Sutoratosu Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 "Because typical humans are all too eager to kill any and all who are different." It was the first, and only, complete sentence that had come out the spider this entire time. The sensation of the words that came of their own accord intensified and soon pushed her into the background, as one of her eyes took on a barely noticeable tint of green. she continued, "So savage, they will even continue the slaughter among themselves, if there are no other races to draw it out. Creed, Nation, Allegiance, any excuse they can use. Humans mixed with monsters... simply an invitation for even greater hate. An even better excuse to kill for- lurking threats, just waiting, in their eyes. And when they cannot find true differences, they will create false ones, and let them divide the people. Humans preach, spout dogma, stand on a moral high ground of glass... just like Elves, but elves don't breed like rabbits. Claim that they are the pure ones, the heirs to the moon and the stars, heavens and the earth. They subjugate and conquer, each other, and other races. Those who cannot be broken, cannot be whipped, those who try to fight back...they ruin. They hunt, and hunt, and never stop, until it is done... no matter how many they lose." and with that, she seemed to retreat deeper into the shadows, though her eyes remained as twin glowing orbs under it's veil. One blazing with a bright, emerald green now, the other still silver as it had once been. Whatever pain she once felt from the curse... it was nothing compared to wave of raw will that had come over her, the flood of mingled, turbulent emotion that gave positively no fucks about any muzzle, a wave of memories long old, memories of war, memories of castle walls and sealing gates... memories that once belonged to a being who would speak her mind freely, gods and devils alike be damned. A wave that came from apart of herself she thought dead or missing or both, much like... A part that had escaped the purge. "Humans by their very nature... try to exterminate or enslave any and all monsters and odd ones, once they are found, Dragon. Doesn't matter... how much human blood they have. One drop of anything that doesn't resemble them, that doesn't walk or talk like them or abide by their delusional little view of the world, and that is it, their fate is sealed. but by their very deeds, Humans prove themselves nothing more than beasts themselves, driven by base paranoia and mistaking their ridiculous penchant for xenophobia to be a pitiful righteousness that most will cling to up until the very moment they die. Such is the way of men." The green was already beginning to fade...as her voice died back down and the dull throb of the flame started to actually mean something again. The twin silvers once more gazed down at the new comer, but with nowhere near the drive or purpose of just moments ago. The presence she thought was dead shrunk back to where it had come from. And with it, the sparse memories it had brought forth as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevaleresse Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 "You're not wrong. People can be pretty damn quick to jump to violence. But that's people, not just humans or elves. They're not the only ones to do it. Have you ever seen what happens to a place after an orc warband rolls through? Ever seen how much of a hostage gnolls will leave behind? I won't say I've had an incredibly traumatic life, but when you get contracted to rescue a kid from snatchers, and you find them missing all but one limb because their captors got hungry? You don't forget that." He swung his blade around to his front and thumped the end of it into the ground hard enough that Andre and Mar probably felt the impact. "So don't sit there and lecture me about how terrible humans are, because you're guilty of the same thing. And tell me this; how many of them have you dragged screaming to their deaths? Hm? Or do you not want to answer that, spider?" He placed his other hand on the inner part of the blade, where a crossguard would be if the thing wasn't almost completely rectangular in shape, and moved the one already holding it to mirror it. Masaru took a deep breath, and then sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Henderics Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 (edited) Mar Shrugs. "I only know that Evil is it's own race." "Dragons, Humans, Monsters. Those names lose meaning when they are more deserving of the title 'Evil'." "Evil is too easy to breed, and hard to stamp out." "It can even appear in places where it does not really exist, like in the world of prejudice." Mar walks off as he ends, going into the forge room and begins undoing the mountings for the Brewery. He uses his Boomerang's Strange ability to speak to the Heartless he has cowed into submission. "How are you?" he asks it, starting the conversation simply. "I have questions I would ask." Edited March 30, 2017 by Hal Henderics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevaleresse Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 "Startled-nervous-afraid-wondering-curious? Do not like being restrained. Questions-master-self-wonders?" The creature's voice is discordant, veering between tones a bit too quickly, with words echoing and running together. At the same time however, it almost has a childish quality to it, being high pitched and almost innocent sounding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Henderics Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 "Other Needs, Wants?" "Goals? Thinking of Goals?" "Less Restraint is Danger for me" "Less