[IC] TotMV:G2: Val Habar and the Terrible Tigrex

[Astrorious]

Vora stood there for a second to comprehend what had been said. She looked back up at the creature on the ceiling. "Again, seems a bit too convenient, but I can accept it based on other observations I have made... So what problem are we solving on this world? I would like to get on with it if we can, and if its finished, when do we leave for the next?"

[Strider]

Liliya-Servants' Quarters

 

"What sort of things do you need magic terraforming for?" If Masaru thought that magic was necessary to terraform for a large city, perhaps there was some inconvenience that didn't exist in her world? "Most of the construction in my place would be smoothing out the earth, building foundations, cutting down forests," she scowled, then continued, "and that sort of thing. Is there something else stopping you from creating large cities? Maybe lots of mountains or harsh terrain? Hmm. Maybe populations don't grow so quickly...I mean, most of the great projects of my time took lots of work by huge groups..." Her other idea was that perhaps with magic, people had grown complacent, and felt no need to expand in order to increase chances of survival. However, his rather outrageous sword seemed and indicator that that might not be the case.

[kj1225]

"Wow, you guys have much nicer worlds than I do. Most towns are like, twenty people tops before the local wildlife needs nearly constant culling."

Despite the less than happy words, Andre sounds somewhat excited. If the creatures on other worlds don't commonly go out and get kill then that means that according to the BS rules of magical power, the creatures would get older and be more powerful on average. Which means that they would be harder to fight and thus more rewarding. Of course, all these conclusions are happening in his head so the others would just see Andre slowly beginning to hop up and down as he gets more excited by the thought.

[Sutoratosu]

"Do not look at me. I am not the one who brought us to this place, the mage was. Ask the orc or the Muscle-bound Fleshbag why we're here, they were the ones doing her dirty work earlier. Something about a big monster needing killing, I believe. No matter. Nor do I know this place is... controlled when we leave. All I feel is a deep rumbling from the depths of the place, a rush of ambient energy... and then white noise.... static as we move."

      "If you don't know when this thing gets moving again, then answer this, who's the leader around here?" The question came almost as an accusation from the Albino, eyes scrutinizing the spider with every word... her explanation had been better than any other she'd received thus far, but just how much information was the arachnid witholding from them still? Or perhaps it was just her presence that made Ghost uneasy... anything that could radiate raw force like a full-fledged Deva was not to be taken at face value...

     "Ha...hahahahahahahahahaaaaaa.... aaaaaaaaaah foolish little Albino, if you had seen half the non-sense that went on earlier like I did, then you would know immediately... at this moment, there is no leader. This organization is entirely mercenary in it's form, each one their own party and professional, simply working with one another for the sake of a shared cause... and the fact that most of them probably don't know how to get back to their home worlds and the lives they once had... myself included."

     "Then I have every reason in the world to be even more worried than I already am," with that grim remark, Ghost turned and walked away from the glaring eyes, only to be stopped as the monstrous goddess suddenly called out mockingly...

      "And just what do you and your conning tiger think you can do about it, little albino? I see your stride, it is one I've been met with many times before. You think you are some sort of leader, off to bring order to chaos... or you're just an idealistic fool with something to prove, so caught up in your faith in yourself and your cause that the thought that you might fail horribly hasn't even crossed your mind"

 

Ghost remained at a halt, but did not turn around to face the arachnid

 

"Don't you get it? No one can fix this mess of a 'team'. No one can lead it, not unless they possess such a charisma they could talk the heavens into trading places with the earth, or such a raw force of personality, they could make the mountains crumble and flatten with a single reprimand so that they can cross to the other side unhindered. You're better off herding cats in heat than trying to take control of these vagabonds..."

 

"I have led more pitiful congregations of people to victory before... simply by being an example of the strength they must grow themselves." She answered, with a hard edge in her voice so fine it could've sliced right through the silk webs clinging to the rafters, "but I will wait and take stock of the rest of your numbers and their salvability myself, rather than simply taking your word for it, spider. I know not what your true nature is, whether what Tama witnessed earlier was a mere act or you've some schism of the mind, but regardless... I have gotten the information I desired out of you for now." 

