voidtreckernet | voice

Entry tags:

voice | rabbit 4

[Sometime after breakfast on the fourth day of Rabbit, a voice message plays over the network.]

Hello. My apologies if I am interrupting anyone in the midst of something important. Some of you may already know me, but for those who do not, my name is Rezo, and I have a favor to ask of you.

In my own world I devoted much of my time to researching magic and since being recruited by the train I have heard a few things about the abilities that some of you have. While it seems magic, or some concept thereof, is quite common among the various worlds, the way it works and the extent of what a person can do varies considerably.

I confess I have found myself rather curious about all this. Thus, if any of you are willing to speak with me about your own abilities and the magic systems that you have experience with, I would appreciate it if you would contact me. I will be staying near the ICP in the standard coach for much of today, if you would prefer to speak in person.

Of course, I understand that some of you may wonder what is in this for you. Worry not. I have rewards prepared for anyone who is willing to indulge my curiosity, and I shall compensate you accordingly.

[[ooc: since lore dumping and technical talk isn't necessarily everyone's jam feel free to do some handwaving if you think your character would respond to Rezo's request but you don't feel up to going into/making up a bunch of weird details.

~~and if you're wondering what the reward will be, it's a sticker.~~]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

“It’s an unfortunate situation but I believe everything necessary has been said by all involved.”

Rezo feels almost… sheepish, oddly, when she mentions his apology. If he has any regrets about observing Washington instead of helping him, it’s purely that the man now bears enough of a grudge to try and block Rezo’s efforts to find a way to deal with Shabranigdu in a Lina-less environment. And they’re in a small community where Rezo doesn’t have a saintly reputation to rely on, so that grudge is more of a problem than he’d normally consider it.

So the true motivations for that apology were twofold; first, to try and deflate Washington’s ire by refusing to escalate the situation; and secondly, to make Washington look worse, and therefore less reliable, by comparison.

In other words, petty manipulation, not motivated by genuine remorse in the slightest. But Lioriley seems to have taken it at face value.

Strange how having someone assume the best of you can be equally uncomfortable as having someone assume the worst.

But they’re not here to discuss Rezo’s little interpersonal conflict. They’re here to discuss Lioriley’s magic, as she mentioned.

“Well…” he says.

Ask her a damn question.

“Are you sure you’re alright with discussing this?”

There's a flicker of visible surprise on his face after he asks the question; even Rezo is somewhat taken aback by his reluctance to properly pursue this.

For a brief, fleeting moment she considered telling him that she wasn't; that this was a terrible topic of discussion and they should not be having it. But he surely asked it for a reason, right? Even if that reason was just research. It was probably wise to know the extent of your allies abilities and any moral qualms they might have that could hinder one in a fight.

"I am." She wasn't. But she trusted Rezo enough that he wouldn't go blabbing to the world about what she said - if she managed to say anything at all beyond the obvious mechanics of her magic. "Ask your questions and I will answer what I can. It is fine, Rezo."

Perhaps at some point later Rezo can look inward to figure out what’s behind his reluctance, but now is not the time for such rumination. Lioriley says it’s fine, so it’s fine. So Rezo straightens, composes himself, and thinks.

“...I suppose the first question I would ask,” Rezo says, “Is what kind of opponents you have had to face in the past.” Humans and other mortal races? Monsters? Evil spirits? He presumes her Alchemy mostly or purely takes effect on the physical plane, but…

"That is quite a long list." She said with as much stoicism as she could muster in the moment. "Humans, elves, dragonkin, an array of goblins ranging from those that can wield magic to those with spears and rocks in wooden slings. Undead, orcs, at least three powerful liches - do you know what a lich is, by chance?"

Rezo himself is also relatively stoic. Reflecting Lioriley’s mood, his usual priestly smile is gone, replaced with a sterner expression.

“I am unfamiliar with the term,” Rezo admits. “That and dragonkin, although my world has dragons.” And the most intelligent species, such as the golden dragons, were very powerful indeed. It was also a form that the gods, and even a few mazoku, often took.

He stands there, patiently waiting for Lior to elaborate.

"A lich is a powerful Occultist that has sacrificed their mortal form to become a diety, of sorts. Their soul merges with the Veil - a realm of death and shadow, that I have mentioned before - and grants them more powerful magical abilities, but leaves them as undead and inhuman beings of pure evil." She seemed confident enough to call them evil, too, because no lich she had ever seen had been good by any means.

"Dragonkin are descendents of dragons, but with more humanoid forms that range from lizard to snake-like, and all manner of reptile in-between."

