aterat | Pulse 001

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Pulse 001

Speaking Crystal

[Mid-morning, a familiar voice rings out over the crystals.]

Good morning, everyone! We trust you've settled in well! We'd like to meet you all formally and invite you to join us in the fountain square this afternoon! We look forward to seeing you there!

Who; The Aspects (Halcyn & Athony) and YOU!
What; The Aspects welcome their new summons to Aterat
Where; The Fountain Square
When; Thursday; Mid-day
Warnings; None I can think of. Will update if necessary

The Fountain square remains unchanged from your arrival, the multiple tiers containing archways all dim save for the one from which Halcyn and her counterpart, Athony, step at the appointed time. Around the fountain, though, have gathered artisans, performers, and salesman as well as recruiters. People are looking for clerks, delivery persons, and people to run small tasks for them. There are leatherworkers interested in hiring intrepid individuals to acquire more exotic skins for their trade and various other ways to earn coin.

And then there is a larger stall built into the back of a large covered wagon pulled by two oxen. It's set off a little ways from the others, either to set itself apart from the vulgus or simply to afford it room. Two people dressed smartly stand a bit apart from it and will encourage any passersby to come speak with the clerk behind the desk. Emblazoned across the side in intricate gold leaf are the letters "MGB" and the callers will inform anyone inquiring they are representatives of the Merchant's Guild Bank, and that they are willing to negotiate investment in any business ventures newcomers may be interested in...for a modest cut, of course. They assure the contract is thoroughly negotiable and urge you to speak with the broker in the carriage.

All business dealings cease when the portal on the highest level of the fountain activates and Halcyn and Athony step through. She is tall, lithe, with flowing red hair and an aura of goodness and life that overrides any attempts to read her mind. He has a darker aura, clad in deep gray armor with a gem-encrusted sword at his hip and a formidable shield strapped to his back. The murk around his mind is just as difficult to pierce, and anyone sensative to the flow of time would sense these two seem to exist as though apart from it.

They descend the dias to stand at ground level, equal to the gathered crowd, but when Halcyn speaks, her soft melodious voice carries as though its amplified, though there seems to be no source of amplification save for a subtle vibration of magic those sensative to it may sense.

"I'm so glad you all came!" She claps her hands together, clasping them before her before spreading her arms wide. "We have so much work to do, as I've told you all already. We have been tasked with the reconstruction of this world, and we simply can't without all of you. The reason why is complicated, but I can assure you we require nothing of any of you that you are not capable of." She motions around at the square and all those gathered here.

"The people of Aterat are eager to welcome you as well, but Athony and myself will remain around should you wish to speak more privatly. Again, thank you all for coming!"

With that, the gathering dispurses into it's former form, though the Aspects remain should anyone wish to speak with them.

Feel free to post top levels to meet and greet your fellow arrivals and to explore the offerings of this strange new city.

Throughout the city, not only today, but at random times, a new rhyme seems to have been picked up by the children at play, skipping rope or playing hopscotch, or dancing in a strange circle. There's a haunting quality to it, but maybe that's only because no one's taken notice of its existence before:

Traveler, traveler, what do you seek?
Riches and fame make oaken souls weap.

Traveler, traveler, watch where you're led.
One turn left, three turns right will take you to bed.

Traveler, traveler, try not to get lost.
The dwellers in the mirk may well be the cost.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Illyana slowly turned her head to the man that had spoken and tilted her head. It made sense to think that in all honesty. All rhyme's like these had some lesson that someone meant to taught.

"More than likely," she said with a somewhat amused tone to her voice. "But who started it and for what reason?" That was the true question. What did it mean and what was it trying to tell them?

"I don't know." It was something he was trying to puzzle out, and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he looked back to the square where the self-proclaimed 'Aspects' were speaking with others.

"What's your take on them?"

She pauses at his question and tilts her head back and forth as she listens to the children repeating the rhyme again.

"I imagine much of what they say will only be half-truths." There's firmness in her response, as if she herself has had some sort of experience with similar situations. She has. In fact, Illyana had been on both sides of the equation. She'd been the one brought somewhere and given only half-truths and she'd been the one to bring people somewhere and give them only half-truths.

"They know far more than they are telling us." That much was probably obvious to anyone. "Why would they not explain from the start what destroyed their world?" She turned to watch the 'Aspects' as they spoke with some of the others and shook her head. "Why do they not want us to know what caused it?" Was it because they had contributed? Or..."Do they not want us to realize they are much less powerful than their titles would lead us to believe?"

