Apocrypha Prologue

AURUM: You've been looking for a secret. The answer to a question.
AURUM: Maybe the question's been haunting you all your life. Maybe it's something that's been eating at the back of your mind for weeks. Maybe it's something that seized you just yesterday with its ferocity, drove you deep into a pile of books, or datachips, or orbs containing the sum total of knowledge contained in all the wisest minds of your people that have ever lived, that you couldn't shake until you found the answer -
AURUM: It doesn't really matter. Somehow, in your search for the truth, you've taken an odd turn, and wound up here.
AURUM: Where were you before, seeker of truth? Before you stumbled, sideways, falling through here and not-here?
AURUM: Tell me, so that your journeys might be recorded in the Book of Gold. [_]
Eidolon was… in hell.
The Mud Hell, the oceanic body stretching beneath the numerous islands above, home to fiend and fallen.
The sailors are warned against it's influence, always corruptive, and it's not like you can hold your breath forever…
AURUM: Then your journey was either very long, or very short indeed - ahh, that Hell. No wonder you seem so familiar.
A tale ago, there -were- those who braved the depths and returned unchanged… physically, at least.
AURUM: Ahaha, but the Hell left its mark, did it not? And now here you are, the sea's gift to me.
AURUM: How beautiful, this story! That you would return to us, here and now.
AURUM: There's ground beneath your feet, now. Solid ground. Air to breathe.
AURUM: None of it's real, of course. Not yet.
AURUM: Light delineating a hallway, stretching to infinity in either direction.
AURUM: To the left, tangled vines grow from the caliginous depths towards the hall of light; massive trees line either side of the path. In the distance, there is a fortress as ancient as the bones of creation. Beautiful purple venom drips from the ancient towers, coats the stones with an opalescent shimmer.
AURUM: To the right, ivory towers reaching up towards the heavens, clockwork cities chiming out, counting the eternal moments of existence! A massive orrery hangs over the world, bound by magic and law, made of brass and crystal. Your arm tingles, comfortably.
AURUM: Both of these are home, but to which home might you return?
Eidolon was never much one for the wilderness. He heads right.
AURUM: A good choice.
AURUM: The wilderness falls away like a child's diorama, cathedral oaks folding up and tidying themselves away under the light, fortress tucking itself back into the shadows politely.
AURUM: It seems like the city of brass and crystal and ivory ought to be impossibly far away, but none of this is real, of course, so you're there in an instant.
AURUM: The hum of the city surrounds you.
AURUM: Tigers made of fake fur stretched over metal frames bid you good day as they walk past, carrying great brass ewers on their strong shoulders.
AURUM: An orb of crystal politely shoos her children out of your way, and welcomes you home!
Eidolon nods in welcome and continues past.
AURUM: You don't need directions, because there's really only one tower, copy-and-pasted hastily, shrunk and expanded. You can tell because of the pixels. (It was a bit of a rush job.) Thankfully, one of them intersects the path of light, and there's a door, pencilled in.
Eidolon obliges the artist- he understands that sometimes, one must make a deadline.
Eidolon doesn't make a habit of it, though.
AURUM: "Oh, thank goodness." A rich baritone. Inside the library is a narrator's mad fantasy of a library - shelves stretching up to visual infinity, helpful little levitating step-stool elevators that don't look like they'd pass safety codes in any universe. There's leather overstuffed couches, and a mahogany desk with a green blotter and green lamp, and behind the desk:
AURUM: A clockwork man, although he's doing a decent job of hiding it, in an impeccably-cut sober suit, wearing a bronze, jewelled half-mask that moves with his skin when he smiles. "Welcome to the library, Eidolon. You're the first, so…"
AURUM: "…sorry about the, uh." He laughs, nervously, and gestures to outside. "I'm afraid I was a bit shown up, wasn't I? But I'm glad you chose to visit me."
AURUM: "Er." He shuffles some papers. "That is your name, isn't it?"
Eidolon has his arms crossed, two shimmering forearms entertwining. "It's what I'll be going by, for the moment."
Eidolon: "It's interesting that you knew that already, Mister…?"
AURUM: "Belenus! The name's Belenus. I'm the keeper of the Library, here. Did you know that, somewhere in this library is every secret, every piece of knowledge, that's ever been known to anything that ever lived?" He gestures grandiloquently as he talks, unfolding himself from the desk a bit too gracefully and standing. "Good luck finding it, of course."
Eidolon turns to look outside. "You were expecting me?"
AURUM: "Mm…" He pauses, looks up. "You saw the orrery, yes? They say that the positions of the stars influence the fate of mortals on whose lives they shine, and that the paths we all must follow are prerecorded in the heavenly spheres, and that a sufficiently skilled, et cetera, et cetera…"
AURUM: "…do you believe that to be true?"
Eidolon: "Hmm… yes? No? I admit I'm awfully influenced by the winds, so is that really any different?"
Eidolon: "Today, though…" He shakes his head, his domino mask shifting.
AURUM: Belenus smiles and laughs, gently. "I think it's rubbish. I just think the orrery looks nice, and the fiend inside plays a lovely game of chess. Just the other day, we played a game that spanned… what was it. Fifteen worlds, and all of their stories?" He shrugs, languidly.
AURUM: "Really, I got the character sheets in an envelope slipped under my door. Please don't tell anybody."
Eidolon fully turns to meet Belenus, taking care to billow his coat slightly. "It's fine, I'm not sure they'd understand."
Eidolon: "Much like I don't, but that aside."
Eidolon: "Mind giving me a hand on finding an answer or two then, Belenus?"
AURUM: "I'd love to. It's my nature."
AURUM: "I find that everyone who manages to find their way here is looking for an answer to a question."
AURUM: "Am I right?"
Eidolon: "You are!"
Eidolon: "How many does that make/'
[OOC] Eidolon: make?"
AURUM: "Well, you're the first, but I was still right, wasn't I?" He grins, nervously.
Eidolon 's mask narrows. "You are!"
AURUM: "So, every piece of knowledge in the entire world. What's your question?"
Eidolon: "Easy." He glides over to the man's desk- did he actually take steps?- and slams a shining hand onto its top.
Eidolon removes his hand, revealing a burnt, warped gil.
Eidolon: "Who tried to kill me?"
Eidolon: "Who sabotaged my ship, and massacred my men?"
AURUM: Belenus turns, the merriment dropping from his face, being replaced with a look of horror, holding two fingertips to his pale lips.
Eidolon: "Sure, there's probably dozens of dirty hands involved-"
Eidolon: "But there's always someone behind it."
Eidolon chuckles lightly, and the darkness within his mouth absorbs a little too much light.
Eidolon: "I don't -mean- to be overwrought about this,"
Eidolon: "But it's something new I'm having to deal with."
AURUM: He nods, gravely.
Eidolon: "So, my name, my appearance, probably one or two mannerisms…"
Eidolon: "Just a little different, until."
AURUM: "We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise."
