View source for The Crystal Chronicle, page 2

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2015/09/10
|Location=Ala'Rem
|Synopsis=Momo Phi muses on miasma and monsters, as prompted by the appearance of those from the Multiverse.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=866
|Tinyplot=Crystal Caravan Pseudoplot
}}

It has been several days now since the departure celebration, and I find myself thinking ceaselessly about the strange ones who came to see us that night - strange ones who claimed to arrive from worlds without miasma.


What a funny thing to hear, the day before you first set out on your adventure: that everything you had been told about your duty since the moment you could parse words might in fact have been false. Our elders had always told us that the miasma is indomitable, pervasive, permanent; that it was just a natural force of the world like air, or water, or fire. Likewise, they had told us that the monsters were creatures that always had been and always would be, standing over us as wardens in a world where all Yukes, Selkies, Lilties, and Clavats were herded like livestock.


And it is when I stopped to consider this notion in the light of these new arrivals that I began to wonder, what was the purpose of that? Why had the monsters not just done away with us ages ago, claimed our cities as their own? Being of ample intellect and curiosity themselves, of course, the newcomers seemed to be curious of the very same. In further analysis of the term 'livestock', however, an idea began to form in my head: what if we are in fact supplying them with some sort of sustenance simply by existing? What if our being here in itself provides some tangible benefit? Our world may in fact be in a situation where the monsters are dependent on /us/ for something, which indeed puts us in a more powerful position than I had ever anticipated.


But, what? What resource does our being here furnish these monsters with? Do we produce some form of intangible invisible substance that they can consume at a distance? Do we, perhaps, produce quantities of aether that they cannot supply for themselves? Or is it something even more abstract than that? I can't be certain, but I've resolved to discuss this with Lefalsien. If we can indeed identify what it is the monsters want from us, or perhaps, need from us, perhaps we can begin to fathom a more productive relationship. I have not seen many monsters myself, but I have heard tell of the occasional goblin trader, or even cathurgies who have served as blacksmiths in distant lands. Whether these tales were true, however, I cannot say.


Though I can say this: there is far more to the history of the miasma than we have been raised to believe. Of this I am certain. There is an intimate connection between the monsters and the miasma, and through understanding one, we may also begin to understand the other. If monsters are indeed progeny of the great poison, then we may even be able to ask them about it more directly. Do I believe this to be feasible in earnest? I cannot say that I do, but only through indulging these sorts of mad ideas can we ever hope to deduce truth from fiction. Indeed, there are many who believe that the old tales of the Rebena Plains are entirely fictitious when I, in my heart if not my mind, am entirely convinced of their reality.


Now, however, I must sleep. Regardless of what the future holds and what truths it may ultimately yield, my - our - present objective remains unchanged. We must gather Myrrh and see to the safety of our village before all else. Of that, there can be no question whatsoever.


~ Momo Phi