melodiesofeternity | The Heroes of Light

Cor's been quietly listening to everything that's been said so far. And like many, he tenses a little upon hearing the name Bahamut. The idea that someone could summon something that no one else can, and for a possibly nefarious purpose on top of that... It leaves a disquiet weight in the bottom of his stomach.

After giving Gladio a Look for being too blunt, he turns to glance the youngest among them - the blue-haired little girl. "I highly doubt it. It's more likely that if it's sentient enough to drag us here by choice, it's to help stop it."

He pauses as he listens to Frisk's ideas and questions, perking upon hearing that last bit. He nods to the youth as he turns back to the Empress. "The kid might actually have a point, on that last part. Something that big couldn't be done alone, if that is the case regarding the summoning requirements...your Majesty. If the leader of such a cult is smart enough and have the right connection..." He leaves it hanging for anyone else to make any additional connections.

Edited 2018-08-22 03:27 (UTC)

Castor's blood was ice. She doesn't even taste what's in her mouth as she swallows, and is all too aware of the uncomfortable lump of it that settles in her belly.

Calamity.

Bahamut.

She breathes, once, twice, ignores the feeling of aether-charged air and blocks out the bellows of dragons circling in the distance. She breathes to not feel friends crowding close hoping that together, they can withstand the Dreadwyrm as the world behind her eyelids glows with a fire that not even Ifrit could hope to replicate.

She breathes as the Phoenix screeches, as bulkheads turn and squeal, as the last words of a Madwoman hang in the air, as she rolls out of the way of a falling Neurolink device.

Da was near Ul'dah the night of the Calamity, working. Castor struggles to breathe, watching hellfire rain from the sky. She feels very--

Castor smothers her own gasp of surprise, as she's suddenly back at dinner. Her hands have curled into white-knuckled fists, and she's all too aware of their shaking. She quickly hides them in the folds of her dress, lest anyone else see.

She breathes once, twice, thrice...and can hear voices again, instead of just her own heartbeat. People are talking. There's a discussion happening. Familiar voices. A quesiton dies on her tongue; she doesn't trust her voice not to shake yet. Best wait for the Empress to answer what's on the table first.

Edited 2018-08-22 04:31 (UTC)

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So much "quibbling" and then she decides to take a potshot at the employees. Owen couldn't stop the roll of his eyes. He hadn't dealt with this one directly but he had seen, and now heard, enough. Also, he was quickly becoming protective of the crew and damn if that didn't poke at his pride a little.

"While you asked a good question, please refrain from letting your feelings against us peons, as you put it, from getting in the way." A pause, his frown deepening, although his voice held some incredulity now. "How exactly did you believe that wouldn't be offensive?"

Did she prefer they didn't help then when they arrived? Just throw them out as soon as they were awake?

Ashelia clenched her jaw. There were a lot of words flying around. As far as Ashelia was concerned, no question was the wrong one when they knew so little...but there were more correct questions, in her opinion. She opened her mouth to ask one, and then snapped it shut.

Could it be true? But, why couldn't it be? With the Empress asserting their connection with this Calamity...

"Why us, indeed. The Festival of Light is a celebration of the Heroes of Light and their triumph over the Goddess of Death and the Calamity." Ashelia fixed the Empress in her gaze. "You believe we are come to Vaikuntha as the Heroes of Light. The cycle has begun again. Is that not so?"

Regis, on the other hand, is not that far, and he pours a glass of water and unobtrusively makes his way to Castor. Once her eyes are clearer, he overs the water to her, quietly. Not much, but something that can steady her just a touch. He might ask later, or he might ask Noctis if he can help in some way. (He remembers the sleepover, yes.)

When he speaks up, he is addressing their hostess once more, just standing near in case the lady next to him can use the support.

"As one of the Summoners here, I'm also curious if the researches at the Crystal Temple can use assistance in finding out more information."

[Welp, Owen beat him to the punch on being offended over being referred to as volunteers and peons, so he's not touching that. And he's not up for a repeat of the argument happened over the network months ago.

Especially not in a country that's entirely foreign to pretty much everyone present.]

Hey...just because she's meeting with us right now doesn't mean she doesn't have other meetings scheduled later.