Eidolon: "Wouldn't do if they figured out that I was holed up here, and came to finish the job." He winks
AURUM: He grins, a bit coldly, fingertips intertwining, as a brass crow with enormous, buglike obsidian eyes buzzes up from some sort of trapdoor/catflap situation in the floor.
AURUM: It's carrying a book in its talons, and it drops it into Belenus' outstretched hand.
AURUM: The book is gold and silver, shimmering, with stars embossed in… somehow even brighter, more metallic platinum, in the leather. It glows with the light of the moon and the stars, bursting at the seams. and Belenus is keeping it held shut with visible effort.
AURUM: "Let me, uh-"
AURUM: "Let me just…"
AURUM: He sets the book down on the desk, and it calms down. Still beautiful, just… a bit less rampantly otherworldly.
Eidolon: "Take your time."
AURUM: "Basically, it'd take way too long to -read- through every book in the library. I mean, time doesn't… really… it's sort of… not a thing, here? But, you know, it would be boring, I think?"
AURUM: "How many of those books are housewives' shopping lists, week after week?"
AURUM: "I'd get snowed in in no time."
Eidolon: "Oh, well, then hurry it up, will you- I'd rather kill them myself than have them keel over at the end of time."
Eidolon: "Is every written thing stored in this place?"
AURUM: "I mean, when you find your way back, it'll be the same time as when you got lost, haha. If you want it to be. Uh. That sentence could get really complicated, so I'm going to be careful." He steps carefully away from the book. "Mmm. Somewhere, yes."
Eidolon: "What if the answers are only spoken?"
Eidolon: "Your common swarthy thug isn't the best at reading, so…"
AURUM: "If it's a secret, or an answer… it's somewhere, here. It's just a matter of finding it. Living and breathing a story, swimming through the words until you can glimpse your prize, in the abyssal depths of a sea of ink."
AURUM: "That's… haha, not as metaphorical as you probably think it is, either."
AURUM: "Potentially."
AURUM: "Anyways."
AURUM: "The title of this book is <混乱大空ヘン : Anything Could Happen>. Auspicious, don't you think?"
Eidolon: "I'm fairly open-minded, so metaphors being more literal is something I'll remember."
Eidolon: "I didn't catch the first half of that?"
AURUM: "Oh, uh… haha. Moon runes. It means… roughly… 'A catalogue of the events occurring under the influence of the disordered moon'. Or… you could translate it 'Braid of stars in disarray'? Or, perhaps, 'Chaotic Luna Chapter', although that's a bit literal for my tastes."
Eidolon: "Chaotic Luna Chapter: Anything Could Happen."
Eidolon: "Makes perfect sense."
AURUM: He beams. "You get it!"
Eidolon brushes his nebulous hair from in front of his face.
AURUM: "I suppose you would, yes."
AURUM: "Anyways…"
AURUM: …he pauses, trying to contain a dumb joke.
Eidolon: "Don't hold it in, that's how one gets hurt."
Eidolon: "Especially if it's supposed to feel good."
AURUM: "…they say that books can take you to a whole new world..?"
Eidolon snorts, amused.
Eidolon: "Literally, in this case."
AURUM: Belenus grins bashfully. "You'll meet some others, there. Um, hopefully, they'll all have met me."
AURUM: "Maybe… they'll have met someone else? Try not to hold it against them."
Eidolon: "Are they already there?"
AURUM: "I don't think so? I'm not really… in a position to be certain." A strange thinness to his voice, here, but it goes away. "You're the first I've talked to, at any rate, and last time I checked, this isn't one of those 'episodes air out of chronological order' things."
AURUM: "Although, I mean, that's happened before?"
Eidolon: "I won't worry about it, then."
AURUM: "You might all get there at the same time, anyways. In fact, that's probably what's going to happen. I'm pretty sure I remember how this one starts."
Eidolon: "I feel like I should be more careful for the bit, what with the recent assassination and all, but-" He shrugs, helpless, the universe on his shoulders, literally.
Eidolon: "Are they all looking for something, too?"
AURUM: "I can promise you that you're safe, here. Whatever happens… this is just a story. That doesn't mean you won't discover things of great value, things you needed to find, even if you weren't looking for them. And don't for a moment think that stories can't hurt. But… even if the worst happened, don't worry, I'd come and find you."
AURUM: He nods.
Eidolon: "Aw, now I feel special."
AURUM: "I'm not sure what they're looking for, yet, and they might not tell you. Be… be kind to them. Be kind to everyone you meet."
AURUM: "Stories can be tragic enough, without…" He trails off, gesturing, lost for words.
Eidolon: "I'm fairly resilient, though, so don't worry too much." He tilts his head, slightly, and it's as if he's trying to look through the library keeper.
AURUM: There's something…
AURUM: Or there isn't something…
AURUM: Every time you double-check your perceptions, he seems normal…
Eidolon: "Is there something I should know?"
AURUM: But you could swear his eye-sockets are empty, at one glance; that there's a vast hole in his chest, at another; in one brief, hallucinatory flash you're staring into the eye of the orrery itself -
AURUM: - but, no, he seems fine. Just… a normal ordinary, bronze-faced, bejewelled librarian.
AURUM: "I… I've told you everything I know that might help you find what you're looking for, I'm not sure…"
Eidolon exhales, reaches across the desk to put a hand on the man's shoulder.
AURUM: He squints at Eidolon, ever-so-briefly, and it's as if he's trying to look through the galactic bishounen, then smiles tiredly. "We all have our secrets, don't we?"
Eidolon: "I suppose I cannot begrudge that."
Eidolon: "Don't worry, I don't make the habit of book burning."
Eidolon gives the man a pat before retrieving his hand.
AURUM: "Goodness, I hope not. Although, if you do need to borrow an Ifrit, uh, let me know."
Eidolon: "Oh I'll take the lot and doorknobs too, so don't say that too loudly around me."
AURUM: He grins.
Eidolon: "Just a friendly warning."
Eidolon: "So! How do I…?" He gestures about, in a practiced, drunken manner.
AURUM: "Oh!"
AURUM: "My goodness."
AURUM: "Well, you start reading the book."
AURUM: "It used to be, there was a page of the book that had a sort of movitty picturey thing, and you put your hand on it, and- it was all very complicated."
Eidolon: "Easy enough." He scoops up the book from the desk, looks about for a comfortable enough chair, and seats himself in it, crossing one leg over the other. Wiggles a bit. Making himself comfortable.
AURUM: The book goes nuts again when he picks it up, trying to open, tendrils of starlight creeping up his arms, wriggling around like a little puppy.
Eidolon: "Easy there, easy."
Eidolon: "Now."
Eidolon opens the book, and begins to read.
AURUM: It's beautiful. Starlight spilling from galaxies, the moon overhead gazing down like a loving mother, a wild laugh in her eyes, a silver forest spreading for miles.
AURUM: Truly, this is a story where anything could happen…
AURUM: A story that could even end with a miracle.
AURUM: Slowly, you fall forward, gently, and become a shooting star.
