of lightning and booms of thunder that should accompany the storm that churns overhead, and upward from the surface of the bottomless lake. Drawn towards a central point, the converging tendrils of mist are drawn into a spiralling stream, coalescing directly before Priscilla, taking solid, yet insubstantial form between the hands she holds up to take it. For a few moments, the boughs of the trees far above are visible in the hole left behind, before the gradient of greys once again flows into the absence. Cupped in the crossbreed's palms, is something that looks very much like the Primordial Crystal; barely a seed to its flower, and shimmering in completely colourless shades. ". . . a child of the Everlasting possesses the right to decide the future of our kind . . . made to understand the coming Age . . . and will know how to wield the Ashen Mist when the time should come . . ." Priscilla seems completely off guard for a moment, cradling the delicate object in her hands, before her eyes suddenly light up with recognition, as if having just been whispered something exceptionally alarming. "Show them." is all she says.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The dragon obliges. The entire party is beset by the vision this time, though it is only a frantic, scrambled mess of images and impressions that strobe through the brain like a spray of white hot bullets. The thunderous pounding of wings, the nauseating rush of thousands of miles of land passing beneath, an ear splitting screech that transitions into a waterfall of wailing screams, and a sense of heart-stopping terror that culminates with a blinding explosion of agonizing fire. Like a black spot left in one's vision after staring directly at a light, the impression of a blazing orange eye split with a cruciform, reptilian pupil burns in their vision for a few seconds longer. ". . . he will come . . ." the dragon says ". . . to reclaim what the tyrant is owed . . ."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren's pretty lost, but what he can make out sounds like progress. And the dragon is promising to help, and gave Priscilla something!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class=" bold_fg_x bg_n ++ hx">A VISION</span><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"AAH WHAT THE HELL?!" shouts Staren as they come out of it, clutching at his chest. Once he's caught his breath he asks, looking around at the party, "...Is that something we're going to have to fight, or something that will help us?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The dragon speaks again. Reiji listens once more. Especialy once it regards he and Psyber personally. Or, rather, as personally as an entity of age beyond human reckoning possibly can. He doesn't acknowledge that the Dragon is on the right track- he feels like it'd be unnecessary, and kind of disrespectful if he did.<br /><br />This is an entity he does not feel comfortable disrespecting.<br /><br />He can, however, respond to its words.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"So it is... Wuji," Reiji breathes. Yin and Yang, he's dealt with. The five elements. Their ten interactions. The two poles, four phenomena and the eight trigrams. He's never touched the Wuji before. "Primordial essence. Potential. I... This will be my first time working with something like that."<br /><br />He hopes he's up to the challenge.<br /><br />"We'll make it work," he resolves, "Somehow."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Reiji looks up just in time to watch in mild, passing awe as the ashen mist gathers into that great vortex, and accumulates in Priscilla's hand. That... Well, he supposes he was expecting a creature this old to possess powers such as that. "When you say hatchlings," he inquires, "Do you mean the dragons will returnnn--ghh!"<br /><br />Vision.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Reiji's breath is crushed out of his chest. He struggles to breathe as his senses swim through the images and the sounds and the sensations blazing through his nervous system like liquid fire. It's... Exhilarating. The feeling of the world rushing below him. Of great wings beating against the wind of the world. And then there is fire. And then excitement turns to pale horror.<br /><br />The flame resolves into a single, hateful eye. Reiji stares into it- and he can feel it peering back.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The vision fades. His breath returns, though it forces him to stagger back, pressing a hand to his head. Reiji's voice emerges from a low, distressed animal growl, "What... The Hell was that? That was... Powerful. Something old. Incredibly old and... /Angry./ An entity of fire, ruin and WRATH. What is it? Are... We to fight it too?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As the dragon continues, choosing several of their group with whom to share visions and others with whom to exchange choice, cutting words, Mizuki is almost entirely silent. She softly shakes her head as dragon affirms that they will do what they can should the party choose 'Their' alternative before linking her hands, bowing to them once in gratitude, and stepping back until the mist of the lake has begun to obscure her being. Perhaps intentionally, or perhaps as an unconscious side-effect of her mood, her form becomes translucent too -- this combination makes her form nigh invisible for a few moments, or at least ghostly, and does all the more to make her -feel- as though she has been isolated from the world around her. That's a sensation she would like to have right now.