Edited 2018-08-22 06:08 (UTC)

-Baiken, who had been as silent as she'd promised she'd be during the whole discussion thus far, was visibly losing her patience, eventually striking her pipe against her glass, putting a crack through it that split the thing in half.-

Let the girl get the the damned point already! All this wild speculation is starting to piss me off... -And her gaze turned to the Empress as well, pointed, and making it clear her frustration sat with her as well, given she set off all the squabbling and prospecting from the other 'heroes' to begin with.-

Edited 2018-08-22 06:57 (UTC)

[Klonoa has been listening to the conversation as it's darted back and forth in different directions. Truth be told, his head is spinning a little; there's so much to pick up from context, and so much world history accompanying it, that he's been scrambling to connect the dots. But he's pretty clear on a few counts:

Bahamut is coming, possibly to destroy the world.

The Empress has called him and all these other newcomers to wine and dine with her. Or, well, near her, at least.

And some summoner is responsible for this.]

"Lady Ramaa?"

[Klonoa calls out, his voice surprisingly audible despite his size.]

"What do you want us to do, exactly?"

[ They were too many questions for the Empress to answer at once. She begins by addressing how they know of the summoning and how one could be summoning Bahamut. ]

The Crystal Temple was built upon the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to Bahamut. There were such temples for all five of the Legendary Eidolons, but all were destroyed millenias ago. Yet, these places maintain a link with their respective Eidolon, or so we believe. The Crystal Temple is a facility dedicated to research on ancient technology and arts. And it is thanks to this particular link with Bahamut that our researchers found signs of a summoning.

Knowledge to summon the five is lost. But evidently, someone managed to summon Bahamut regardless.

[ She shook her head at the question regarding Narayana, and she didn't seem to know about the Moogle or the little girl. Questions about the other legendary Eidolons are answered in an addendum thread. And then replied in regard to the terrorist attacks that had occurred ten years ago. ]

It is a possibility we can not deny. Ten years ago, those events nearly caused the fall of Sen Devadatta. Had I not shifted the nature of our regime and closed our borders, chaos would have spread and our nation might no longer exist today. However, this left us alone and isolated in the wake of adversity. It is possible such people set this situation and now fester in our midst. [A pause.] Our nation is now stable enough to afford rolling back on certain of these measures. The Prime Minister was elected two years ago as part of an ongoing effort to restore democracy. And the Festival of Light was meant to be our return on the world stage.

We cannot fully reopen our borders yet lest we invite chaos to take over. But rest assured you shall be granted clearance should you wish to return or have need to visit any site of interest in the coming months. This involves visiting the Crystal Temple and other such facilities if you have the need. However, I do not believe you shall find all the answers in Sen Devadatta. We have already taken the measures you have spoken of— Seeking the source of the summoning, searching what means would have to be used to carry out such a summoning. Yet our searches have been in vain. This is why it is so important for us to cooperate with everyone.

[ Finally, she answers the questions regarding Bahamut. ]

According to a local legend... When the four heroes sought to stop her, the Goddess of Death took an Eidolon as her own. This Eidolon was Bahamut. She infused him with her very own power in an effort to defeat the heroes. While he used to be nothing more than a particularly powerful Eidolon, Bahamut now possesses powers once held by the Goddess of Death herself.

The legends claim his size dwarfs that of mountains and that his power could set entire worlds ablaze. Serving as the Goddess of Death's weapon, he became known as the Calamity Harbinger.

[ A pause. ]

Now, we all know how the legends concluded. The Heroes — The Heroes of Light — Were victorious. They were individuals pulled from other worlds, not unlike you. Odds were stacked against them and the situation appeared hopeless... Not unlike our current predicament. I have addressed the leaders of other nations already and shall speak to the staff of the Curti Center ere long. But I do not believe they possess the power to do anything. History is repeating itself.

I know not where the truth lies and you might not be Heroes of Light yet, but you are destined to be their successors. That much is clear.

[Klonoa frowns. He's seen that opera. And now this power-infused 'eidolon'. An ancient weapon leftover from a bygone age in a previous world... and now she's following what happened before to try and prevent a disaster. That certainly explains why they've been invited.]

"Well, you've probably already thought about this, but.. is this temple to Bahamut the only one like it? If the temples have a link to him already, maybe that's part of how he's being summoned..."

Oh... Six. Regis blinks a little at those answers, but they do cover a lot of the salient points - they're not the only ones informed of the issue, but one of a number of sets of people. He would still go for some kind of public announcement, but there's a lot he still doesn't know about this world, and this country in it in particular, so he is not going to offer advice. Yet.

What they will be dealing with, on the other hand...