AURUM: Belenus watches, as the stranger is pulled into the book; walks over and collects the book, closes it, kisses the cover, reverently.
AURUM: "Safe travels," he whispers, and a tear rolls down his eye.
AURUM: Time to get to work; the others won't be so easy to guide along.
AURUM: He walks back to his desk, opens a book, and begins to write with sure, confident strokes, in golden ink that glows on the page.


AURUM: You've been looking for a secret. The answer to a question.
AURUM: Maybe the question's been haunting you all your life. Maybe it's something that's been eating at the back of your mind for weeks. Maybe it's something that seized you just yesterday with its ferocity, drove you deep into a pile of books, or datachips, or orbs containing the sum total of knowledge contained in all the wisest minds of your people that have ever lived, that you couldn't shake until you found the answer -
AURUM: It doesn't really matter. Somehow, in your search for the truth, you've taken an odd turn, and wound up here.
AURUM: Where were you before, seeker of truth? Before you stumbled, sideways, falling through here and not-here?
AURUM: Tell me, so that your journeys might be recorded in the Book of Gold. [_]
ClarafinaRosemont: The VIIIth tower of the Soaring Court. Lit only by electric light and green-caged flame, the moss that grows in its long-forgotten cracks glistens with every burst and new shock of light. The patient on her table - well, the corpse on her table, attached in six places, infested with the rot, far beyond hope of treatment.
ClarafinaRosemont: But there was still hope inside him, somewhere.
ClarafinaRosemont pries the strangeness within him apart with two hands, hunting, seeking, her medicine bag at her side, the tool she used to make the first incision on the other.
AURUM: Deep, deep, you went too deep. Hearts aren't supposed to glow, are they? But a heart is glowing, red like a coal, alive, little tendrils of red flame licking up, true fire, only allowed in the galleys, or when cauterising a wound-
AURUM: Sniffing the air, it smells obscenely like the former.
AURUM: Looking closer.
AURUM: A hole deep enough to fall into, the heart falling like a stone, burning a strange path through charcoalled flesh pulsing with lifeblood.
AURUM: When you lose your footing, and fall in after it, you can hear the heartbeat.
AURUM: Thun.
AURUM: Thun.
AURUM: Thun.
ClarafinaRosemont picks up her axe, and her medicine bag, and - there's nowhere to go but into the disease itself.
AURUM: How beautiful, this story! That you would pursue this life to its very end!
AURUM: There's ground beneath your feet, now. Solid ground. Air to breathe.
AURUM: None of it's real, of course. Not yet.
ClarafinaRosemont removes her mask, shaking her hair loose, and stalks forward, blade in hand. Ribbons reach up from the un-real-ness, black and slick, wrapping around her hands. When they unwrap, her fingers are unbloodied.
AURUM: To the left, the walls ripple, char becomes flesh, a strange path through a still-pulsing artery, and beyond that: the wildlands, with trees from which new medicines might be taken, vast lakes of rippling purple venom. To the right, the char polishes to an obsidian sheen, a tile-pattern cut into the floor, cold and clinical, opening out onto an operating theatre gleaming with brass and crystal, orderly.
AURUM: Both of these are places of healing, but to which sanctuary might you return?
ClarafinaRosemont: Oh,
ClarafinaRosemont: the left!
AURUM: A good choice.
ClarafinaRosemont puts her mask back on. The truth of the heart can be found inside the heart alone, after all.
AURUM: The char-walls close up behind you with a hiss, cut and cauterised.
ClarafinaRosemont descends, stepping lightly, hop-scotching across ridges rising out of the flow. This foot, then that foot, then that foot, as a child might.
AURUM: It seems like there's so long to walk until you reach the heart of the wilderness, but perhaps it's just been so long since you smelled the scent of a living, breathing wildland - before you know it, you're standing on the shore of a lake (clear, pristine water - only some of the lakes are venom.)
ClarafinaRosemont kneels down, scooping the water into a looking-flask from her bag. It shines strangely, once inside it, and she frowns.
AURUM: There's an enormous tree near the shore of the lake, with little windows, and a door, with the roots grown into steps. There's something of the gingerbread-house to it.
ClarafinaRosemont hops from root to root to root, and delivers a decisive knock to the door as she reaches it.
ClarafinaRosemont: "Rosemont calling~!"
AURUM: The door opens with the smells of cinnamon and coffee - nudging the door and keeping it open with her long, undulating tail, green scales shimmering in the daylight, then a purple gown - rich, but not particularly luxurious, woven with a complicated and subtle pattern, hand-carved wooden beads hanging off of tassels clacking faintly against each other - then a nut-brown hand reaching out and offering Clarafina a mug of impossibly delicious-smelling coffee.
AURUM: The naga's eyes are an unreal, vibrant purple, shimmering, multi-layered, and she looks Clarafina over for a brief moment before beaming. "It's so good to finally meet you, my dear. Please, come in?"
ClarafinaRosemont slips inside and takes a seat, a fat, black ribbon curving upwards from the floor to hold her as she clutches the mug in both hands.
ClarafinaRosemont: "Hmm, of course."
ClarafinaRosemont: "Aw-fully unusual to be played hostess to, deep inside this enemy of mine."
ClarafinaRosemont: "…But that's not exactly where we are, is it?"
AURUM: She smiles, a little sadly, and shakes her head. "You're a long, long way from home, I'm afraid. Although, I'm sure we can find a way to send you back."
ClarafinaRosemont puts her elbows on the table and licks her lips.
ClarafinaRosemont: "We?"
AURUM: "You and I, my dear. Welcome to my world. I know everyone that's ever lived or ever died, hear every story that's ever been sung or spoken. I don't normally recieve visitors, but I'm certain that everything happens for a reason, so… you're welcome to stay as long as you like."
AURUM: "My name is Miriam, by the way."
ClarafinaRosemont: "Clarafina Rosemont. Though…" She gestures with the coffee mug.
ClarafinaRosemont: "You don't really need introductions, do you…?"
ClarafinaRosemont: "Here's the story, though."
ClarafinaRosemont: "' Long ago, the people were dying at the end of the world.' "
ClarafinaRosemont: "…Climbing into one of those deaths, into the final gift that a brightly burning, noble soul gave to me…"
ClarafinaRosemont: "Brought me here."
ClarafinaRosemont: "With two hands, by lamplight, by incision-blade, by black-ribbon, I will find the truth that parting gift after parting gift could not bring me,"
ClarafinaRosemont: "And I will rip it from the claws of darkness and let the world bathe in its light."
ClarafinaRosemont bursts into laughter.
ClarafinaRosemont: "…Something like that."
AURUM: She weaves her fingertips together, and then smiles brightly at Clarafina. "Well, you certainly are determined. Such a heavy burden for you to bear, but, then again, we don't choose our burdens, do we?"
AURUM: "Well."
AURUM: "You've come to the right place, my dear. If there's a medicine in the world, in any world- if there's a treatment for any disease- well, you'll be able to find it here."