Danger for me is Less Restraint." "Machine from before, People made it work?" "Talk is less Danger for me, any talk, no worries." "Not much time to talk." To his credit, it has been less than a month since he drank the swig of cloud brew, and hearing discordant and corrupt voices is still fresh in his mind. He adapts quickly and talks efficiantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevaleresse Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 "Want to make more Heartless. Want to fight-win-dominate." Something seemed. . . odd about this statement, compared to the previous and next. "Cloak-Men and Fish-Man put self in machine-fight-Heartless-maker to make work. Machine-self-energy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj1225 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 "You know, I thought the place I came from was kind of shit. But with all that I can gather from you guys, my place is down right nice. I mean, you guys got people getting eaten by intelligent beings and xenophobia and shit. My world mostly has angry animals and the remnants of the kitten empire. And the occasional eldritch abomination." Andre scratches his neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Henderics Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 "Make More and Dominate for you or other?" "Fish-man? Strong? Scary? Well-known?" "Good Talk. Restraint longer, fewer, or looser?" Mar finishes his questioning, getting a much deeper understanding of his conscripted assistant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevaleresse Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 "Other-dark-overpowering-self-other. Strong-magic-powerful-other's power. Scary-insane-strong. Looser." The effect seems to wear off; if it said anything further, it was an unintelligible gibbering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Henderics Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Mar Uncinches several chains, resulting in the chains hanging about 15% more loosely when at rest and not pulled taut. He nods at the Heartless, a creature ruled by it's gut instincts is simple enough to appease, if not to be respected for that innocence. Mar uses Galvinium Mana and Deep Blue Spinel Mana to make a Spiked ball of darkness, allowing the Little Sneak to absorb it. Rewards are needed, and positive reinforcement is a powerful tool. In addition to that, Little Sneak is given reign to take control of it's stone doll as well, granting it more autonomy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sutoratosu Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 "I never claimed innocence to begin," just as it was fading away, the adventurer seemed to have drawn whatever forced her mouth out again, seeming to ignore Andre on sheer principle alone "But I cannot speak for all monsters, only my own kind. Guilt and innocence though, aren't what matter here. Truth is. My kind, we don't fight what we are, we don't try to fool ourselves or the world around us. Where humans veil the blood on their hands with politics and excuses that grow thinner by the ounce; They say things like that it was necessary, that they had it coming, that any sacrifice is an acceptable one if it succeeds in the end, that they are nothing like us, so it's okay... my kind, does not bother with such excuses. We don't shrug the responsibility onto anyone but ourselves. and we don't try to project any other image than what we truly are- predators, killers. And as a predator, I've killed more men than I can count. Humans on the other hand, hide behind pitiful lies because they are too weak to shoulder the weight of their own acts, they are so conflicted, so at war with their own souls, that in order to accept the fact that they can commit acts just as base and bloody as any of the monstrous races might, they must fabricate stories, and false justifications... and they let them serve as masks with which they may go out and soak the earth with as much blood as they want, and simply blame the mask once it is time to take it off. But it is not the blood that is split that taints humans... no, no... blood is split everyday. Organisms are born and die in countless droves every hour, for such is the way of the natural world. Selection of the fittest, the strongest get to go on and carve the future, the weak die if they fail to stay out of the way. Even if humans claim to be above such base evolution, they too are just as subject. Every war they fight with each other, ever major conflict, every killing they have created among themselves, has simply been another point of natural selection. And for that... one might actually commend them... taking the future of their species genes into their own hands, in a roundabout way, despite being so unwilling to acknowledge their aggressive behavior for what it really is. No. No... where the problem truly lies, is in Mankind's fear... of his own self. The only race to walk the earth and dominate it so thoroughly, and yet still, he refuses to look at himself in a mirror without his face painted and blushed. Refuses to accept that one way or another, he is a predator, just another animal in the kingdom, just another link in the chain. Refuses to acknowledge that at our most basic components, we are, all of us, monster, beasts, and man, far more alike than we are unalike. He puts on a facade of imagined virtues and vices that do not exist in nature; there is no virtue, only life, and death. A never ending cycle, A balance...delicate, ever teetering. One that, despite feeding as heavily into as any of the rest of us, mankind still somehow manages to tip the scales far more than any