Player Plot: Let's Explore Mad'ni Shrine!

[whirluendo_of_puns]

Who: Everyone who signed up!
When: Around November 3-6ish
Where: The Mad'ni Shrine
What: Searching for the lost ruins beneath the Shrine!
Warnings/Notes: It's another dreaded water level.

Although the flight provided by Curti Center takes them as close as they possibly can, the Heroes still have to take a brief walk through the woods to reach their destination. It remains to be seen whether the trip will be worth it. After all, their hope of finding a Legendary Eidolon, or even just clues pointing to one, is based on little more than guesswork.

But, with the time ticking down towards the end of the world, they don't have the luxury of ignoring a lead, no matter how vague. A shot in the dark might be what saves them all in the long run.

OOC info and sign-ups are here!

Comments

[whirluendo_of_puns]

Uendo can't bring himself to joke around to lighten the mood anymore. This shrine is so serene...

He follows Frisk to the Phoenix statue and studies the writing for a moment.

"This isn't going to be the cleanest translation, but I'll do my best. Let's see..." He reads the inscription again, searching for the right words. "On Calamity's Eve, the Heroes of Light rise. For destiny to weave, the Four rise. From her lost world, a lord was formed. On Calamity's Eve, summon the Four to rise."

He pauses before looking up at the statue. Then at the painting.

"The Four... Do you think it refers to the four Legendary Eidolons? Or the four Heroes?"

[immortalmarshal]

Cor eyes the Phoenix, and the statue of the woman. The wheels in his head are already turning, trying to figure all this out. Upon hearing Uendo speaks, he also voices his thoughts. "Could there be some kind of connection between the two? Like, an Eidolen that favored or was connected to a Hero of Light?"

He then turned to Ashe. "...do you recognize her?"

[poisonwish]

Snow White approached the picture with Ashe, looking at the princess curiously. "How do you know?"

It almost sounded like Ashelia knew her... personally.

[littlemhigan]

Castor is half-listening to the others, but pays attention to Uendo's translation. She looks between the woman and the statue of the Phoenix, chewing her lip as her thoughts turned over and over.

"What if it's both?" she offers after a moment's deliberation. "Back in Eorzea... The closest thing we've got te Eidolons back 'ome are called Primals. They're called te being with prayer and aether, and all've 'em are, or were, figures of importance or worship te whoever was doin' the summoning.

"What if that's what happened te the heroes? What if they're eidolons now? Even that ain't unheard've back home. I know...knew...two lasses, personally, who turned into primals before my eyes."

Three really, but she'd take Louisoix's secret with her to her grave, if she could. She owed the old man that much.

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia nods, turning to Cor and Snow White. "She's one of the four Heroes of Light that sacrificed themselves after the final battle. I wasn't there, I'd already been taken back to crystal stasis, but I'd met her before. Briefly. I rarely forget a face."

She looks over at Castor. "You may have the right of it. The number four wouldn't seem to be a coincidence. Four crystals, four fiends, four sacrifices, four legendary eidolons." There's something else eating at her, though...

"That line. 'From Her lost world, a Lord was formed.'" She crosses her arms, looking at her companions. "What do you make of it? It would seem to me that...well, to put it bluntly, that the Lord - the eidolon - could be made up of the remnants of her world, consumed as it may have been by the Calamity. All that had already been consumed by the Calamity could not have been restored, but her sacrifice may have been a catalyst for something else. To be, perhaps, reborn in a different way."

[whirluendo_of_puns]

"You mean... Those four Heroes might have been reincarnated as the Legendary Eidolons? Or their homeworlds did?" Uendo leaves the statue for now and strolls over to have a closer look at the painting. "Well, Bahamut is supposedly still infused with Kalki's powers, so I guess it's possible the others are... something similar..."

He trails off. The woman in the painting is giving him an intense feeling of deja vu.

[pishirogane]

"At this point, would it be surprising? The sacrifice they made to stop the Calamity and yet it persists..."

It's a little troubling to think about, but getting caught in a cycle? And what would it cost to summon the other four Legendary Eidolons now? Naoto stares at Uendo, wondering why he trailed.

[princeandscholar]

Once he rejoined the group after the battle, the Tactician remained quiet for a time, listening to the others' conjecture; it was his first time in an Eidolon's temple, and while the puzzles were within the range of his Asterisk knowledge, this was entirely new.

"Then is it wise for us to be seeking to awaken it? Bahamut was said to part of the Calamity itself, as well." His tone remains cautionary, but neutral. They've worked hard to reach this point, and he won't discourage them if they wish to continue. His hand rests on his grimoire, even so.

[eternitymods]

Suddenly, all the lights in the room shift from blue to red. Most noticeably, the Phoenix statue itself gets on fire. Crimson wings twice the size of that of the statue emerge, its eyes shining of a bright red as Phoenix Downs appear and flutter across the room before slowly falling onto the ground.

Then, a voice raises from the statue. The voice is deep and resounds as if there was an echo in the room, even though there is none. Translation skills are not effective for this speech.

None of the present characters can understand what the voice says.

".̴͢͢͜.͘҉̢.̸̸̡̡.̧.̷̸͟҉.́͟͜͢͟.̶͜͜͟͡.̀.͏̧.̷̸̕͟͢.͏̵͢.̸̷͘͟.͘.̵̷̷.̶̨̛̛͝.̛͏.͢͢.̶͟.̵̢͘͢͢.̴̡̢.̵̀͡.҉̶.̕͢͞͠.̴̨҉.̴͢͢͜.͘҉̢.̸̸̡̡.̧.̷̸͟҉.́͟͜͢͟.̶͜͜͟͡.̀.͏̧.̷̸̕͟͢.͏̵͢.̸̷͘͟.͘.̵̷̷.̶̨̛̛͝.̛͏.͢͢.̶͟.̵̢͘͢͢.̴̡̢.̵̀͡.҉̶.̕͢͞͠.̴̨҉.̧̕.̸̕͝͡.̴̛͟.̕͡.҉̨͞҉͢.̸̷̸͟ "
".̴͢͢͜.͘҉̢.̸̸̡̡.̧.̷̸͟҉.́͟͜͢͟.̶͜͜͟͡.̀.҉̨͞҉͢.̸̷̸͟ "
".̴͢͢͜.͘҉̢.̸̸̡̡.̧.̷̸͟҉.́͟͜͢͟.̶͜͜͟͡.̀.͏̧.̷̸̕͟͢.͏̵͢.̸̷͘͟.͘.̵̷̷.̶̨̛̛͝.̛͏.͢͢.̶͟.̵̢͘͢͢.̴̡̢.̵̀͡.҉̶.̕͢͞͠.̴̨҉.̧̕.̸̕͝͡.̴̛͟.̕͡.҉̨͞҉͢.̸̷̸͟ "
The fire stabilizes at a reasonable level and the statue goes silent. Only the wings and eyes of the statue remain on fire. Should someone have died within the past hour, the Phoenix Downs on the ground would be able to revive them. However, they'll lose their effect once taken out of the room and will have vanished within 24 hours. It would appear there is nothing else to be found in the room.

Phoenix can now be summoned by Summoners who have mastered the Supreme Skill. Its effects and skills are unknown.