AURUM: "And, in fact, I'm already looking for it."
AURUM: "You see… it was the moss. The moss, growing in the cracks."
AURUM: "The moss watched you struggle, my dear, day by day, trying to learn the truth."
ClarafinaRosemont sits in silence, giving Miriam a queer look. It looks like it could boil over at any moment.
AURUM: "And- everything has a heart, Clarafina. Every fiend, every growing thing, even moss has a heart. It couldn't help itself. It wanted to help."
AURUM: "So it came to me, whispering, and so I've been searching. And I promise you, I will find the answer you seek."
AURUM: "And, I can hear your heart, right now, asking… 'there has to be a catch'."
ClarafinaRosemont: "…The disease too, doesn't it?"
ClarafinaRosemont: "The people below. The people above. The sickness that leaps between them, impossibly."
ClarafinaRosemont: "There's a pulse in all these things."
ClarafinaRosemont sets her mug down on the table, stands up, takes a step forward towards Miriam, leaving her seat to melt away into inky black.
AURUM: "Mmm." She takes a deep breath, frowns, shakes her head. "It's an angel of death, Clarafina. Angels of death don't live or die, they just… are." Her breath is unsteady. "Taking children away before their time, one by one."
ClarafinaRosemont: "Oh, they don't live or die." She presses her hand to Miriam, right below her collar.
ClarafinaRosemont: "But there's plenty of things between live or die, isn't there…?"
ClarafinaRosemont turns her chin up, almost surprised. "…You have a heart, too."
AURUM: She nods, kindly. "It's a hell of a thing. Believe me, sometimes I wish I were an angel of death. How lovely it would be, not to be bound by rules! To be free to strike at whatever I desired."
AURUM: "But…" She sighs, deeply. "Here I am."
AURUM: The corners of her mouth turn up, slightly. "You know, that reminds me."
ClarafinaRosemont: "Here you are." Clarafina says, tracing her fingers eastward, lifting up Miriam's arm as she runs them along - Three ribbons rise behind her, their tips curled like the hoods of sitting cobras, watching
ClarafinaRosemont: But then, she pauses, holding her wrist, checking for the pulse.
ClarafinaRosemont: "Of?"
AURUM: "I've got a question, myself. The one question I can't find the answer to." As she talks, she stretches her arms out like she's dancing with Clarafina, palms wide, a tired smile on her face.
AURUM: "What… what sort of sick bastard would make a fiend engine that gave fiends a heart?"
AURUM: "Or is it… does it… did the whole plan not work, otherwise."
AURUM: "That's my guess, at least. But it doesn't satisfy."
ClarafinaRosemont: "This line, on your hand."
ClarafinaRosemont: Ribbons wrap about Miriam's arm, as Clarafina presses her finger-tip to a spot on her palm. It isn't somewhere where she can easily see it.
ClarafinaRosemont: "It means your life is going to be full of pain."
AURUM: "Mmm, so you know that palms do speak the truth. The stars, too."
AURUM: She pauses.
AURUM: "It has, my dear. It has, and I imagine it will."
ClarafinaRosemont runs her fingers along Miram's fore-arm. "Does that make this the big dipper, then…?"
AURUM: She shudders, her eyes half-closed, nictitating membrance nictitating rather treacherously, the corners of her mouth twitching up in a smile, holding in laughter.
ClarafinaRosemont: "Orion…"
ClarafinaRosemont continues.
ClarafinaRosemont: "Cepheus…"
AURUM: "You're going to make one of my sons or daughters very happy."
ClarafinaRosemont stops, her finger on Miriam's shoulder. She frowns.
ClarafinaRosemont: "Cancer."
ClarafinaRosemont bursts into a fit of giggles.
AURUM: Miriam's laughing, too.
ClarafinaRosemont: "So why, oh why, were you given a heart…?"
ClarafinaRosemont: "So the blood can get from here…"
ClarafinaRosemont touches Miriam's lips with a finger. "To here." Her collar. "To here." That still-tied wrist.
AURUM: She opens her mouth, to argue the point - to say, 'you know that's not what I meant' - and then she closes it again, with a smile. "I mean it, you'll do well here. I hope you still want to return, once you have your truth. It'd be a terrible shame if you didn't."
ClarafinaRosemont: "I'll admit," she says. "I haven't had much opportunity for travel."
AURUM: "Well. There's more here than just this world with its secrets. You could search faster, if you wanted. After all, those with a pure heart can go to another world."
ClarafinaRosemont: "That's why you have a heart, of course."
ClarafinaRosemont: "The sick bastard wanted to give you a
ClarafinaRosemont: 0.0000
ClarafinaRosemont: 000000
ClarafinaRosemont: 000000
ClarafinaRosemont: 0000.2%
ClarafinaRosemont: Chance of a miracle. "
AURUM: She laughs, bitterly!
AURUM: "That's a lot of nothings, isn't it. And yet…"
AURUM: "…and yet…"
AURUM: "…and yet, here you are, on my doorstep."
ClarafinaRosemont: "Oh…" she purrs, sadly.
ClarafinaRosemont: "Am I your miracle…?"
AURUM: "You're someone's miracle, my dear."
ClarafinaRosemont tilts her head. She has a strange look, for a moment, and then it passes.
AURUM: "Whose miracle, remains to be seen. The stars know, of course, but I've never really had the knack of asking."
ClarafinaRosemont turns her back and drinks the coffee.
ClarafinaRosemont: "Anyway,"
ClarafinaRosemont: "We'll see."
AURUM: "We'll see."
ClarafinaRosemont heads out. The ribbons dissipate soon enough.
AURUM: "If you find a fiend machine at the heart of the world, though…"
AURUM: "…at least consider smashing it?"
ClarafinaRosemont pauses on the doorstep. She raises two fingers towards the heavens.
ClarafinaRosemont: "I suppose I must."
ClarafinaRosemont: "Noblesse oblige."
AURUM: "Oh, and, you'll need this." She reaches into a pocket of her robe, pulls out a gilt book that streams starlight from the pages, tosses it to Clarafina. "Once you're ready to start searching."
ClarafinaRosemont catches it.
AURUM: "It's called <混乱大空ヘン : Anything Could Happen>. Don't ask me what the first part means, I can't read a word of it. But the second part sounds auspicious enough, don't you think?"
ClarafinaRosemont: "I suppose it's worth a look under that auspice, at least."
ClarafinaRosemont flips the book open.
AURUM: It's beautiful. Starlight spilling from galaxies, the moon overhead gazing down like a loving mother, a wild laugh in her eyes, a silver forest spreading for miles.
AURUM: Truly, this is a story where anything could happen…
AURUM: A story that could even end with a miracle.
ClarafinaRosemont makes the incision, and enters.
AURUM: Slowly, you fall forward, gently, and become a shooting star.
AURUM: Miriam watches, as the princess is pulled into the book; walks over and collects the book, closes it, stares at it for a few moments with an unreadable expression.