 

And with that, the Caller left the hall, heading through one of the many doors branching off of it's length.

 

Ghost- Leaves the Grand Hall scene to head to ???

 

With the albino gone, all that was left was the spider and the grey skinned alien

     "And what of you then? I have told you two all that I have available, even if that one refuses to accept the later parts... if you want anything beyond my words, you will have to seek it out and learn it first hand for yourself."

 

[Hal Henderics]

Mar approaches Vora and the others, having finished his task.  He looks at the tense atmosphere.

 

"So, what have I missed this time?"

[Sutoratosu]

"The White woman with the Tiger ghost thinks she can whip the others into shape when they get back..." The spider answered simply, "She seems determined to destroy herself bringing order to a scattered collection of heroes and fighters hailing from literal worlds and ideologies apart, despite my warnings... so be it, she will see for herself what things are like, in due time...as for this one..." her eyes turned to Vora

      "I had just finished explaining to them both what the dying fleshbag had told us all, in the beginning...before the other one stormed off just now."

[Astrorious]

Just before Vora could answer the creatures question, Mar entered. She nodded at him, and let the creature finish explaining before he got on with her answer to her.

"I doubt she will be able to shape everyone up... if they are all as different as you say. In fact, I am starting to think that it might be a good idea not to have a clear leader... that way we are not bound to one person... being bound to one person like that is a death sentence for a cause of this kind... I don't believe I have your name... Ghost called you 'Spider' but the way she said it makes me think that she did so out of spite."

[Chevaleresse]

"Mostly the same thing that your world seems to use machines and labor for. The difference being, one geomage can do the work of a hundred men in the same amount of time - not that said amount is all that much." He nodded at her comment about the terrain. "Most of the world is covered in forests and mountains, yes. Cities don't expand very fast, especially since there are still things like warbands and magical beasts to worry about. Not to mention what happens if a dragon gets it into his head that a city needs to be wiped off the map, though I've only heard of that in distant whispers and legends." 

[Strider]

Liliya-Servants' Quarters

 

"Magical beasts, eh? Makes sense. That brings something else up: have humans always been magical? Or was it discovered? If you've always been this way, what about evo...no wait. Do you have any origin story for humans?" If there was some sort of superstitious religion on his world, she didn't want to insult that or anything. On the other hand, with such a different world, they might have been created by a deity and have proof. She was fine with the catholic church as far as the main points of faith went, but the creation was not her cup of tea. Masaru might actually come from a world with gods around to actively claim responsibility for creation. It was a possiblity, right? Liliya laughed softly. "I guess you can see, but I'm way too curious about this stuff."

In fact, this was a little out of character for her. However, a person's views and motivations change a little after getting sucked through a hole in the universe.

[Chevaleresse]

"Depends on who you ask. Lots of people say that dragons were the first things to exist in the world, and they created everything else on a whim. I'm not sure, myself; draconic magic can do some pretty crazy things, but I feel like if dragons could create life whenever they wanted, they wouldn't bother manipulating the mortal races into serving them. Others, of course, will say that this god or that one is responsible for creating people. My faith says that Nishiki didn't create humans, but he did fill them with the important things; emotions, intelligence, that sort of thing." He thought for a moment. He didn't talk about his religion often; he followed a creed that suited his life, not the other way around, so he rarely concerned himself with the finer details and origin stories and such. "I'm not a religious scholar, though. If we ever take a trip to Sararhiod, I'll have to track you down a priest if you want a better explanation."

 

"As for the origins of magic, I'd have to go with people always being magical. My sorcery comes from my grandfather, but there are plenty of non-draconic sorcerers out there. Wizardry has been around for a really long time, too, though I'd imagine it took at least some time for ancient people to figure out." He shook his head. "Poor wizards. Gotta train for years to do what I can do as easily as breathing."

[kj1225]

"Do you have cats where you come from? Like, real cats not the limbless ones that just kind of attack people on sight. Not that we don't kind of deserve it since we ended up reducing their civilizations to ruins the first chance we got.... But then, they kept us as slaves and made us do pretty much all their manual labor for thousands of years.... Uh, I'm getting off topic. Woops."

Andre doesn’t bother bitching about being ignored. Apparently none of these people came from a world where manners are common place.