“I see. Your description of liches sounds slightly similar to the Pledge of Immortality- that is a ritual from my world. It is a deal that a human may make with a mazoku in order to confer partial immortality. The human’s soul is sealed within a Pledge Stone, preventing them from aging and allowing them to recover immediately from any wounds.”

However, it otherwise doesn’t make them more powerful- certainly, not enough to be called a deity, even one ‘of sorts.’ Just humans, with the powers of a human and the madness prerequisite to want to make a deal with a mazoku.

“And with your Alchemy, you were able to defeat such beings?”

"Seems a dangerous pact to make for immortality." Then again, humans doing that made sense - given their short lifespans and their desire to remain amongst the longer lived races.

She frowned. "Not alone each time, but yes. I was able to freeze one - a lesser lich serving a more powerful master - and shatter him to pieces." And there is, somehow, a hint of remorse in her voice. Like even the undead bastard of a lich deserved some bit of sympathy. "If it is the extent of my power as a third circle mage that you seek to know more of - I can do much more than that. I hinder myself however; for I do not believe there ever a benefit to, say, flash freezing an entire settlement, or flooding an area to be rid of the occupants. But I could."

“It is.” One should never trust a mazoku; as useful as they may be- Rezo himself has often summoned weaker ones to use as servants, particularly for more unsavory tasks- their nature as predatory beings is as unchangeable as it is cruel.

Rezo’s expression remains impartial as Lioriley elaborates on the extent of her abilities. Nevertheless, his heart rate speeds up as she speaks of flash freezing an entire settlement. Of course, a Lunari and a lich are not the same as a shinzoku and a fragment of Shabranigdu, but nevertheless it does put him in mind of a legend from his own world…

“I can think of a situation where that level of power could be necessary,” he admits. “Do you remember when I told you about the Kōma War from my world, when we first met?”

Lioriley assumed, given everything that had happened on Osiga with the world eater and the obvious looming threat of its return, that Rezo was trying to gauge the abilities of those around them on the chance they had to actually fight the thing. And it made sense - because they probably would need to end it somehow. She had just hoped she wouldn't have to put her skills to such use again.

A brow quirked upward, curiosity evident in the soft "Oh?" She replied with. "I do."

“There is a great deal more to the story than just the destruction of Holy magic and the creation of the Mazoku Barrier. During the course of the war, a fragment of the Dark Lord, Ruby Eye Shabranigdu, was unsealed.”

Rezo’s fingers fidget, ever so slightly, under his cloak and where they are wrapped around his staff. This is the first time he has ever mentioned Shabranigdu’s name to Lioriley.

“Just one fragment already had tremendous destructive and corruptive powers, enough to threaten the safety of the entire world. That fragment traveled to the Kataart Mountains in the North to challenge Aqualord Ragradia to battle. The end result was… something of a loss for both sides. Aqualord Ragradia was killed, but they were able to seal the fragment of Shabranigdu into a block of enchanted ice, deep in the mountains.”

And from that, Lioriley will probably be able to guess how her own abilities brought this story to Rezo’s mind.

“The Demon King of the North, as the fragment is called now, is still very dangerous. Lesser demons and other monsters run rampant in the region where he is sealed, and those who have tried to destroy him in the past have either never returned, or been struck with horrific curses. But he is still confined to the spot where he is frozen, and it is easy enough for the average person to simply not approach him.”

Lioriley shivered. She had (obviously) never heard of Ruby Eye Shabranigdu, but the name still sent shivers down her spine; like some primal instinct suggested she should fear such a beast. If she thought about it, she would probably conclude that all her experience with otherworldly or corrupted beings had something to do with it.

Not for the first time during their conversation, Lioriley was tempted to start taking notes again. But in light of the seriousness of the conversation, and not wanting to interrupt him with the rustling of paper, she simply sat and listened - making sure she retained all of the information to catalogue later.

"I am sure there are a variety of similarities and differences between the demons of our realms, but even knowing that, it is possible I would be able to do something similar were any of the demon lords of Valsheria fragmented onto the world." A whole demon lord? Absolutely not. But if its essence had been in pieces she could probably freeze the vessel. "Are there -" she wondered if she should even ask, if it was perhaps a bit off topic when they were more discussing magical abilities. But now she was curious...and a little concerned for Rezo's world. "Are there more of these fragments?"

That is, perhaps, a cheering statement, although Shabranigdu isn’t merely a lord, but the unquestioned king of all mazoku who reside within Rezo’s world. A king in pieces, but still a king, whose power the strongest black magic spells can still call upon to this day.

