1041/Heartless Questions

Heartless Questions
Date of Scene:	26 November 2014
Location:	Galianda
Synopsis:	RAIJIN would like to know more about the Heartless and how to fight them.
Cast of Characters:	624, 635

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Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Some time later, Quentyn (carrying one less bag than before) wanders back into the massive area that is the Academy's courtyard. Well, maybe wander isn't exactly the right word--it looks as if he's looking for someone here and there. He also calls over the general frequency, "Hey, Aqua...Quentyn here. You still around the school? Got a question." Can't hurt to try.

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "I'm not too far, hang on," comes Aqua's reply.

    Moments later she appears walking in from the sports facilities, carrying a basketball, or the closest thing that passes as one here. She smiles sheepishly at Quentyn when she finally reaches him. "I. Erm. The students were playing a game, I was watching, the ball rolled my way and... apparently I'm not bad at it at all." She glances down at the ball. "... I should have returned that."

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn holds up a hand in greeting, and nearly laughs (the good kind of laugh) at her story. But it ends up as an amused smile, and he gives her a thumbs up. "You can drop it by later. Um. Sorry to get in the way, kinda juggling a few things..." He fiddles with his glasses a moment, and scratches the back of his head. "Umm... I know you don't like the topic... but with a little more info, we might get better at fighting them..." He waits to see how Aqua responds before getting into the details.

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "R-Right." She'll return it! No worries. Thankfully the gym probably has hundreds of spare balls given the sort of powers the players must throw around when they get frustrated. She looks at Quentyn and then blinks.

    "Them? Oh, you mean... the Heartless? I'm not... I'm not sure how much I know that'll be useful, but I can try. Why don't you tell me about this place's enemies, in exchange? It's hard to believe such a big world wouldn't have someone or something out to get it... all those heroes that get trained here, there must be a reason why they need to know how to fight?"

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn nods, the Heartless. "Ours? Um, yah. There's a lot." He moves over to a bench sit, motioning with a hand to invite her to do the same, and reaches into his bag to pull out a notebook and pencil. He doesn't write anything just yet, instead tapping his chin with the pencil. "...Monsters can crawl up from the sewers or just lurk in alleys, but there's some really nasty ones in some places. Odynari have it the worst, I think..."

    He looks to Aqua. "We have something called the principles of elemental affinity in Galianda... do your worlds have anything that sounds like that?" He listens attentively for an answer; it's important to the student, apparently.

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "I haven't heard of anything like that. Elemental affinity... do you just mean things like how fire magic beats ice monsters, lightning magic beats flying and metal monsters? That's... kind of a thing in our world, but it's a bit common sense too. If you hit ice with fire it melts, so a big ice monster isn't going to enjoy fire very much."

    If it's something else, Aqua is lost.

    "For us, the Heartless... the pure ones, they come from the Darkness Between Worlds and the Realm of Darkness. I'm not sure what made them or what they are. They invade worlds by opening portals and just swarming through. They eat people's hearts, and it creates more Heartless. It's also possible... for someone to succumb to their inner darkness, and become one that way."

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn gives another thumbs up, then scribbles down a few notes. And after that flashes an apologetic smile. "Yah, that exactly. I don't really know how much of our principles apply out there, it's all really weird..." He shrugs helplessly.

    "I've heard a, um, 'key blade'? --is used to defeat them..." He glances off to the side in some thought, then back to Aqua. "If you know... has anyone tried spells with a 'light' or 'holy' affinity on Heartless?"

    Chin-tap with the pencil again. "Guess it's my turn... Our Odin plate is metal. The whole thing. There's no dirt or anything like that, and the storms are magnetic. The worst monsters are there. They're like... golems, kind of. Metal trash just, it sort of assembles itself and starts walking. And tries to kill any Hume. It's the only place you can't take a bridge to and um. Really not a good place to live, from the stories..."

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "Keyblades, yes."

    Aqua extends her right hand. There's a shimmer of blue and purple light, and a metallic sheen-like noise, as the Master Keeper appears in her hand out of thin air. The large, skeleton key-shaped sword, with a red and white handle, and a grey-black blade. It looks like it was made for someone bigger and larger than her to wield, admittedly. And, well, let's not talk about the visual viability of a KEY as a sword, especially with those handguards. Someone unskilled would break their wrist on first impact.

    "This is one. I'm not sure why it's effective at killing the Heartless, but it seems to do something to the hearts they ate. And yeah. Light spells will really mess with them," Aqua confirms. Light and holy are more or less interchangeable in her magic system, she assumes the same is true here.

    "That sounds like a dreadful place to live. So it's a big, hostile junkyard... it must be a scavenger's dream, if they can handle it. Do people actually live there?"

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn starts a little, then straightens--watching the weapon materialize with fascination. "Cosmos, that looks handy. I'd eat an Ooze if I could store and call my rifle like that," he grins.