[Strider]

Liliya-Servants' Quarters

 

"I see. Sort of." So that either ruled out evolution, or meant that at some point when this Nishiki introduced emotions and will, that he had also given them the ability to access magic? Probably other explanations...

"My world doesn't have magic or dragons, so our origin is a little different. The one that makes the most sense is that we evolved from worse creatures. Each child is a little different, and the best equiped survive. That's how we think humans came about in my world. Of course, we also have an origin story about a single god creating a man and woman, but it's a little far fetched. I mean, I do believe some of the other parts of the religion, but usually one group's not entirely correct. Things have to be mixed and matched. Magic's inherited, then? Darn, I wanted to get in on a bit of that myself. So what do you do? You got a job?" Liliya turned to Andre with an exasperated sigh.

"You keep mentioning things others won't know, and not explaining them. Everyone here is from different worlds! You just ramble on with stuff. I half think you just want everyone to ask you to explain. It's pretty easy to try to try to explain things...Anyhow, we have cats, lions about this big down to housecats about this size." Liliya gestured with her hands on to show the relative sizes. "They have limbs. They wouldn't really be cats otherwise."

[kj1225]

"I figured if you were actually interested you'd ask for an explanation. Anyways, cats where I come from are about this big..." Andre indicates it to be a bit less than waist high on him. "And they used to be this modern civilization or there abouts. Humans, according to Godcat at least, were created to be their slaves. Naturally, as all top of the food chain creatures do, the cats grew complacent and really pissed off Godcat with how lazy and fat they were. So Godcat is like "Nah, this ain't gonna keep going on mate." and so she took the cats' legs, arms, and tails. This had the most likely unintended effect of causing them to be quickly overtaken by humans in pretty much all areas. Nowadays they're mostly in scattered tribes with the occasional fort to support them. Not much more than an annoyance for adventurers like us."

Andre pauses and takes a sip of energy drink. Then he looks up expectantly.

[Hal Henderics]

--Servant's Hall--

 

Mar leaves, looking for stouter and saner persons to recruit to his ends.

 

He makes his way to the Servant's Quarters for that purpose.

 

"Greetings, I am looking for strong people to help me dig trap holes so we can get food for later."

 

"It seems everyone has been giving the food they had to Aurora."

Edited April 17, 2017 by Hal Henderics

[Sutoratosu]

"I have been called many such names by many like her before..." the Spider comments with a distinct tone of disinterest in the matter, "if you must have it though, My true name is Aurora. When you see the White woman again, do tell her to watch her step here though. The next time she dares attack me, I will treat her as I have many others like her: tear her limb from limb while she still lives, strangle her with her own entrails to finish her off, and then consuming her afterwards, before leaving her bones to bleach on some gods forsaken world."

 

A strange wave emanated from the spider, at the end of her declaration... like an ominous wind that swept through the entire hall. There was a nigh-sadistic playfulness in her voice as she continued, almost as if the whole thing was just a game she was playing with old friends "Make sure the little wretch understands her place here; it would be tragic if I had to teach it to her...so very, very tragic~ But I do so heavily despise being lied to and double-crossed, especially after I was so kind to use my own powers to bring her back from the brink of death. Her Debt will not be forgotten..."

[Chevaleresse]

Masaru - Servant's Quarters

 

"Well, no, magic is and isn't hereditary. You can learn it, it's just an arduous process. Some wizard tried explaining it to me once, something about reshaping your soul to better channel the mana around you. Not really sure, to be honest, but I've been able to use magic since I was born. As for what I do for living, I'm a professional adventurer. Usually exploring ruins and such, clearing them out so scholars can take notes and what have you." That worryingly familiar feeling of confusion crept up over him as his expression changed to match in response to Andre's ramblings about cats. "So, um. . . How do cats survive with no limbs?"

[kj1225]

Andre blinks. He looks really thoughtful for a while before shrugging.

"They just kind of scoot around you know? And if you think that's bizarre, they also hold shields and weapons on a regular basis."