“Yes,” he says. “The story, passed down through the millennia, is that Shabranigdu was split into seven pieces by Flare Dragon Cepheid, the original shinzoku.” And Ruby Eye Shabranigdu’s opposite equivalent. “About five thousand years ago Cepheid was able to do this, and seal those fragments away, but at the cost of exhausting his own power and sinking into the Sea of Chaos. He was able to create four subordinates before he died, so the power of the shinzoku persisted up until the Kōma War.”

He both desperately wants and doesn’t want to tell her where he fits into this story.

Thankfully, Rezo couldn't see the way she frowned at his confirmation and then continued explanation, even if he likely knew her well enough to assume she was displeased by all of it. Why was every world plagued with such chaos - and why was every attempt to destroy or banish them always thwarted in such a short amount of time (for a Lunari anyway)?

"And what of the other pieces? Where are they?"

“There are many stories about that,” Rezo says slowly. “The most prevalent is that the pieces were sealed away within the souls of human beings, in the hopes that the cycle of death and rebirth would gradually purify them over the course of time. The Demon King of the North was one such case, having awoken within the soul of a prominent sorcerer named Lei Magnus.”

Rezo could tell Lioriley a great deal about Lei Magnus, not as a person- the man had lived and “died” long before Rezo was born- but in terms of the work the sorcerer had done before being overtaken by his fragment. Some of the most powerful spells of black and shamanistic magic had been developed by the man.

“There are, however, theories that the others can be found in different places. Sealed away in the souls of other species such as elves and dragons- although if the intent were to purify the fragments then such species would be less than ideal due to their long lifespans. Or sealed away in magical artifacts, or locations that would be difficult to disturb.”

Such as a thousand-year old abandoned tower, residing in the heart of a lifeless wasteland. Rezo had been convinced that Lei Magnus had somehow stored a fragment within the structure, had believed it desperately, with the same solid conviction that he knew the Demon Sea to be salty and sunlight to be warm. He could have sworn that whenever he was there he could have practically felt the presence of Shabranigdu pressing down upon him as if it were a tangible force.

Gods, he was such an idiot.

The longer he spoke, the more concerned Lioriley became. Of course the back and forth had allowed their conversation to naturally progress to this point, and given Rezo's nature as a scholar and a priest, it made sense that he would have great knowledge of demons and the fragments that had been tossed into various vessels. But she still had to wonder how — and if — this had anything to do with his questioning of fellow voidtreckers concerning their own magical abilities. Moreover, how it related to her own abilities.

"But a human vessel would be ideal, given their lifespans." She confirmed, still frowning. Her mind didn't immediately jump to 'oh my god Rezo has a fragment in his soul' or anything like that — but she did wonder if he was asking for help in some form.

"Is this why you are curious to the talents of other magic users aboard the train? Do you... are you in need of help?" for himself, for someone else, for the world he hailed from?

Well. That is the obvious question, isn’t it, but it doesn’t stop Rezo from looking momentarily alarmed, thinking that she must have guessed his secret. It takes another moment for her words to properly register and realize she isn’t accusing him of being another fragment, and he desperately tries to will his heart rate back to normal.

“No, I- Forgive me. I suppose I let myself get carried away there.” It’s almost not a lie, he thinks, as he pastes on a reassuring smile. Technically, he isn’t in need of any help, not right now. The piece within him lies dormant, if it’s even still there at all. Perhaps he’ll never need to call upon Lioriley, or anyone else, to destroy him.

When has he ever been that fortunate, however?

“Although I will admit, it is reassuring to know that if that level of threat were to appear, there is someone who could help with it.”

Rezo always pinged her inherent magic sense, but nothing about him had ever felt malicious or wrong beyond the strangeness that came with new forms of magic bouncing off her own. And maybe, somewhere deep deep down she considered he might have been involved, somehow, in the whole ordeal he described — but it hadn't made itself prominent enough to accuse him of such a thing. Not to mention the fact that she had no evidence and would be working on a hunch that may upset him if she were wrong. (Or would it upset him more if she was right?)

She noted the shift in expression, then noted the return of the smile with no obvious indication that she had — thankful then that he could not see the way her brows furrowed and her leylines flickered while she tried to work through the myriad of thoughts cycling in her mind.

"Rezo." She said, reaching out to gently rest her hand atop his. "You know that if you need assistance — with anything — you can ask me... yes? Just so we are clear."

There is, Rezo suspects, doubt behind her statement, doubt that everything is as well as he claims. He is unsure if he is just terrible at lying to her, if she is simply very observant, or if anyone would be alarmed after hearing such a story.