AURUM: "Safe travels," she whispers, and turns to go home.
ClarafinaRosemont: And so it was written.
AURUM: She slithers up the steps back into the house, a trail of purple venom leaking from the corner of her mouth; she licks it away.
AURUM: Ahahaha. This isn't that sort of book. But we'll let that slide, just this once, my dear.


AURUM: You've been looking for a secret. The answer to a question.
AURUM: Maybe the question's been haunting you all your life. Maybe it's something that's been eating at the back of your mind for weeks. Maybe it's something that seized you just yesterday with its ferocity, drove you deep into a pile of books, or datachips, or orbs containing the sum total of knowledge contained in all the wisest minds of your people that have ever lived, that you couldn't shake until you found the answer -
AURUM: It doesn't really matter. Somehow, in your search for the truth, you've taken an odd turn, and wound up here.
AURUM: Where were you before, seeker of truth? Before you stumbled, sideways, falling through here and not-here?
AURUM: Tell me, so that your journeys might be recorded in the Book of Gold. [_]
Nameless: "Dead." He pauses. Articularing a definite article, a single letter, 'I', seems beyond him. "A… man… was dead. In the snow. There was a terrible beast. And a glorious fight."
AURUM: From death to here, wherever here is. That must have been an interesting journey! Alas, the details of that journey are in a different book, and here we are.
AURUM: How beautiful, this story! That a warrior would dance his way back from impossible death, to join us in its telling.
AURUM: There's ground beneath your feet, now. Solid ground. Air to breathe.
AURUM: None of it's real, of course. Not yet.
Nameless‘ takes a deep breath. Or a reasonable facsimile thereof. It’s difficult to enjoy the little things, just yet. "A man remembers. Places. Things. People. All like wonderful paintings… thathave no title." If he has a face, it would scowl. It will scowl later, at the very least.
Nameless: "Something very important is missing."
AURUM: To the left, trees, tall and forbidding; the forest grows so thick that even you might lose you way - for a time. The gleaming eyes of beasts shine and shimmer from the dark between the trunks, beckoning to the dance. To the right, a cobblestone path, leading to a village; the lights are on in the tavern, night is falling. You can hear the laughter and the song, the clink of glasses, from here. In the village square, a festival is being prepared.
AURUM: Both of these are dancefloors, but where will a warrior hunt?
Nameless: "Ah…! A festival… Fest… val… Hm. Almost. Something. But… the beasts were… part of the party. This is not the place a man remembers."
Nameless‘ turns and heads towards the tavern. Monsters… can come later. Right now, he needs company.
AURUM: A good choice.
AURUM: Roads always seem faster when you’re heading home, don't they? Even if… it's not your home, it's someone's. That much is obvious.
AURUM: Look up. The stars in the sky, the faraway planets - they're on brass tracks, built into the vault of heaven; little jewels inset in a faraway sky, crafted of lovely, dark blue stone, with a geode tinge of red where the sun sets.
AURUM: The tavern door is open a crack; life and light tumble out to greet you - laughter, songs, the smell of meat cooked just right.
Nameless‘ rubs his chin. "The stars are different here. It is.. going to be a long journey home. If a man goes home. Perhaps he goes somewhere else." As he heads towards the light of civilization, details become clearer. His blue hair (all the way down to the roots, but surely its dyed. Nobody has naturally blue hair…), the grey-ish vest with its fringe of tassels, the loose shorts and
Nameless` comfortable shoes… and the massive sword across his back. He pushes open the door and squints a bit from the sudden light, but heads inside. "A man has not eaten in longer than he can remember." Technically true. "Who will buy him a meal?"
AURUM: The tavern can’t possibly be this large on the inside - it shouldn't be possible, and yet. Probably it's some clever trick of perception - but there are eight stages where one might perform music, all of them empty. Still, song echoes up from all corners of the tavern. A tall man in a dapper suit, a jewelled brass half-mask covering his face and blending seamlessly into his tan skin, unfolds himself from the nearest table, stands, and bows. There's an elegance to his movements - he knows how to fight.
AURUM: "I will. Nobody ought to go hungry for that long, not here." He smiles, expansively; gestures to a seat at the same table.
AURUM: It's strangely difficult to make out the details or features of the other patrons of the tavern; they have faces, but they're utterly nondescript, and the eye skims past.
Nameless‘ returns the bow and favors him with a smile. "A man is grateful." His steps to the empty seat move in perfect syncopation to the song, he even manages to hook it out with one foot and take a seat exactly in time. "He will return the favor someday."
AURUM: The dapper man seats himself again, almost but not -quite- perfectly synchronised. A bushy-eared waitress with a tail made of braided brass chain links places on the table an enormous plate with a number of enormous lightly-fried tortillas filled with eggs, bacon, caramelised apples, and a little onion.
Nameless` gets wide-eyed. "A man knows this! An unexpected taste of home in a strange land." THe first bite is almost comedically large. A lesser person would probably choke, but doing stupid shit all the time is the privalege of… Well whatever, he’s really hungry.
AURUM: The dapper man smiles, readily and brightly. "O peregrine mendicant, welcome to my table. In this tavern, we sing every song, dance every dance, and feast upon every recipe ever known. And so - the least I can do, to make you feel welcome here. I am Belenus, the caretaker."
Nameless‘ speaks between bites. "Song, dance, and food. A man would never leave. If he didn’t have other business to tend to."
AURUM: "Mmm. Most people who come here are looking for something. Seekers of truth ought to be given some comfort, before they go haring off into the great unknown!" A pause. "I'm right, aren't I, that you're looking for something?" Beat. "-and, I'm afraid I didn't catch your name, if you mentioned it."
Nameless‘ opens his mouth. "…" Pauses. "Indeed, it would seem a man is looking for something. Several somethings, in fact. A man shall be known as Peregrine, as that seems to be… appropriate."
Nameless` adjusts his mental list of ’things to find'. 'A way home' is now third place. 'Friends' are now second.
AURUM: Belenus looks distinctly uncomfortable, for some reason, then starts discongruously cracking up, trying hard not to: "Well, I do think you'll find what you're looking for here, after all, now that I think about it."
AURUM: "Ahaha, heh."
AURUM: "Sorry."
AURUM: "…anyways, as I was saying."
Nameless‘ smiles. "No no, it is funny in a way. There are stories… back home. About names. It’s… complicated. Besides, you bought dinner for the man, laughter seems a fair start to paying you back."
AURUM: He does look a little relieved. You're really not supposed to joke about things like that being eaten, but… it was really funny! Being Belenus is tough, sometimes. "I think we all have stories about names. False names, true names. Just the other day I met a man going by a false name!"
AURUM: "He had a good reason, of course. I think the two of you will get along."
Nameless‘ laughs. "What a pair we would make."
AURUM: "I’m looking forward to it, myself!"
AURUM: "There's… three of you, now, although I missed one."
AURUM: "The halfway point! Of the prologue, that is. The story's just begun."