other race. Takes more than he needs, starts getting greedy, forgets to leave a bit to grow back latter. No concept... of sustainability. In my world alone, humans infest the surface with their rampant growth in numbers... they pop out children faster than they can even grow crops or build huts to shield themselves, and much faster than they can replenish the world around them, letting it deplete and die with no real hope of ever rising again. How man fails to comprehend the very balance he was born into... I do not know. Even my kind, descended once from mankind as we once were, know to never kill all our prey at once, . We know that while we are predators, we are not above the cycle... that what we take will be exacted from us, in one way or another. Hmph... we could've brought humans to the bring of extinction generations ago if we tried... brought many species to it. But we knew restraint. We knew when to stop, if even for no one's benefit, but our own later down the line. We don't fight the chaos of our hearts, we embrace it... we don't fight or try to master our base instinct, no, we embrace it, work with it, let it keep us grounded, lest we forget our place. After all... how can you expect to hunt gazelles for diner, when your ancestors already killed them all and left nothing behind? Humans know nothing of restraint... conservation, foresight... they lack it where it counts the most. They Devote their efforts to the artifices and institutions they made, and in them try to seek some deeper meaning in the world, when in truth... they would find the greatest meaning of all, if they simply stopped fighting what lies buried in their own hearts. It is man's own fear that is the real problem, in the end. It is man's fear that sows the seeds of not just his own destruction, but the destruction of everything else in the cycle as well. He will not learn, has not learned, over all the eons of time he's been given, and someday, after he has taken and taken and taken and refused to leave the seed for renewal behind, the world will be able to give no more. And Mankind will cease to be... just as all races will. All because, a few little squabbling, hairless apes could not muster up the courage to face the fact that they are the same as the beasts they posture themselves so high above. All because they place more value on some idea of superiority and transcendence... are more fixated on their own... arrogance... than ultimate survival. and so... no one will survive in the end." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj1225 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 "Just what I love to do upon meeting someone new. Philosophical debates." Andre says as he does pushups. He guesses that Aurora's human's would probably learn to leave stuff behind at the industrial age like his kind did. Although the fear of monstrous beings might push that back a bit more... Atomic age is where recycling and treating the planet well would kick in at the least. Or they'll off themselves. Doesn't really matter to him, there's always going to be more humans. That's the great thing about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevaleresse Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 "You say humans don't understand the circle of life, and you might be right, but tell me this: for all your concern about leaving things behind for the ones to succeed you, how many great works of art are your kind known for? Do you have a great Spider Fortress? What contributions have your people made to learning?" He glares back up at Aurora, his eyes seeming to almost burn. "I've spent my adult life exploring ancient ruins, ruins that became such because the kinds of things you refer to as more 'in balance' overwhelmed the ones who built them, destroying generations of labor, turning their efforts into nothing but dust and bones and crumbling stone for no reasons other than what amounts to simple greed. They dominate the earth, as you say, because it will grind them up and crush them and their children without a second thought because of your vaunted 'balance.'" He shook his head. "Besides, a human civilization destroying the entire world? Unless every person in the world simultaneously lost their minds and decided that all life must be purged, and they all moved with a united purpse, that would be flatly impossible. There simply are not, and will never be enough humans, and the dragons would crush them before they had the chance besides." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj1225 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 "Wow, you are not ready to hear about global warming." Andre says, pausing to comment on the ongoing discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sutoratosu Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 "Perhaps that is true in your realm, then. Perhaps the version of humans you are used to, are a bit more sensible than the ones I once dealt with. And perhaps in your world, Dragons actually care about more than their own hoardes and their own territories...were you to come to my home plane though, you'd find a literal world of difference...about a great many things" The force paused, obviously pensive. Home Plane... Home... how would she get back there, eventually? Surely, there had to be some way besides just wandering around in some castle, dropping onto random worlds to do mercenary work... regardless, it's attention returned to the conversation at hand; home twas a matter for another time... Even with the visage of old friends and foes alike passing through her mind... or what was left of it, in this fragile, damaged shell of a