With some of the answers he'd overheard, he couldn't help but agree. It was painfully obvious they didn't know much or that they knew far more than they were willing to say on the subject. He also got the distinct impression Halcyn knew more than Athony, or cared more at the very least.

"Either way, it's blows for us." He was thoughtful for a moment before adding, "Do you think they're half-truths because they're hiding something they know, or half-truths because that's all they know and they don't want us to catch wise?"

Edited 2020-07-17 01:15 (UTC)

"Oh something they know," she replied with something that resembled a strange half smirk. The smirk came from someone who had some degree of familiarity with keeping secrets from people one needed help with. It was clear there was a lot more going on in this place than what they were letting on.

"Perhaps I will ask them a few questions eventually. Halcyn seems...more agreeable." Or at least more likely to slip up and give some useful information. The nicer ones usually were. "What do you think?"

He crossed his arms at the question, turning toward the center of the fountain square and watching the proceedings. Halcyn was all smiles and gentle words that he had difficulty catching over the din of people and the gurgling of the fountain. She was either a horridly innocent or a damned good salesman. Athony, in contrast, didn't do anything to mask his annoyance at the crowd and seemed to be watching them as much as they were watching him, glowering.

"She might be more agreeable, but Athony might get pissed off enough to slip up."

"Is that your plan then? To attempt to anger him enough to slip up?" The amusement in her voice was hard to cover up. Now that would be something she would be curious to watch. Not that she expected Athony would really slip up.

"Do you know enough about him to know what would annoy him?" Said with the tone of someone who had a bit too much familiarity with picking up on someone's weakness and exploiting it. Perhaps that just came with the territory of having a bit of your soul missing. Or maybe it was just how her personality had developed after growing up in a hell dimension. Either way, there was no denying she found a certain amount of fun in it.

He smirked slightly at the question, crossing his arms and rolling his shoulders in a slight shrug. "I poke around where I'm not wanted all the time. I'm pretty skilled pissing people off." Especially when he got close to things they didn't want him to know.

He looked back toward the gathered crowd, chuckling slightly. "From the look of it, asking him questions gets him pretty irritated in the first place. Might be a place to start."

"What a talent to have," she said with just a hint of a chuckle. "Would you consider it a hobby? Poking around where you are not wanted?" There were a few people she knew that seemed to have taken that up as a hobby. Kitty was always the first person she thought of with that. No matter what Kitty seemed to always be somewhere poking at things she should just let be.

"Perhaps you can ask him a question or two and I can attempt to talk to the other. Then we can share what we learn?" There was no harm in trying to find allies here. Especially with so little known about this place and the people being brought in.

That got a chuckle from him and he shook his head. "Once upon a time, but I decided to go professional, got an investigator's license. Now people pay me to poke my nose into business it's safer out of." What was that they said about doing what you love and never working a day in your life?

"Sure, send me to go talk to the big man with the giant sword." He nods. "I'll see what happens."

"Ah, a private investigator. But are you any good at it?" If he actually was good at sticking his nose into things and gathering information then he would definitely be a more useful ally than she had initially thought.

"His sword is not really that impressive. I have made better," she said with just the slightest hint of a smile. "Though if you are too frightened I can speak with both."

"Enough that I get called in to consult occasionally." Very occasionally. Okay, it's happened twice, and once was as a favor, but she didn't need to know that.

"Wait, you make swords?" They were not discussing whether or not he found Athony intimidating, alright? Not at all.

Then perhaps he would be more useful than she had originally thought. Though she supposed that would all be determined by if he actually braved speaking to Athony or not.

"I can forge many weapons. You could say it was a talent I was forced to acquire for my ...work," she said with a slight shrug. When you lead an army of demons you pick up a few things along the way. "Though the most impressive weapon I made when I was very young and very desperate," she gave a slightly wicked looking smile. "I could show you that one if you wish."

Wow, 'work' there had enough air quotes around it to be palpable, and Jagger wasn't going to forget it. Most people had secrets, he had a few of his own, but this woman liked to dangle their existence in front of you like bait. What was she playing at and why did it feel like he was being tested somehow?

"Why do I feel like you're leading me into a trap?"

That actually got a chuckle from Illyana. It was a strange sound, not quite a laugh but also not quite a chuckle. Foreign sounding might be the best way to describe it. Like it came from someone who had not laughed in a very long time and was not quite certain how to any longer.

"Now why would you feel that way?"

There was something vaguely congratulatory in that chuckle. It felt good to help someone laugh who hadn't in a while, but that was Jagger for you. He was a helper. It's probably why he always ended up in so much trouble.