Nameless‘ looks at himself. "A man sees only one."
Nameless: "Perhaps you have had too much to drink."
Nameless` almost, almost, looks serious.
AURUM: Belenus looks like he can’t be bothered with silly things like 'space' and 'time'. "Perhaps I haven't had enough!" He takes a sip from an inkwell full of- well, it can't really be ink, can it? It wasn't there before.
AURUM: "…there will be six, eventually. You'll fall like stars into a world where anything can happen."
AURUM: "And from there on out..? Who knows! It'll be an adventure."
Nameless‘ laughs. "Fair enough." He does look fairly sober for a moment. "Six of us… No, there were… more than that. But we rarely were all together. And then… most of us were gone."
AURUM: "I am sorry."
Nameless` shrugs. "Eh… Not your fault. It’s the way of things." He perks up. "Maybe there will be more cute girls this time."
AURUM: "The fact that all stories have an ending is a necessary tragedy of this world, isn't it? Who would want to read the same thing, over and over- we'd be snowed in in days." He smiles, sadly, and nods. The two share a quiet moment of Undine-tinged melancholy, together, and then he smiles, and laughs.
AURUM: "There's one, at least! She's a bit terrifying, though."
Nameless‘ laughs. "Terrifying and cute are not mutually exclusive. A man knew a girl… well, a man knew many girls. But this one in particular… She had the most gorgeous red hair, and yellow eyes, she was a stunning creature. And lived in a cave full of scorpions and spiders. A man is fairly certain she was a witch. Terrifying. And cute."
AURUM: He smiles, looking ancient or ageless, for a brief moment. "Mmm. I knew a woman who lived deep within the wilds, who once danced with Dryad at the heart of a world. Who could fashion a medicine or a poison to cure or cause any disease; a woman who could become someone else by putting on a wooden mask. But… that was a long time ago."
AURUM: "…still,"
AURUM: "…you’re right, about the two not being mutually exclusive."
Nameless‘ shrugs. "A man has forgotten many important things. But girls… are not one them."
AURUM: He smiles, laughs lightly, takes another sip from the inkwell.
AURUM: "Would you like to meet them now? Your new traveling companions, I mean."
Nameless: "Probably should. It would be awkward to run into them later and not know who they are."
AURUM: The laugh is deeper, this time, and he reaches into the pocket of his suit, and pulls out a book far too big to have fit in the pocket; the book is gold and silver, shimmering, with stars embossed in… somehow even brighter, more metallic platinum, in the leather. It glows with the light of the moon and the stars, bursting at the seams. Belenus places it on the table, next to the man. "You’ll find books like these, in your travels. They can… eh…" He makes a 'let's just go with it' face. "Well, they can take you to a whole new world."
Nameless‘ blinks.
Nameless: "Say that… again?"
AURUM: "It’s… it's just a saying! One that… happens to be true, in this case!"
AURUM: "The books have worlds in them, you see. To… keep them from busting out and just, being everywhere. It would get messy, and so…" He gestures, vaguely.
Nameless‘ shakes his head, visions of a little… walking… tree…? vanishing. "Nothing. Nevermind."
AURUM: "I’m not a sproutling, if that's what you're worried about. Although I suppose I'm filling the same narrative role, aren't I?"
Nameless: "A… sproutling." He rolls the word around, tasting it. "Hmmm. Yes."
AURUM: Belenus nods.
AURUM: "I'm… something other than that. A not-a-sproutling. Saran wrap is pretty okay, in my book?"
AURUM: "Agh, don't worry about it."
Nameless: "Definitely don't know what that is, so OK."
AURUM: "Point is… once you open that book, you'll be somewhere else. The book's called <混乱大空ヘン : Anything Could Happen> - it seemed like a good place to start the journey, don't you think?"
AURUM: "The first bit there- well, there's lots of ways to put it, but the last guy liked the simple version. Chaotic Luna Chapter. I mean, things have to be a -little- ominous, right?"
Nameless‘ chuckles. "It certainly sounds appropriate."
AURUM: He nods, to the book. Whenever he’s ready (and has finished off the last mythical tortilla-adjacent food item.)
Nameless‘ runs his fingers over the cover. Then takes a few more of those delicious wraps, making them vanish into thin air somehow? Inventory systems, man. Whatever, breakfast is key item-worthy. And then he opens the book.
Obtained [A Number of Myth Wraps].
AURUM: The book opens, starlight creeping up a warrior’s arms.
AURUM: It's beautiful. Starlight spilling from galaxies, the moon overhead gazing down like a loving mother, a wild laugh in her eyes, a silver forest spreading for miles.
AURUM: Truly, this is a story where anything could happen…
AURUM: A story that could even end with a miracle.
AURUM: Slowly, you fall forward, gently, and become a shooting star.
AURUM: Belenus watches, as a man is pulled into the book; reaches over and collects the book, closes it, kisses the cover, reverently.
AURUM: "Safe travels," he whispers, and the corners of his mouth twitch up in a smile.
AURUM: That seems to have gone a little better. Things were a little less haphazard, at least? Still, he lost one, and who knows what might have happened on the other side.
AURUM: Still… somehow… he's sure that everything will turn out okay.


AURUM: You've been looking for a secret. The answer to a question.
AURUM: Maybe the question's been haunting you all your life. Maybe it's something that's been eating at the back of your mind for weeks. Maybe it's something that seized you just yesterday with its ferocity, drove you deep into a pile of books, or datachips, or orbs containing the sum total of knowledge contained in all the wisest minds of your people that have ever lived, that you couldn't shake until you found the answer -
AURUM: It doesn't really matter. Somehow, in your search for the truth, you've taken an odd turn, and wound up here.
AURUM: Where were you before, seeker of truth? Before you stumbled, sideways, falling through here and not-here?
AURUM: Tell me, so that your journeys might be recorded in the Book of Gold. [_]
Nine has been wandering for so long, around him nothing but ash, dust, and debris. That and his single old friend. He wanders through so long in the desolation of a world whose end has come, hunting for anything, any tiny scrap of knowledge, there's nothing left. Yet he sees ahead of him an archway, an ancient bunker, steel darkned char black, it already collapsed, but the single chance
Nine something might still reside in there.
AURUM: You're a spirited one, after all of this, aren't you? Determined to save your world. And now you're here, the void's gift to me.
AURUM: How beautiful, this story! That you would return to us, and find your miracle.
AURUM: I don't need to tell you there's ground beneath your feet, and air to breathe, because you already wrote those lines - the air is thick with dead-world dust.
AURUM: You leave deep footprints, you know?
AURUM: Either your burden is great, or the ground beneath your feet is just more of that red dust.
AURUM: Or maybe both?
Nine is not allowed to quit, no matter how much he wishes he could. There's only him left to do this. He grasps closely the book he carries, perhaps the last of it's kind, who knows what else he keeps, memories and tools, hidden under that lab coat. Maybe both
AURUM: Come here, traveler. You've been lonely far too long.