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But ah, she can never keep it for long. She has but a moment to glance at the object they give to Priscilla before her mind is promptly accosted by a cacophony of drilling noise and an even more bounteous cornucopia of unsettling imagery. She immediately clutches her head and might fall on one knee just as her invisibility begins to fail, and just as the eye fades from her view she would be found breathing heavily. A second more and her skull would have cracked, she swears, and she's just very glad that that dream is done.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She rises again, now fully visible. She dusts the skirt of her dress as she turns to Priscilla, and after a brief cradling of her forehead, she says: "He's right, you know -- you're the living embodiment of the struggle of the endless versus the mortal in so many ways. It... might be terribly insensitive to say so, Priscilla, but I think if anyone has the requisite understanding necessary to make this choice, it is you." She attempts a smile. "And even if it sounds a cruel joke, I think that yours is a unique, poetic condition indeed. Something beautiful. Something to be celebrated. I would never dream that that could undo your years of tumult, but I did nevertheless wish to say so once before we were finished."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She glances back to the dragon briefly after making that statement, curiously. Oh how she wishes she could think of more to say, to ask, but alas...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Psyber stares down the dragon when he talks about what it will take to design his plan. While there's a neutral expression to his face, his posture is tense and more than slightly suspicious still. He's Immortal, but he's a free-floating concept of guardianship. The essence of his existence is as selfless as it is selfish. If circumstance had been different, if Priscilla's desires or wants had dictated otherwise, it's fully possible he would have come up with a different plan. He was not concerned about the greater world of Lordran, and more concerned with Priscilla. To someone who could see the core concepts comprising him, he's a selfless sort of selfish. An inhumane humanity. A contradiction. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He flinches at the vision in his mind, one eye wincing shut as he has a strobed smattering of images and impressions forcibly injected into his psyche. He brings a hand up and rubs at one of his temples, "Nnnn. Let him come." Psyber says, more out of irritability than confidence on his own part. Instinctively, his natural response is to bristle at anything that would threaten his goal. A moment later, he adds, "We will prepare for it accordingly." <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He turns to Reiji and says, pretty seriously, "We will need to use immense caution in our proceedings," His tone is a bit more serious and straight-forward, "Working with primordial essence is immensely dangerous, and I think Xiaomu would put both our asses in a sling if you were helping out on something like this and your research or some experiment consumed you."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nathan lets the visions hit him square on the mental jaw, remaining completely motionless and expressionless externally while the brute force psychological trauma slams into him with great impact. "I understand." He says, simply. The seat of fire. The Lordvessel? Something more associated with the First Flame? He'll figure it out. He knows enough to not push further. And he recalls the entity that extinguished his fire. "Humanity. Not just souls to sustain it, but humanity. The Ashen Mist, the unformed potential. Something to split the two. Priscilla can make that function. With the Dark Soul, the Flame arts, and the Ashen Mist, we can do this, then...?" He seems to ask nobody in particular, but if the dragon wants to answer, more power to him.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The intense vision, of course, hits him the same as the last one, which is to say, provoking a visceral and intense internal response -- this time one of PROFOUND AND INTENSE FEAR -- and no external reaction whatsoever. He turns to Staren, and Reiji, this time. "I believe it will not be our choice." He says, simply. "If the dragon seeks to reclaim what they are owed, we will see them come to us. What they choose to do is what we will have to deal with. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst." Then more to Reiji and Psyber. "But the dragon seems to believe Priscilla is best qualified to work with it, and I will not object. I certainly have no better qualifications to assess this situation with. She can focus on the Ashen Mists. We will focus on what we can use. The Dark Soul and the apparatus wrought to perform the fueling we need."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I..." Reiji takes a breath. It's a greedy, almost gluttinous amount of air that he takes in before he seems to steady himself again. "Yes," he replies, to both Psyber and Nathan. "We'll deal with it when it comes, and plan accordingly for its arrival. When it arrives, we'll shoot it out of the sky just like anything else."