[Strider]

Liliya-Servants' Quarters

 

"Weird." Liliya was beginning to contemplate the fact that Andre might be delusional. Of course, she herself could be delusional based ont eh situation she found herself in, but that didn't seem like something she could help if it were true. "So like an Indiana Jones type? Hmm, how to explain...he was an adventurer archaologist with a whip in some...fiction stories. Do you get paid well?" See Andre? That was how someone went about searching for things that a person wouldn't understand, and explaining them ahead of time. "I guess you probably couldn't really teach much then...So what sort of things can you do with your magic? Magic's a fiction in my place, and there are many variations on the idea. Haven't read much of it myself, of course..." Liliya trialed off, then turned to Mar. "Sure, I'll help dig some holes. What sort of beasts are we gonna catch? More importantly, do you have a shovel for me?"

[Astrorious]

Vora nodded, "I understand where you are coming from with that, but I would also like to advise not killing anyone that is in this team... there are not many of us to begin with... however, I do feel that she needs to learn her place. See us as at least equals to herself; and based on what she said, we need to remind her somehow that she is not the leader here. She may have been where she came from, but not here, and not under these conditions;" Vora looked down at her feet, then back up, "I understand your frustration; But at the same time, we have to coexist with everything here. Its easier for me because of where I lived before, but at the same time, it doesn't make what she did right. I will talk with her, but please don't kill her. If she continues, it might be beneficial to make a brig of some kind..."

[Hal Henderics]

"No, I am currently handling other tasks, I simply wished to know who was willing."

 

"In my own world, the idea of something that could not use magic is antithetical, any more than something that could not use water, or air."

 

"Especially considering how one can bring magic under their control with willpower from their souls, even if their souls did not produce it, and even metal machines could manipulate it through simple physical processes like air intake and whatever nonsense that Psychics and Bards have come up with for manipulating ambient mana."

 

"Perhaps I can test some people's Aptitude for Channeling, it requires a mind and nothing more, If I might be honest."

[Sutoratosu]

"I will make no such promises. Tell the little soldier what I have told you, from there, whatever depends entirely on her own conduct. If I am right however, and she is indeed like so many of the individuals I have had to fight in the past, then her fate is sealed... who knows though, perhaps my intuition is wrong. Perhaps under that rough and pathetic outer layer that is so easily burned by the slightest kiss of the sun's rays, she truly does possess charisma great enough to con the sky into believing it is the ground, or is truly stern enough to command mountains to crumble at will... again, I doubt she will last long. Now go, tell her, and whatever happens afterwards, do not ever let her say it wasn't the path of her choosing..."

 

and with that, the Spider Matriarch's eyes lost their emerald glow, and among the muddled shadows and blacks of the shadows, she seemed to simply vanish.

 

Ghost>Ballroom

"Were I still at the height of my abilities, that damn fiend would be reduced to nothing but a stain on the floor"

"Were you at your full power, we would probably not be in this situation to begin with. Besides, you did start this...all things considered."

       Ghost glared at the orb of crackling static and storm clouds floating before he, perched on a sizable peice of rubble near one of the far walls that made a decent enough chair. She had actually been somewhat disappointed, when she first walked into this room- even in it's hayday, she thought that even the smallest of the Imperial Auditoriums would've put it to shame in both size and decoration... but then again, that was an easy feat to accomplish when you had to accommodate several thousand rather than probably several hundred at most... and when you controlled virtually half of the known world, and had the proper plans in place to conquer the remaining half... arched doors, gilded ceilings, beautifully etched braziers, countless seats of marble and a massive, raised stage of the finest oak for performances and official debates alike, the entire structure designed to be an effective echo chamber so that no matter where you were, what happened in the center could always be clear...Sumur had certainly spared no expense on making her senators and her actors look and feel as grand as possible.

 

It was just too bad they hadn't invested as much in decreasing the poverty rampant in some cities- there were some slums with people who couldn't even afford to think about what goes on and is decided within a local Auditorium, let alone to visit and witness it firsthand.

    "What did that thing extort you into promising anyway, while she was masquerading as a half-wit?"

    "Your first born child." It... seemed like a joke, but given Tama's universally gruff tone with virtually anything he said...

    "Too bad, he's too busy off terrorizing the known world, and probably the unknown world too, remember? And I doubt she can come anywhere close to doing what I failed to"

    "It was a jest..."