Nine continues ahead, there's no stopping if his sliver of hope may be found here. And if it's not. It'll be found somewhere else.
AURUM: In the bunker, there's a hallway, stretching out in either direction. At the end of one tunnel - a vast, apocalyptic hellscape; lava seethes and bubbles from cracks in the ground. There was a forest, once, but it died and burned away. To the right, the rusted hulks of vast sandships, monuments to futility half-buried in the sand, graves for millions.
AURUM: Both of these are…
AURUM:
AURUM:
AURUM: …well, they're something, aren't they?
AURUM: I guess you have to pick some direction.
Nine grasps his book tightly, this isn't where he expected to end up. He looks back- Where'd he go? He looks ahead again, at the corridors. He sighs, and stops to think for a moment. And smoothly turns right, towards the sandships. It's what he knows, he can't leave it to uncertainty
AURUM: In the bunker, there's a hallway, stretching out in either direction. At the end of one tunnel - a vast, apocalyptic hellscape; lava seethes and bubbles from cracks in the ground. There was a forest, once, but it died and burned away. To the right, the rusted hulks of vast sandships, monuments to futility half-buried in the sand, graves for millions. Both of these are… …haha, you know the drill, right?
Nine already made this choice, you know what it is
Nine , however, observes for changes on both before continuing towards the sandships again
AURUM: Come on. You already explored the dead sandships, you know there's nothing to find there. Did you really forget about the time you spent, combing through those metal tombs?
AURUM: Flicker.
AURUM: In the bunker, there's a hallway, stretching out in either direction. At the end of one tunnel - a vast, apocalyptic hellscape; lava seethes and bubbles from cracks in the ground. There was a forest, once, but it died and burned away. To the right, the rusted hulks of vast sandships, monuments to futility half-buried in the sand, graves for millions.
AURUM: (A sense of deja vu, in the back of your head. You've been here before.)
AURUM: (Like… a second ago, honestly, come on now.)
Nine crosses his arms, looking at the two corridors again. So just looking from where he is, no observable changes? That being true, he heads to the left. For now, this is an interesting effect, he has to explore the possibilities
AURUM: You've been there, too! It took all of your expertise to figure out how to traverse that terrain without getting yourself killed! Because then, there'd be /nobody/ left alive, not just… only you.
AURUM: …now I'm just making myself sad.
AURUM: Flicker.
AURUM: In the bunker, there's a hallway, stretching out in either direction. At the end of one tunnel - a vast, apocalyptic hellscape; lava seethes and bubbles from cracks in the ground. There was a forest, once, but it died and burned away. To the right, the rusted hulks of vast sandships, monuments to futility half-buried in the sand, graves for millions.
Nine crosses his arms. He walks ahead on the hallways up until where it divides into both places, the intersection. Walls? Some other impediment? There might be a third way down this path
AURUM: I mean…
AURUM: …that's why you're here, isn't it?
AURUM: Because you refuse to give up.
AURUM: Let me tell you something about myself, Nine. I'm not ready to give up, either.
Nine knocks on what the barrier might be. This place is strange, it might react. He isn't going to give up either, but barrelling mindlessly through won't help either. He needs to make sure this will work, but he can't just back away because it might not either.
Nine: "Sorry, I really need this problem solved. I hope you can help me out"
AURUM: It's okay. It's going to be okay. Can you hear me? Can you hear the words, resonating in your heart?
AURUM: "It's going to be okay."
Nine: "Of course it will"
Nine: "I will make it be okay"
Nine: "That's what is left for me, that is what I decided"
AURUM grins, irrepressibly, and then starts laughing. Somehow, your heart feels lighter, and that's when you notice.
AURUM: A little golden leaf, growing out of the dead earth.
AURUM: In all your wandering, is this the first time you've seen a living thing since -
AURUM: I'm sorry.
Nine kneels down, looking at the golden leaf, he doesn't touches it at first, just looking
Nine: "It's been long"
Nine: "It's alright, though. I've already spent my sadness, so don't worry on that part"
AURUM: The sprout grows, sending out tendrils, leaves unfurling.
Nine steps back, careful not the get tangled in the growing mess
AURUM: The vines tear into the wall of the bunker right in front of you, at the junction between the corridors.
AURUM: There's a… viciousness, with which the vines tear away at the dead earth. An impatience.
Nine observes for a moment, arms crossed. He waits for there to be a sizeable crack through which he might proceed
AURUM: There's an entire universe waiting for us, and we're stuck here on this planet that isn't even alive! Come on, get on with it!
AURUM: Finally, there's a crack, with white-gold light seeping through.
AURUM: The sprout looks tired, but satisfied.
AURUM: Come here, traveler. You've been lonely far too long.
Nine looks through the crack, cautious "Thank you" seeing no immediate, iminent threat he ducks through it
AURUM: Surrounded on all sides by light, warmth - not the red light of a crippled star, shining through fallout clouds, not any light you're familiar with. (Or maybe you are, and it's just been… so long?)
AURUM: It loves you, and it wants you to live.
Nine takes deep breaths, this seems familiar. The color of the light, it's level of radiance- He's learned about it, he's sure. Time to continue going onwards
AURUM: Or… should I say, I love you, and I want you to live? There's a path in front of you, little shimmering hexagons of light.
AURUM: You feel a whirring in your bones.
AURUM: Like you're in the guts of some kind of unimaginably vast machine?
Nine certainly won't stop here just because he's seen something new, he contiues. Great machines are not unknown to him, it's a little comforting, really "You are very kind"
AURUM: I am what I am. I was created to be kind. I was created to suffer. I was created to bring people a miracle.
AURUM: Time after time, I've failed.
AURUM: I imagine you understand how… horrible that feels?
AURUM: I think this time, I might succeed.
AURUM: I hope.
AURUM: I was created to hope.
AURUM: I was created to love.
Nine: "Just gotta keep trying"
Nine: "You'll get there one day"
AURUM: Just gotta keep trying.
Nine: "The wonderful thing about is that it's pretty much eternal, really"
Nine: "I can understand. If I can help you achieve your miracle while on my path, don't worry, I will"
AURUM: Anyways, uh. I guess you lost track of time, or something, because you're at the end of the strange path, now, and I'm sitting there, in an armchair by a fireplace roaring with golden kindness, lavender wings curled around me, spilling out onto the floor, iridescent, fluffy feathers on the coverts giving way to lavender scales; eyes of brass inlaid pietra-dura with precious stones, bright and hopeful.
Nine walks closer, sitting nearby if there's a chair, if not he sits on the floor, he's used to that "Pretty strange place"
Nine: "Surprised myself that i'm not a little bit more excited, but I guess it's just a bit of overload"
AURUM: I'm pretty young - or, I mean, obviously, my construct/self-image/fiend-form gives one that impression? Words are hard. There's another chair, by the fireplace, and I gesture towards it with a wingtip.
AURUM: "I tried to keep things simple!"
AURUM: "Want some tea?"