<br /><br />...Except, unlike most anything else, this seemed to be a flying, near-immortal engine of destruction.<br /><br />Nito killed these things before. Maybe that new sword of his will come in handy.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He shakes his head, then, and nods at the two men. "Right. This isn't something we can just play around with. If Priscilla's the most well equipped to handle it, then she should do so. But we're going to need to know how it works well enough to incorporate it into our designs. Can't afford to make a mistake with this."<br /><br />His eyes flicker towards Psyber as the corners of his mouth twitch into a slight smirk. "I can't go and die before Xiaomu has a chance to kill me, after all."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The noise Emiya Shirou makes under such a mental assault is nothing short of a yell. he drops to his knee, hands clasping his either side of his head, teeth clenched and eyes full of... panic? Yes, panic, not quite fear.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The guy's head is splitting nearly as bad as that time he and Chloe went at it full bore! "G-ghuh..." He eventually recovers, staggering back up to his feet, but he's in the same situation as Mizuki really!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"That was BAD, whatever it was..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Yes." Priscilla practically whispers to Reiji. "They hath awaited thousands of years, and they wouldst bide a billion more for the correct circumstances. The Kiln was once simply a place in the Mist long ago, expelled by Fire. Returning it to its original place shouldst provoke that, but in doing so, provoke the dragon that still yet lives." She pauses a moment for a dry swallow. "Kalameet. The dragon known only to the gods. He who survived the ancient war, not by escaping notice, but because even at the height of its power, Anor Londo dared not provoke his wrath. He will maketh attempt at this; to seize the coming dawn and crown himself Lord of dragons. The world of men and gods wouldst not survive if he should. Everything upon the earth shalt burn, until nothing remains but here." She clutches the seed to her chest, taking a few deep breaths to try and get over the sudden wave of anxiety.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eventually she looks towards the others, giving an appreciative, if half-formed smile. "I am ever grateful for thine willingness. It is difficult to describe, but I beliveth I knoweth the way. I also believeth I shalt be able to find our wayward knight of the sun. With thine talents, I am adamant that this plan wilst be possible. We will fight that battle at the time and place of our choosing, and whence the time cometh . . . I will do as I hath always known." The dragon seems uninterested in further discussion, seeing no further need to communicate, or perhaps no further information worth communicating. The requisite ideas are sewn into the group. There is a plan. Anything more would be meddling with nature.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Psyber looks between Nathan and Reiji and slowly nods his head, "I trust in Priscilla enough to deem her the most qualified to handle this. I won't go against that call at all," He replies, casting a sidelong glance to the Crossbreed. Several years ago, he would have been doubtful. Now, though, he has enough trust to place in her. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Nathan, how long do you think it will take you to figure out how to reach the Dark Soul?" He looks sidelong to Reiji, "And how much firepower do you think we'll need to bring with us when we go?" He quickly tries to figure out a few things. He's killed dragons before, but they were a much bigger affair on this world. Priscilla's words give him caution. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Psyber looks to her, "I suppose I asked for this," Psyber notes seriously, "When my plan banked on the ridiculous ambition and war-like nature of this world, I shouldn't be surprised when people want to make runs for the throne." He says cautiously, "Still. Worrying. I may come in person for that battle. I am unhappy with the fragility of the spirits for such conflicts."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Staren listens to Priscilla. "...So we gotta fight something powerful enough to destroy the whole world, huh?" Staren rubs his chin. "I'm not one to call anything impossible, but I wonder how we can manage this..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I can answer the second question, Psyber." Emiya Shirou quips, butting in only briefly. "All of it." The boy looks exhausted after all of that. His head is REELING trying to understand all of the intense philosophy and consequences...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"As much as we can carry," Reiji replies to Psyber, one hand fishing around in his pockets. It doesn't take long for him to fish out a cigarette and light up its tip. "Like I said, there's no time to play around. We go full bore. No holding back."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A small puff of grey-blue smoke billows from his lips, rising to mingle with the endless expanse of fog still filling the sky above them. "And when that dragon shows up. That... Kalameet, we bring even more. We lure it into a place we can beat it, and then throw everything we have at it until it stops moving."