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I'm sure we will all avail ourselves of the opportunities to learn more that you have outlined, since there's a lot more to learn. Including other places in this world which may hold information that is relevant to the problem." He has ... questions about the assumption that the summon was with malicious intent, but those can wait when they know more. He has... more than enough first-hand knowledge of how curiosity can get you into much more trouble than one would expect. Still, it is probably far safer to assume and prepare for the worst. In particular considering what Queen Ashe most recently talked of. "I have one question further, and you need not answer it immediately if you do not have a ready answer, but I think it would be helpful. You mention several times about legends. Are there collections of such legends already compiled, or could you or your staff direct some of us to areas where such legends may be still narrated? Within the borders of your country, of course."

As factual information has been lost, compiling and comparing different versions of legends might give nuggets of information. He'll be looking into such in other areas, as possible. And even natives of the Empire might not know such information - while the Empress, clearly, has been collecting narratives.

"Oh, and... earlier you said that Bahamut was being summoned, and now it sounded as though it is a process that has been successfully accomplished. Which one are we probably dealing with?"

He waits until the one who spoke up before him is finished. All of this has serious implications. Nothing that can be ignored. He’d said it before to various people they have to follow every lead. Every lead has to have some form of a check. He resolved to discuss with his fellow displaced about the Hero business, later. Shiro mills over what to say and speaks up, voice carefully neutral.

No matter what they need to know what these people know. “In the event the summoning happens, the worst case scenario, can Bahamut be separated from the Goddess of Death’s powers? We have to be prepared for every possibility. No matter how dire it is. As I’m sure you’ll do the same.” If they could pull that energy aside. It could be a last resort. But one they may have to take.

“Thank you, your majesty for informing us of these problems and giving us this opportunity to gather information. And if you do not have an answer for me now, that is alright. It’s an option to look into while we seek a better future.”

"Then it's time to start consolidating power. There is no enemy so powerful that it can't be overcome. Especially if there's a ragtag bunch of heroes gallivanting about."
There's an almost-dismissive wave of his hand. "I for one am willing to offer any assistance I can, if some maniac is off trying to blow up a planet."

I'd like to see some proof of any of this, personally. -Baiken leaned back in her seat again, reloading her pipe without much care as to whether or not smoking at this table was couth or not. She'd played nice up to this point and was sick of it.-

If an Empire intends to use us as its tools against an unknown enemy, I'd like to see with my own eye that this enemy even exists.

I don't appreciate being used. -A pointed look back at the Empress. Others may have been able to buy into a story about a world-ending power well enough and have pulling needs to save others or prove themselves in some way, but Baiken literally only wanted to go home. Anything else was a distraction from that goal, and she wasn't happy with the idea of being someone else's soldier.-

"...If it was successfully completed already, we'd know by now," he says quietly, breathing in deeply to keep his mask of indifference up. Unlike the others, he knows they aren't just legends. His mother managed to survive the very Eidolon mentioned. Or at least, a version of him. More and more the tiny hope he had that this planet and Crystallis weren't connected in some way faded. Though if he were honest with himself, it was already gone long before they sat down at this table.

His jaw sets. "I too would like to see proof of the summoning."

Finn stays quiet through the explanation and constant questions. He has nothing to add, really, but he does fix Meghamaal with a stare, reminding himself to trust his first impressions.

There was a planet-destroying weapon they expected could be used. They decided to announce this information over a dinner party with no evidence and a small fraction of the population. Perhaps it's true, perhaps not, but Finn's seen this song and dance before.

The urge to get up and walk out is clawing at him.

"If you want us to work with you, Empress, the cloak and dagger nonsense has to end. If you have proof, show us, or I'll be on my way." He did not like the notion of being used, either. At least he and Baiken were on the same wavelength. He had learned the hard way with Leviathan how gungho many of the people here were, and he wasn't about to be part of that again.

Your Majesty, first of all, thank you for giving a clear reason for your country's isolation, and transparency with regards to its transition back to an open nation. I commend your efforts and I wish you the best of luck in your process. [ She thought, See? Easy! If the Empress were truly malicious, it was doubtful she would so graciously give them such an info dump... ]

Now on to the topic at hand-- [ Ena, not dressed as much to the nines as she would like, more about the sevens, leans forward, her brows furrowed. Sure the question of whether or not this thing was actually real, and she would acknowledge that, but she had another question that was bugging her... ] This Bahamut is clearly bad news. Even if we don't encounter it quite yet, it would be best to nip this whole plot in the bud while we can. And it's very likely that our summoning through the Dream Width has something to do with this thing's summoning as well. My question is... Why us?

Edited 2018-08-22 19:19 (UTC)

The soft clink of china on the dishware was heard in the ensuring silence of the question "Why us?" as Nanamo took another bite. It was a hard act to follow, and she savored her bite of food, before setting her fork and knife down. Not to be rude, but this was a situation where rapid fire questions were being asked, words were being thrown around, theories and experiences being shared. Castor was having a meltdown across the table, and she pushed a goblet towards the woman for her to have a steadying drink.