Meanwhile, the touch of her hand surprises him, and he tenses, but does not pull away.

“Lioriley…” He tilts his hand, cautiously threading his fingers between her own. He can feel the leylines that ring around her fingers, and he finds he has to resist the urge to stroke them with his thumb.

“Thank you. You have always been kind to me, and have always been trying to help me, ever since I arrived.” When she’d seen him loitering, overwhelmed and bewildered, upon the train platform, and had been worried enough for his safety to approach him.

“I cannot say I fully understand why, but truly, it has always touched me.”

All of the above, perhaps.

She did not think to pull away either when he tensed, knowing full well a blind man couldn't see her hand coming and would ultimately be surprised by the touch even if she had done it a thousand times before. Instead she just waited; squeezed his hand gently.

"You do not have to thank me for doing what any would do in my situation — but, you are very welcome, my friend." She replied, taking the initiative he hadn't and slowly smoothing her thumb along his knuckles — once, twice, and then a few times more. "I only wish the best for you, Rezo." a beat. Rezo might even feel the surge of magic as her leylines pulsed a little faster. "You are very important to me."

The touch of her thumb is a pleasant addition to the already pleasant feeling of her hand in his own. He can feel her pulse, reassuring and steady, through her leylines, and notices when it starts to speed up.

“Ah…”

…Or maybe it’s his own that speeds up. He is unsure what she means by her words, or how he could possibly be that important to her- they have not known each other that long, after all, and while he could understand it if maybe she were like one of the patients he has healed over the years, he has done very little of the problem-solving nature for her.

Then again, she has also said she has only done what anyone would in her situation… While he knows that much is not true, perhaps she also blithely assumes anyone would consider Rezo important. That, perhaps, he is important to her because everyone on the train is, that she refers simply to his inherent value as a person.

It’s a very kind way for her to look at others.

“Thank you.”

Rezo stands there, tongue-tied, for a moment or two, his head instinctively ducked out of an odd sense of shyness. Eventually another subject drifts into his mind, and he’s able to straighten himself out a little.

“Oh yes, I almost forgot.”

With a touch of reluctance he withdraws his hand in order to retrieve something and hold it out for Lioriley to take. It is a small square of paper with a glittery, golden sticker on it, shaped like a star.

“Here. I have been giving these to everyone who has helped me today.”

If Lioriley were not in complete denial about her own feelings toward the priest, this probably would have been a devastating blow to have such a sweet and intimate statement be — literally — rewarded with a sparkly sticker. Mercifully, she didn't seem particularly wounded... just really confused.

"Oh. I — thank you?" A faint, questioning lilt, mostly because she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with that. Of course she took it anyway, letting the sticky star linger on the tip of her finger before she ultimately decided to press it onto the front of her notebook. That was... good. right? "I am happy to help."

Denial is a powerful drug to help one cope with life’s many disappointments, as Rezo could attest. Perhaps one day they’ll both look back on this moment and cringe, but right now the atmosphere is an odd mixture of bewilderment- on Rezo’s end, he’s not quite able or willing to examine the intimacy underlying their interaction- and warmth.

Or at least, there’s certainly warmth in the way Rezo finds himself smiling down at her.

“I know,” he says. “But it is only fair that I give you something.” Even if it’s something she clearly has no idea what to do with; but it’s not like he can just pay her, or anyone else for their time. Would she even enjoy having money? What would she even buy with it?

“What sort of things do you like? This particular reward only seems to have confused you.”

It seems like it would be worth him knowing. You know, in case he has to ask her more questions in the future.

Lioriley didn't think she needed to be rewarded for offering information he had politely requested, and if asked would even say that what he had told her in turn was rewarding enough.

She also knew when to just accept things and not waste everyone's time arguing about stickers. So she kept it, and it would likely remain on her notebook until it fell off.

"I just did not anticipate it." She explained, suddenly uncertain if she should divulge her likes on the chance he was going to go out of his way to find things to give her after future conversations. "I believe you know the majority of my likes already. Books, various teas, flowers of a particularly dangerous variety I would not expect any to try and handle." Wait...did he know that last one?

Well…

“I do not think I was aware of the last one. Could you elaborate on that?” he says, tilting his head.

Of course, considering how much Lioriley tends to worry about others, he dryly adds, “And do not be concerned about my potentially rushing off to find one. I imagine it would be quite difficult to do so without leaving this train, for one thing. But you do realize that your statement will leave me dying of curiosity if you don’t explain it.”

voice | rabbit 4

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lior no you're giving him an opportunity to be cryptic and dramatic again

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