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"We cheat," he growls around his cigarette. "We cheat like dogs, and we fight dirtier than thieves, and we don't give it the chance to win. That's how you beat a monster. That's what we need to do."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Never let it be said that wasn't the ingenuity that let man compete in the realm of Gods, Reiji," Psyber says seriously, taking out his own pack of cigarettes to light one in turn and then sighing. He nods to Shirou as well, "Right, though. Everything. It's been a very long time since I fought unrestrained," He admits in a grim tone. He remembers back to Gwyndolin, but that was fleeting. And far more focused. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I will have to remember how to cease holding back," He exhales a slight cloud of cigarette before nodding Reiji, "Cheating works for me. I'll see what I can drum up," He wonders. Einherjar, if he remembers right, is the optimal weapon. Ironic, due to it being his original sword as well. But it can emulate the lightning of this world. The lightning that slayed dragons.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Not long." Nathan says, nodding firmly to Psyber. "The Lordvessel should suffice as a Seat of Fire. We will make a display that draws the ancestor out of hiding. The Dark Soul will reach us. Make a world fueled by ambition, through ambition. I know how to draw it out. Catch his attention." He snaps, briefly, lighting a tiny flame at his thumb with a small spell. It'd be pretty stylish if Reiji lit the cigarette on that. And then he shakes his head at Staren. "Something. Possibly multiple somethings. We bring everything we have to bear and we do our best. I doubt I can negotiate with the ancestor or the dragon, but I will try."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then, adjusting his glasses, he says, "Past that, I will aggressively pursue all other necessary options. Now, we should cease bothering the dragon here, however insubstantial our paltry existenfce may be to them. I have some planning to do, for my own part."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Priscilla is caught off guard, Tomow sees this she stares she attempt to see if she's going crazy. She's never seen anything really ruffle the half dragon before.. She pauses at the vision and just kinda overloads from it she's looking haunted, spooked and for once not very boastful as she might be otherwise. She takes a moment to snap out of it. <br /><br /> "That's what we got to deal with?!" <br /><br /> She looks to Nathan for a moment kinda getyting where he's going with this, more and more she gets she's just the muscle at this point. Not that that really bothers her.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:705|Reiji Arisu (705)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Well, if Nate's offering, Reiji would be rude not to take him up on an ignition source.<br /><br />Shinra agents are nothing if not stylish, after all.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Shinra agents are nothing if not ingenious," Reiji says with a slight shrug. "I've got a few cards I can pull, too. Might not do much, but I figure anything that could help needs to be looked into." He pauses, taking a long draw from his cig. "We'll be ready. But there's no reason to take up more of this ancient's time- or his attention- in discussing our plans here," Reiji turns, pressing one hand into a fist and dropping into a respectful bow, "Thank you, ancient one. Your wisdom made many things clear."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I think, after speaking to the dragon, I have figured out the purpose of the Serpents," Psyber says seriously, looking towards the Dragon briefly before looking back to the rest of the group. He thinks over everything the dragon said. He lets that hang heavy in the air while he figures out how to explain it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"For mortal minds to comprehend the weight and cycle of the world, there must exist one thing above all else," Psyber says in a hard tone, gently exhaling smoke, "Choice." <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Being with will, with lifespans, that exist as individuals within the confines of mortal mentality..." Psyber takes a slow drag from the cigarette, "If a world was told what the Dragon revealed. That, no matter what path was chosen, the wheel would spin, light would become dark would become light again, that the cycle was unbreakable," He trails off a bit, "They would rage against it as we have. As we are now." <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"The Serpents are the illusion of choice. A meaningless choice, in essence, because in whichever scenario was predicted to be chosen, their ultimate goal would come to fruition in a long term view. So they would ease the minds of mortals and false immortals by offering them perceived choice and free will," He waves around a bit, "While functionally, the choice was meaningless." <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He smiles a bit, "They're a safeguard on the world's natural cycle that we subverted." <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Or so I theorize, anyway."<br> <br>


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