    The white mage glances to Aqua to listens and scribbles notes for a few moments. Then he just looks at the notes contemplatively for a few moments, nods to himself at nothing apparent, and looks back to Aqua. "I'll pass that along. But um. Well..." He gives a kind of tentative, apologetic smile. "I'd like to see one or two myself. Try a few spells and take some readings..." His off hand picks at the edge of the notebook. "Not today, my gun's having a wafer fixed anyway--but before anyone from Murasame has to fight them again, if we can... could we?"

    "Odynari, the descendents of Odin, live there... and it /is/ kindof. Some of the most legendary weapons come from Odin. If you can kill those golems--or whatever they are exactly--their salvage is... well it's what they use to make those weapons." A pause, and in a more subdued tone. "...But a lot of people fall fighting them."

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "It's pretty handy. If I get disarmed I can just call it back, and it makes casting spells easier. I can do black and white magic unharmed, but, it's definitely easier while holding the Keyblade. I guess it acts like a focus."

    She lowers the hand, though she doesn't dismiss it yet.

    "We might be able to find some. It shouldn't be too hard to find a world where they have a foothold. The lesser ones, they're not very dangerous. They look like small humanoid ants, pitch black. Bright glowing yellow eyes-- that's a thing all Heartless have, yellow eyes, pitch black or dark blue skin. Other than that... their appearance varies a lot. They blend in."

    She considers the matter of Odin, thinking out loud. "So high risk, high reward. But still, risking your life for good building materials... isn't living more precious than having the metal to make a new sword? I guess some people have backwards priorities, or just really want that metal. What are the other places like? I hope they're not all as dangerous."

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn takes another good, long look at the keyblade and starts to sketch it next to his notes. He can, it seems, do this while talking and only giving the notebook a quick glance now and then: "Getting that data will help us. Thanks," he punctuates with a tentative smile.

    "Yah, I mean--there's always someone saying just abandon it, but then where does everyone go and--To them, a lot of them, it's still home, I think... If you get a chance, talk to an Odynari. They'll tell it better than I can. They have pieces of metal in their skin, easy to spot."

    Once he finishes the rough sketch and jotting down a few more notes, he sits back and looks to the sky--which is also down at the rest of Galianda--distantly. "I'm from Shiva. Always icey, never melts even when the Phoenixlight is strongest. The plate is ice all the way through, we think. My parents are from Ramuh, which is always stormy and that powers the city. Ifrit is the opposite of Shiva, always really hot. Leviathan is mostly water with some islands. Titan is one big mountain, with the cities kind of coming out of the sides or going underground. Um. No one really knows much about Bahamut, except maybe the dragoons and they don't talk..."

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "So there's a climate and life style for everyone. That must make playing tourist here really interesting, when it isn't dangerous due to monsters," Aqua notes, changing the subject from Odin and its treasures. She does mentally jot down the fact apparently redidents there have metal in their bodies? That sounds really inconvenient and painful, but maybe for them it's totally normal.

    "What about here? What is it like here at the school? Does the climate change between all of them?" As good a question as any she can think of right now.

    In exchange, she ponders. "Hm... I'm not sure what else to say about the Heartless. Some people are able to control them, but I don't know how that happens. Some of the worlds I've seen had people using them to try to conquer and destroy. Without a leader the Heartless will usually just follow whichever is the most powerful. Those are really unpredictable."

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn shifts forward in his seat--they can be controlled?--scribble scribble scribble. "...The weather can be dangerous too in some places, like Shiva. Shiva... it's maybe the most consistent, just always really cold and with roaming blizzards a lot of the time, the rest of them, they're just all different. Here, um... it's artificial, I guess? I never read much about Chocobo. But no one's really from here, like natively."

    Once he's done writing he leans back against the bench again. "I think that's enough to go on," he nods with a quick smile in thanks. "Now we just need to test what works best so we can fight them and keep our people safe."

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "No one is from here...?" That's an odd thought. And yet, one she feels the smallest fragment of familiarity for. She's heard this before, but about another place. Come on, brain, work it out. Sadly all it wants to do is putter along and not be helpful. Holes not filling themselves.

    "And the weather is artificial? So you use... machines or magic to make the weather whatever you want?" Sounds handy, possibly disastrous if things break.

    "A-Ah, right. Sorry I couldn't give you more. I don't have any of my memories. All I remember is wandering around the Realm of Darkness, pulling myself out... some stuff happened. And here I am, visiting places that look interesting, trying to keep the shadows at bay. It's a silly story. I don't want people to pity me for it."

    Topic change!

    "So you're a white mage? And you use a... gun?"

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    "Yah, no one lived here till we came, and..." Quentyn gestures around at the lunar school-metropolis around them. "Um. Maybe it's just a byproduct from making Chocobo habitable..." he shrugs helplessly and shakes his head, "Sorry, I'll try to read up on it sometime."

    Quentyn actually looks like he's about to say something sympathetic, but those last words before the topic change stop him dead. Right, topic change.

    "Yah," he grins with a touch of enthusiasm, "Any white mage can cast Cures. But how many do you know that can get one on you from a few kilometers out?" But some other thought pulls Quentyn's attention away for just a moment. "Do your worlds have 'white magic' and 'black magic'? Is this, um, division?--common in the multiverse?"