"You remind me of a cat teasing a mouse, but not in a bad way. It's only difficult to tell whether you're playing or if you're serious."

"You are not the first to say that," she replied with a tiny smile. In fact, many had pointed that out. Though, most of them had been decidedly annoyed at that fact. This man on the other hand did not seem bothered by her teasing, which managed to peak her curiosity about him ever so slightly.

"You did not answer my question. Would you like to see if it is indeed a trap or not?"

In his relatively short life, Jagger has gotten himself into his share of trouble, or more to the point, his curiosity has led him into more than one situation that could have very easily led to his untimely demise. Even in the face of things nearly incomprehensible, that curiosity had never wavered and it wasn't about to start now.

He crossed his arms in meager and likely vain preparation for whatever it was she was going to show him.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be, pet. Let's have it."

"You seem so concerned for just a sword," A smirk spread widely across her face as she gave a nod of her head. She took a second to look around to see if anyone was actually watching them. It seemed as though all of the onlookers had dissipated, wandering off in different directions to attend to their own things. It was not that she did not wish for people to see what she could do, but rather that she did not want to cause a scene. Who knew what might cause these people to panic or become unsettled. After all in her own world people never really looked on her kind with any positive light.

When she was satisfied they were relatively alone she began to summon her soulsword. There was a smell of brimstone as she reached into her chest and pulled out a large glowing sword made of white swirling energy that flickered every now and then with hints of pink and blue.

"It is called the soulsword."

"I just showed up here, in another reality, and I didn't even know that was possible a few weeks ago. I'm concerned about everything." It was meant to be a joke, but then she began her summoning and his eyes grew wide. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't for the petite blond to reach inside her chest and what? Pull a sword from nothing? He was acutely aware of two things in rapid succession: that no matter how much he'd prepared, this place was never going to make any sense, and that he did not, under any circumstances, want to touch that sword.

"I wager it's not called that because it sounds catchy, yeah?" The question was jesting, even if his voice wavered with uncertainty as he said it.

"I went to my first alternate dimension when I was six years old," she said with a casual shrug. If she was were less trained at the act of showing no emotions her expression might have shown the regret and anger she actually felt towards that. Thankfully she had perfected the ability to hide her true feelings about pretty much anything. It seemed that he had not mastered that talent himself which at least gave her a a slight level of amusement.

"It is called that because I made it from the only remaining pieces of my soul I had left," she said with a strange grin that made it difficult to tell if she was joking or not. "Souls are so much more useful than humans realize." The tone of her voice was filled with amusement and slight jest. Though the truth was she meant every word she said.

"Sure, old hat then, yeah?" Sarcasm could smooth over the strangest of revelations, if only his voice weren't wavering slightly. He'd always known there was more to the world than his limited experience allowed for, but for someone to casually state they'd forged a sword from their own soul? No, 'the pieces of her soul she had left'.

"I suppose so, yeah. Maybe if we looked into that, things would be different."

"Very old hat," she repeated what he said with a tone that said the saying was very foreign to her lips. She understood it, but it was not one she had said on her own before. So many things were foreign to her it seemed. At least her explanations seemed to leave him confused. It balanced out then, did it not? Besides she was pleased that he did not seem to be the type to ask too many questions. It allowed her to keep her mysteriousness up, which for some reason amused her.

"What things do you think would be different?"

"That must be tiring." In his experience, making comments which sounded interested but not pushing got people to talk more often than direct questions did, at least at first. Once you earned a degree of trust, that's when the questions were warranted and welcome. It was better to observe where conversations went, and which ones were avoided, to get a sense of who someone was.

"Value. People tend to put more stock in things they can touch, feel, ya know? Hell, most 'religious' people really only pay lip service to the Almighty because it makes them look good. They've gone and made even the intangible tangible."

Edited 2020-08-22 16:20 (UTC)

"Not nearly as tiring as time travel," she replied with a completely straight face. It was not a lie either. Teleporting through time used quite a lot more energy than entering and leaving the pocket dimension of Limbo. There were times at this point that she wondered if Limbo was not her true home. That was a thought she had to quickly push out of her mind quickly least she show more emotions on her face than she was currently comfortable with.

She chuckled at his comment. "Most pray in the hopes of receiving a blessing of some kind." She paused for a second and then added something else in a more sinister tone. "Or to avoid a punishment." How many timelines had she entered where the Elder Ones ruled simply out of fear of punishment? Too many. Far too many. "It is best humans do not look too far into the use of a soul. Mortals are not meant to know what power it can become. Demons are bad enough."

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