The little sultana was the embodiment of poise as a waiter refilled her wine. Picking her glass up, she swished it about for a moment before saying, "The common man... picks up a sword, and becomes a hero. So it is written in many a chronicle, and the warrior of light arises once, twice, fourteen times to save our star. It is especially true of this star, and thus with the Calamity Bringer such an open wound to many amidst the table, one would think naught the effort and lengths to stop it."

She sipped her drink, before adding, "Like many, the emotions of the heart are raw, as they demand proof as well. Forgive their impetuous my Empress. The Sultana begs their requests."

[This is all so much to soak in. Heroes? Could they really be so important to the overall equation? Well, in that case, he's certainly not opposed to helping, though the others raise good points.]

WELL, WHILE I'M ALSO CURIOUS WHY WE CAME TO THIS WORLD LONG WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED PROOF, I SECOND THIS NOTION! WHAT MATTERS IS THAT WE ARE HERE. AND SINCE WE'RE HERE, SHOULDN'T WE DO OUR PART IN ENSURING THIS WORLD HAS A HAPPY FUTURE?

[He sets down his utensils, hands balled into excited fists before he places one over his chest.]

I JUST WONDER WHAT MOTIVES THIS SUMMONER HAS. WHY GO SO FAR TO TRY AND DESTROY A WORLD? THERE MUST BE SOME REASON THEY FEEL SO STRONGLY, IF THEIR ACTIONS REALLY DO THREATEN EVERYONE...

[ Well, he has an answer now for what is taking place at the Crystal Temple. Or does he? Can he trust this, especially in sensing that there are more expectations to come? Perhaps starting with a confirmation is best.

Orcelito has listened quietly while the others speak. Now the boy asks a short, simple question. ]

According to your researchers' findings, how far has this summoning progressed? Do they have a time estimate for the completion?

Vax'ildan has kept quiet most of the dinner. He hasn't eaten much, either. Ever since he was rescued from another trip into the Dream Width -- and with new memories -- he has been reserved. Detached, even.

He looks up, then. His eyes narrow.

Something to focus on -- even if he spots the way that Castor tenses. His jaw clenches; he looks sideways at her, the concern plain on his face, and then he looks back at the Empress.

"If this Bahamut was summoned... then where did he go?"

Bonnie wriggled a bit in her seat as her question went unanswered. She hoped the Empress had noticed her but considering their last meeting she doubted that the woman would neglect to notice her. Still, the suggestion made to her earlier by Yotsuyu was still bouncing around in her mind.

But questions she did answer did, in a way, give a partial answer to Bonnie's own. Whether she knew it or not, she was describing a moment from the Heroes' battle against Kalki, at least as was told to the moogle. It matched, close enough anyway. Whether her world's name for the Calamity was known here was still a mystery, but all else was there. Bonnie wasn't keeping near as fine a poker face as Takeshi but she was keeping quiet beyond a few murmured 'kupo's here and there.

But a neutral enough question does eventually bubble to mind, "Um, I hope nobody asked this already, or maybe I might have missed something, but are we allowed to visit the temple ourselves, kupo?"

Sparks pushed aside any food and drink that was near him. He's suddenly lost his appetite with this revelation.

"Aaaand there is it. Been waitin' months for that little bit of information to come to light. Knew it was gonna happen eventually. Heroes of Light, round two. Just what we wanted."

On second thought, Sparks pulls his wine back towards him and take a drink. He's going to need more to get through this conversation.

[Heroes of Light? What Gladio's getting from this is that they've been brought to this strange world because someone is summoning - or has already summoned - this world's Bahamut. And all of them are supposedly successors to the previous Heroes of Light.

All of this sounds irritatingly similar to the prophecy from home and it takes a few bites of food, some sips of wine, and a deep breath to make sure he's calm enough to speak.]

I would like to apologize for how I spoke to you earlier, Your Imperial Majesty. I was out of line and it will not happen again.

[He doesn't try to explain that he'd let his temper run away with his tongue because that's just an excuse and in a setting such as this foolish mistakes like that need to be rectified quickly and simply.

Despite his discomfort, Gladio's apology is sincere - no matter his feelings he knows better than to address Royalty like that. It had been rude, unbecoming, and unacceptable.]

If I may, what can you tell us of the previous Heroes of Light? And if we are their successors, would Your Imperial Majesty grant us any aid we may require if we must, in fact, handle the unexpected Summoning of Bahamut?

[See, he can be polite.]

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