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "We do, but I'm not sure it's as complex as it is here. I've never heard of time mages or arcanists, but black mages and white mages, yes. A-Ah, well, not... not by name. We know what black magic and white magic are, I don't think the users call themselves mages like that though. I'm proficient in both, but like I said, it's easier with the Keyblade than without. I'm not sure I could aim a spell that far even on a really good day with the high ground, so that sounds very impressive."

    Can't really argue there. Sniper white mage, that sure is a Thing.

    "So no one lived here... is that what Beatrice meant when she said the plates only opened up a while back? It must have taken a lot of work to build this place."

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    This Quentyn doesn't take notes on, but simply listens. "So you can fight with that..." He nods to the keyblade, "Using it like a sword? /And/ use white and black magic?" He grins, "Yah, you'll fit right in if you do decide to try a dungeon or something." He sets his pencil in his notebook and closes it, and then stretches his arms. "Um, guess I should say--guns aren't really, like, a job thing. I mean they can be. But they're like swords and daggers-- anyone could carry one to protect themselves from Encounters." He curls a finger against his cheek. "But I heard outworlders have to use chemical propellant or something. I wonder how /that/ even works..."

    "Yah, well, /this/ plate," Quentyn nods, "She probably knows more about Chocobo." He looks around at the courtyards and all the buildings peeking up beyond once more, and nods mildly in agreement.

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "I have armor, too. I'm not sure what I would say my specialty is. Magic feels a bit more natural than swordplay, but... using the two together feels best. I'm not sure how I'd fare against people dedicating themselves to only one craft. I like the versatility though, especially against the Heartless. Since they change shape and tactics a lot, being able to do a bit of everything beats being taken by surprise when your only thing doesn't work."

    Aqua nods slowly at the explanation that guns are just weapons, and not a Job-thing. The terminology, slowly, is starting to sink in. "I think I heard about that. Gunpowder? It's used for cannons too. Just... don't ask me how that works."

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn tilts his head as though listening to something else for a moment. He flashes an apologetic smile to Aqua and says, "Sorry, just a sec." He turns away for a moment, murmuring back and forth about something--on the radio?--but soon enough he turns back. "Yah, I mean, some people have jobs that are versatile, but a lot of us kinda only have the talent to specialize. I can't really fight very well on my own. Sounds like you could," he grins enviously. About the non-magic guns, Quentyn just gives a big shrug. Mysteries of the Multiverse.

    Quentyn's quiet for a long, long moment. Thinking over something from the look of him. At long last he takes off his glasses long enough to rub his eyes, then slides them back on. "Yah, so... if we can beat back those Heartless, you'll maybe find your memories again? ...Or is it not connected?"

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "I guess I don't have a choice, fighting alone. So it's good I can," Aqua nods, and then considers the question. She doesn't know, bluntly. Might as well be honest. "I'm not sure. I might regain them over time, or it might be tied to the Heartless. I don't really know what happened to make me lose them, so guessing what it would take to make them return is pretty hard. I try not to worry about it. There's nothing I can do. Maybe I'll meet someone who can someday, but if I let it bother me all it'll do is slow me down. I'm more interested in protecting people... I think. I remember that's what I want to do, so I'm sticking with it."

    Blue eyes lock onto Quentyn as Aqua turns fully to stare at him in the eyes. "What about you? What do you want to use your talent for when you're not a student anymore?"

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    "Yah um, I don't know if I'll be on the ground for this but if you find out about anything that could help, I can pass it on to whoever is on the ground."

    Quentyn follows along right until that last question catches him a bit off guard. His gaze slides away from Aqua's. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, then just keeps it closed as he sits back and thinks on it for a bit. "Um." More thinking. "I guess, keep on being a white mage is the obvious answer..." Also not really much of an answer.

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "I'll let you know," Aqua says, before getting up slowly.

    "That's good, at least. It's important to have an idea where you're headed. That way even if you don't know where you came from you can keep on walking, right? I should probably return their ball now..."

    Oh, and dismiss her Keyblade.
    Purple-blue light, same metallic shimmer sound.

    And now she just has the basketball, which she bounces on the ground once and catches again. She got the hang of that pretty fast, but she's a good learner.

    "Thanks for the talk. Do yuo know if there's an inn I can stay in nearby for the night? I don't really have a home, so I just stay wherever I wind up."

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn nods hesitantly and rises and yet, even with his memories intact, he doesn't seem to share her assuredness about how to approach the future. "Um yah, thanks for all the info." At the talk of inns he looks towards the direction of the Great Span, then back. "Most of the inns are near the bridge, but the ones further away from that and the campus center are cheaper." He fiddles with his glasses. "But I don't know if they take credits yet..."

Aqua (624) has posed:
    "That's alright. I'll figure something out. I'm not above doing some work to earn my stay," she says, looking towards the Great Span. Well, she's off to the sports center first to return their ball, and then she'll figure out the inn thing! Probably accept to go kill a few monsters as payment, or a fetch quest.

Quentyn Westwind (635) has posed:
    Quentyn nods and holds up a hand in farewell. "See you," he gives a last smile and turns and heads back towards the direction he first came from.