body... "Regardless, from our discussion thus far it seems we are at an impasse... We obviously hail from worlds that are all too opposite each other..." Her expression darkened, just for a moment as her eyes flashed and burned out like an elder star issuing it's last breath of hot fusion before dying for good. Even with her form and position now indistinguishable in the darkness, her voice still echoed among the ceiling "And from two sides all too opposite each other as well... adventurer. Trying to get either of us to understand the other... is like trying to make the moon and sun swap places in the heavens." Yes... yes, It hadn't been hard to figure out what he mostly likely was, as much as he'd defended humans despite their follies. Even with her memories fragmented and missing as they were, she could recall similar snippets from the past... coming from mouths beholden of similar ideals. Rangers, Fighters, Wizards... Captives during the war. Crusaders in the war against Dour. It was spotty, but there were enough pieces that she knew for the most part the general theme of the nonsense they had always spouted when they were bound up... There were a few creaks in the rafters, heading away from the center of the room- had to have been intentional on the spider's part, given she'd entered the place and followed them earlier without a single noise. Within just a few moments though, there was no sign she'd ever been there at all, nor one of where she'd tread off to within the fortress... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj1225 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 "Technically the moon and the sun swap places from our perspective all the time. That's how heliocentric orbits work. And look at it this way, your humans aren't industrialized yet so you don't need to worry as badly about them destroying the planet just yet. But I'm being completely ignored since obviously the guy from a world where humans are pretty much modernized and not threatening the world with their mere presence isn't the one to listen too..." Andre says, salty enough that he could do a really impressive impression of the dead sea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevaleresse Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 "You weren't being ignored, I was talking to your spider. And besides, you keep referencing things from your home that I've never heard of. It would be like me grilling you on Nishikism." He rolls his eyes before setting himself into a more serious expression. "Don't trust that spider, by the way. If she means what she says, she doesn't value much further than how good of a meal you'll be eventually." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamitako Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Nessie A light fog drifted into the room, settling loosely around the entrance. A shadowed figure appeared behind it, becoming clearer as it approached. The figure passed fully through the mist and was revealed to be a young girl. She wore a grey cloak which seemed to blend into the fog. Her silver hair looked slightly wet, but not dripping. Her left hand held an ornate silver sword, it's point directed downwards and behind her but not down enough to be touching the floor. It looked rather heavy, but she didn't seem like she was struggling very much to keep her hold on it. "Hello." She said quietly, her voice almost a whisper. It didn't seem like she was timid, she simply spoke quietly. "I'm not sure where I am or how I got here. I don't usually leave the loch." She chuckled to herself, a hint of nostalgia evident in her pink eyes as she laughed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Henderics Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 (edited) Mar returns, having finished his buisness. "I've devised a much better Brewing Room, and set up shelves in the Forge for storing items whose fates you do not care about. A communal inventory, to put it simply." "I plan to begin brewing a non-Orc friendly brew, I believe I now understand more about the weaker palates of those on the ship." Mar noticed that more than 3/4ths of the things he would consider basic foods or even delicacies were nowhere to be found in this world, or indeed, in the one before, in the context of people eating them. He began to feel embarrassment then, but now he feels much more confidant with the materials he has at hand. "If you see the lady from before, please inform her of such." Nodding to himself, Mar wanders off to a room which he paints a golden stone sign on. "bRew", the sign says. Walking into the room filled with Blackrock barrels, black smoke floating around them, he ignores those for now, and goes to the actual brewing setup. Hmm. How to do this this time? Mar Noted that none of the humans were eating Metals or Minerals in anything but a limited powdered capacity, so that would be the first alteration. In fact, most of it was thin plants, juicy plants, sweets, and meat. Ok, he has it now. Mar starts by tossing one Aptonoth Steak into the masher, turning it into a meaty pulp, he mixes in honey as well, and steeps them in water for a few hours, until they are adequately saturated and prepared. Next, he heats them in the kiln, drying out the materials over a few more hours. The finished Dried Honey and Meat Mixture is Mashed into a fine paste, and then mixed into a vat of hot water, from there, to speed up the various processses, Galvinium Mana and Galvinium>Silicon Mana (Makes things react with less energy, and turns into energy that fuels things that are already happening.) is constantly infused into the liquid to enhance the chemical processes going on in