    "I had figured as much."

    "No, truly though? I... may have promised that you would... supply with as much food as she needed, were she to revive you... enough that she would never go hungry again, at least-"

    "YOU DID WHAT!?" 

     "Calm down, it's not as bad as you probably think..."

     "Do you think we're fucking made of Gold Scilks, Tama?! How much do you thing is left of what Jehenna gave us?"

     "I know that off the several thousands worth of currency she provided, there is enough left where simply buying some merchants fruit cart off him wouldn't create a big enough dip to warrant your reaction."

      "And how long would that keep something her size feed, Tama? Hmmmm? You think of that while you were bargaining? You may have damn locked us into something we definitely do not want weighing us down, if she remembers and starts demanding repayment..."

     "Implying you would even comply with said demands if she did... I half expect you to fight her again instead, exactly like the first time..."

 

Ghost had nothing to say in response, for a moment. Her eye's burned like miniature suns however,  as she ground her teeth... 

     "Regardless, I feel we have bigger issues to worry about... like getting home again."

     "The best way to get home would be to help this lot kill whatever they're after as soon as possible... if these monsters of theirs are all dead and gone, there's no reason for whoever brought them together to keep them as effective prisoners here, us included."

     "Yes, but... can it really be done? what if they all truly are as dysfunctional, ineffective and hopeless as the Spider claimed?" 

     "The spider spouts bullshit" Ghost said, her corneas practically seething with crimson radiance at the mere thought "if they were truly so, then it's doubtful they would've been coherrant enough to organize into parties to go to whatever worlds they did. You recall the Rogerin Incident?"

     "Aye....heheheeheh ahhhhhh..." Tama replied, wistful "we crushed that piss ant rebellion in a single day... poor fuckers couldn't even decide on a war cry for their cause, let alone a proper strategy...at least not without cutting someone's throat over the issue first. Poor wandroughts were too busy fighting a god damn civil war among themselves by the time we even arrived to the city."

     "Exactly. That's what a true, hopeless army looks like. Every man for himself, held together by a farce of a good cause, but in truth each of them motivated only by their own desire for power. We both know full well the Rogerin's didn't die simply because of their lack of coherent strategy or their infighting though- it was because at their base nature, they were exactly the same as the very emperor they had once sworn themselves to."

     "You wouldn't have said that a decade or two ago."

     "Indeed I wouldn't have... but I was a very different woman back then. Someone who deserves to remain buried in the past..."

     "What exactly is your plan though, pray tell? I presume these 'others' will be back sometime soon, afterall, if they truly are just waiting on this rock doing nothing."

     "We watch, and we observe for ourselves how much of the spider's claims are true. If I'm right, which I think I am given the contextual evidence against her, it won't be as futile as she says. Besides, there are many other methods to lead, besides trying to directly seize the helm, which I have to admit... if there really are so many different people here, may not be the most practical method. Probably best to take a note from Sumur, for all they're worth, set up some type of system where everyone has equal say in the major decisions... on parchment at least, we both know how it turned for Sumur in the end..."

 

Death, Depostism, Corruption, and more death. That was the political landscape of the empire in a nutshell, ghost knew this better than many. Having been the Emperor's right hand was the perfect qualification to be sent to silence some more vocal opponents to his reign, especially when you could become a virtual phantom, strike down the poor fools, and take your leave of the scenes without anyone the wiser of it. Ironic too, given she'd been planning to use the same method on the emperor himself...

     "Regardless, hopefully such things should not be a concern, on a much smaller scale. A lot less Egos to go to war with each other, a lot less politicians with careers to prolong and wealth and status to sustain. And hopefully less people willing to step on each other if they think it will give themselves a boost..."

     "Yes, yes, hopefully you say..." There was an air of skepticism with him still, but Ghost decided to just ignore it at this point. He could try to nay say all he liked, but in the end, she knew if he was really that opposed to the whole idea he would've made himself much more adamant than simple sarcasm.

 

 

 

[kj1225]

Andre's look sours considerably. Apparently, Liliya had stumbled upon a sore subject for him.