it. This is then Flash Boiled, and Flash Frozen into a murky pale chunk of ice. Mar infuses this with ( Thaum>Chocolate: (5, 4) It seems this mana type inhibits things with a warm heat, intoxicating them slightly. Thaum>Jet: (6, 1) This Mana type Heals and Speeds up People and Objects made of Carbon or Calcium Containing Materials.) Mana, Then cracks it into a fine powder. This frozen powder is then mixed with liquid blood mana from the Preserved Aptonoth Heart. Finally, the powdery substance is allowed to melt in a vat, where it is infused with more mana to speed up fermentation, Galvinium, Galvinium>Silicon, and Death Mana. Mar Sprinkles in a crushed up Iron Ingot from the forge, thus finishing up the recipe. Final Tally: Spoiler -Liquids: --Water -Biomass: --Aptonoth Steak --Honey -Corruptive Agents: --Thaum>Jet: (6, 1) This Mana type Heals and Speeds up People and Objects made of Carbon or Calcium Containing Materials. --Thaum>Galvinium>Silicon: (13, 3) This mana type makes Synthetic Dark Energy when applied to Silicon, a Magitope of Silicon which Contributes to existing processes, consuming itself as fuel, on it's own, an aura of enhanced gravity, light, and heat consumes it's surface, resulting in a black fire burning around it and a mild wind whipping around it. --Thaum>Chocolate: (5, 4) It seems this mana type inhibits things with a warm heat, intoxicating them slightly. --Thaum>Galvinium: (16, 14) (Precious Metal) This mana type weakens Opposing energy, causing matter to become denser under less pressure and gravity, and for it to react in the presence of less and less energy. --Bone Mana -Flavorings: --Iron Ingot (1) --Thaum>Preserved Aptonoth Heart: (9, 11) A rough and unwieldy Blood Mana, Liquid and Dark Crimson, it is Highly Malleable to Willpower and Intent. Edited March 31, 2017 by Hal Henderics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj1225 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Andre returns to his feet but is interupted by the newcomer's appearance. "The loch? What like Loch Ness?" Andre says looking rather amused at some similar language parts carried over with the translation thingys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevaleresse Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 A young girl with light hair and strength beyond what her size indicated. . . It brought to mind someone from home, someone less than pleasant, but she clearly wasn't the other. The eyes were wrong, as was the hair. . . Still, he was cautious. Could she be another phantasmal being, or perhaps of draconic origin? It stood to see, but he sensed a strong magical aura from her. "If you got her the same way I did, you may be in an entirely different world. Past that, I don't know myself." He took a step forward, offering his hand for a shake. "Name's Yamaguchi Masaru." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamitako Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 (OOC: BTW, Nessie sound like she's from California, not Scotland. Blame tourists) Nessie Nessie recoiled slightly when Masaru extended his hand. It wasn't an unfamiliar gesture, in fact she was quite used to seeing other people shake hands, she just hadn't used it herself in a long time and it surprised her. "Oh, sorry." She mumbled sheepishly. She extended her hand and shook his. She paused momentarily (very momentarily, it was not an obvious pause) before saying her name. The muscled man knew of Loch Ness, and she knew nothing of him, best to play it safe in case she was somehow still in her own world after all. "Artitha Keir." She said. "I suppose it's normal for foreigners to assume that every loch is Loch Ness, but no, I don't live anywhere quite so famous. My father simply enjoys fishing, so we live near Loch Awe." Artitha's voice was a bit louder now as she actually put effort behind being heard. "Oh, and should I be calling you Masaru or Yamaguchi?" She asked Masaru, "I'm no good with Asian names. ...Your name is Asian, right?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj1225 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 "Odd. Anyways, I take it that you won the wonderful sweepstakes to fight monsters across the universe as well? At the very least I doubt you're from this world since you aren't wearing something made out of monster parts. Weird fashion sense they have here, but then who am I to talk?" Andre gestures to his lack of shirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevaleresse Posted April 1, 2017 Author Share Posted April 1, 2017 "Japan? My homeland is Choukosui, or Kibwe, depending on who you ask. Though I suppose if there's multiple worlds, it stands to reason that there'd be places that are similar between them. Anyway, Masaru would be my given name, and the one you'd refer to me with." She could probably notice that Masaru seemed to be looking at her rather more intently than one might expect; whether it was a reason other than what she was wearing was up to her to figure out. After a moment, he replied to Andre's comments about fashion. "Monster parts? I suppose some monsters have sturdy carapaces and such, but working them into usable gear would be difficult without magic. . . and then you'd likely get better results out of steel anyway . . ." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kj1225 Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 "I mean, that's what my new gauntlet is made out of, I could try punching you if you really want to test that theory of yours." Andre holds up his gauntlet clad fist for the other man to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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