"No, it was more like me and my buds went out and beat up every single thing that looked at us funny until we found a recently summoned Godcat, I'm sure you can guess what they are, and kicked the ever loving shit out of her. Or rarely we go up against a shit load of enemies while flying someplace so we get into danmaku fights. Danmaku, by the way, is a fancy word for us flying somewhere and using magic to shoot enemies out of the sky while a lot of enemies shoot a LOT of magic at us or one big enemy shoots even more magic than usual at us. Anyways, we don't get paid at all aside from the profits of selling off parts we take from things we kill or doing quests for people... Or from robbing the corpses... Don't even get much recognition for it actually... N-not that I mind much, I'm a hero. I don't need to be recognized or paid for my work, I just do what needs to be done."

Andre sighs and scratches the back of his head.

"Sorry, just a pet peeve. Anyways, I don't actually have any magic naturally. I imitate it after studying people who can use it through more mundane means. Which means I mostly am just really strong and use that to hit things really hard. I can Limit Break at least. Limit breaks are a technique where you basically unleash a ton of power all at once from accumulated pain. It's also used as a method for bombing during danmaku but danmaku is a bit of a special case. So I could teach that... Actually, I'm ready to limit break right now if we get into a big fight. My currently available ability is one I learned off Jo back home. It's uh... basically you wouldn't see it when I use it but if you have a... Stand? I think that's what he called it. You'd see me basically summon an orange dude who punches things so fast and hard they set on fire. It's pretty neat."

[Astrorious]

"..." Vora stood there a moment before seaking out Ghost to relay the message. 

Grand Hall >> Ballroom

Vora approached the white woman just as she finished talking to... herself again...

"You should learn not to make big scary things angry... they tend to make threats they can follow through on," Vora began, "Aurora threatened to tear you limb from limb if you attack her again, so I would steer clear of her for a while... that and maybe tone down the whole 'I can lead everyone here to victory' thing. I don't trust you that much yet, nor do I think I ever will. That attitude makes me think you are hungry for power; something that from experience leads to nothing but destruction of innocent lives around you."

[Strider]

Liliya-Servants' Quarters

 

"I'm fine with that, Mar. It'll be interesting to see the difference between m and people like you or Masaru. This won't take too long, right? I don't want to distract from your trapping...Anyway, where do we begin?" Liliya, was a little nervous, but she steeled herself, and prepared for what she feared might be an invasive sort of digging around in her brain.

[Hal Henderics]

"A bit of Backstory first, The four broadest types of magic user in my world are as follows."

 

"There are Wizards, who use special words and movements to control their inner magic, Channelers, who control their inner magic with sheer force of will, Bards, who use words and gestures to control the magic in the air, and Psychics, who use their sheer force of will to control the magic in the air." 

 

"This test proves your potential in Channeling and Psychic ability, since you are going to try and control my magic, which is neither the blend of all magic around you, nor magic from within yourself."

 

"Secondly, the mana used for this test will be that of Crimglass, Mana from my world changes form when it touches any new matter, starting with the air, referred to as "Thaumic", followed by it being passed through or over other substances to change it further.  Like a Passcode."

 

Mar summons up a ball of mana, which is nearly invisible, and looks like a heat shimmer in the air.

 

In his other hand, he holds a small red piece of glass, red in color.

 

The heat shimmer passes into the glass, turning bright crimson red as it becomes a glowing ball of light.

 

This sphere of blood red magic then sits in Mar's Hand again.

 

"Crimglass Attuned Mana, I have found, is strongly responsive to willpower.  This is a formality, as I am sure you can do as you please with that."

 

"Afterwards, I will have you move a sphere of Iron Mana, which bears the power of kinetic energy, but does not have the same "Training Wheels" as Crimglass."

 

Mar summons up another sphere, and forces it to touch a piece of iron from that same sack he dug the glass splinter from, it becomes a cyan ball of glowing light.

 

He holds both of them up and in front of her.

 

"There is quite literally no wrong way to do it.  Simply will it, and they will react.  Simply intend it, and it will be so."

 

The Spheres sit there, Floating like polished glass, glowing with a fuzzy light.

 

"Examine them however you will if you wish to do so before you attempt, do whatever strange actions you think will help.  Understanding something helps manipulates it, after all."

Edited April 17, 2017 by Hal Henderics