Nine sits by the chair, he takes in the heat for a moment "Tea, haven't had that for years"
Nine: "I'd like it, yes"
Nine: "Also I appreciate simple, simple definitely works"
AURUM: "Mmm. I, uh. I really can't do the whole Shade-principle thing, by nature, haha. I'm glad that's okay." I twitch a wingtip, and- well, there's tea, now. It's delicious.
Nine drinks some, it really is delicious "Tea is definitely the right choice" he enjoys it for a while "I like when things are clear. Easier to get things right"
Nine: "Still, even how simple this place is, it's also amazing. Entirely unlike where I came from. As i'm fairly certain i'm not even close to where I was an hour ago"
AURUM: "I mean…"
AURUM: "Whenever someone hopes for a better world, for a second chance. Whenever someone hopes for the power to become stronger to save their world…"
AURUM: "…I'm there."
Nine: "You know, that's good"
Nine: "Good to have someone like you around"
Nine: "Sometimes, someone like me really needs the help" he smiles
AURUM: "I've been watching you for a while." I smile. "I… well. When your heart was in your throat and you weren't sure whether you were going to make it…"
AURUM: "You, uh. You died, but I wasn't- I wasn't okay with that- I just couldn't- not after everything I'd seen."
Nine just looks at you, he nods "I see"
AURUM: "So, I, uh. So… things were different. They didn't happen that way."
Nine: "Thank you"
Nine: "It's good to have friends, even those you don't know"
Nine: "Specially when you need to get up to keep trying"
Nine: "I… Was lacking. Alone, I can't say with certainty i'd have found it- The key I was seeking. I'd always, always keep trying, without falter. You know what they say about heroic efforts. But certainty is good too"
Nine: "Maybe i've already imposed too much, with how much you just helped. But, maybe… do you know something that might help me?"
Nine: "Even somewhere to start, a way to help my world"
AURUM: "Mmmm."
AURUM: "I mean… you need a 'miracle', is what you need. When you step -up-, and… look back down on the story you just came from, and can hold in your mind everything that was, and everything that could have been… I guess that's what we call a 'miracle', if we're trying to be straightforward."
AURUM: "I think I know where you could get one?"
Nine: "When you step 'up'…" he closes his eyes, thinking "There was a theory.." he puts his hands on the book on his lap "That would be wonderful, that is just what I need"
Nine: "Heh… Some years ago, i'd thought to myself 'It is not worth it if not made with my own hands', but not today. There is too much at stake, and hey, it's not like the work of others is worth any less than mine"
AURUM: "The, uh… the only problem is, someone else is using the miracle, right now."
AURUM: "But that's okay, maybe you could get them to share?"
Nine: "That'd be just fine"
Nine: "I'm certain there's enough miracle to go around"
Nine: "If there's not, then maybe I can learn from it anyway, and make my own"
AURUM: "That'd be nice…" There's a certain wistfulness to my voice.
Nine: "Do you want a little more company before I depart again?" he smiles "I get the feeling you understand being lonely"
AURUM: I smile - grin, really. "No, it's okay. This is fine. I'm just really glad to have finally got to meet you! Um, on the table there, there's a book. When you open the book, it'll take you somewhere where anything can happen!"
Nine: "Sounds like just the kind of place to start searching"
AURUM: "Literally, that's the name of the book, I think. Anyways, there'll be some others there, okay? And they're all trying to find things, too."
Nine nods "I'll be sure to help them too"
AURUM: "I want you to try and help them, okay? I think- I think if everyone finds what they're looking for, things will turn out okay."
Nine opens up his own book, goes to the last page, which is full of scribbles "Isn't that how things work? We all work together" he looks at you "That's a lesson we didn't quite learn soon enough"
AURUM: "And if you ever meet a clockwork man in a suit with a mask on his face, or a snake lady with venom coming out of her mouth- I know it sounds weird, but I want you to try to help them, too, okay?"
AURUM: "They're important to me, and they've both been through a lot, so…"
AURUM: "And, tell them-"
AURUM: The book starts glowing, as you flip through the pages, tendrils of moonlight sucking you in.
Nine: "Oh, I will. I do owe you a lot, too. And sound like quite interesting characters"
AURUM: "-tell them, if you see them-"
AURUM: You begin to fall.
AURUM: "-that it's not their fault!"
Nine writes a note in his book as the moonlight is drawing him in, he holds in place for a moment- To hear what he has to say- But then he closes his book, and lets the light draw him in.
AURUM: It's beautiful. Starlight spilling from galaxies, the moon overhead gazing down like a loving mother, a wild laugh in her eyes, a silver forest spreading for miles.
AURUM: Truly, this is a story where anything could happen…
AURUM: A story that could even end with a miracle.
AURUM: Slowly, you fall forward, gently, and become a shooting star.
AURUM closes their eyes, and sits back in their chair, taking a deep breath. The fireplace fades away, the room fades away, everything else fades to a golden-white.
Nine smiles to himself, holding his book close to his heart. He smiles, the strength in his heart renewed at this encounter, knowing that there are others. It fills him with the determination to keep searching.
AURUM: It's going to be okay. I promise.


AURUM: You've been looking for a secret. The answer to a question.
AURUM: Maybe the question's been haunting you all your life. Maybe it's something that's been eating at the back of your mind for weeks. Maybe it's something that seized you just yesterday with its ferocity, drove you deep into a pile of books, or datachips, or orbs containing the sum total of knowledge contained in all the wisest minds of your people that have ever lived, that you couldn't shake until you found the answer -
AURUM: It doesn't really matter. Somehow, in your search for the truth, you've taken an odd turn, and wound up here.
AURUM: Where were you before, seeker of truth? Before you stumbled, sideways, falling through here and not-here?
AURUM: Tell me, so that your journeys might be recorded in the Book of Gold. [_]
Ezekiel was, like, sitting on his couch at home, you know? Just kinda chillin', spacing out while simultaniously deep in thought.
AURUM: I thin…
AURUM: I'm pretty sure the word you're looking for is 'high'. But I mean, carry on.
AURUM: I mean, shit! It's my turn, isn't it? I'm still a little bit distracted, sorry about that.
Ezekiel: Bro I meant what I said you're the one that needs to get his shit together!
Ezekiel: Here, take this.
AURUM: So, anyways, here you are, the, uh… maybe the wildlands' gift to me, if you want to think about it like that.
Ezekiel rolls up another joint, then extends it with a hand.
Ezekiel: It's dangerous to go alone, etc.
AURUM: How beautiful, this story! That you would… make an offering to us, here and now…
AURUM: …yeah.
AURUM: There's ground beneath your feet, now. Solid ground. Air to breathe.
AURUM: None of it's real, of course. Not yet.
AURUM: Light delineating a hallway, stretching to infinity in either direction.
Ezekiel has seen this one before!
AURUM: To the left, tangled vines, flowers, an explosion of colour and sensation; trees bearing fruits the likes of which you've never seen before, a path wandering through tall grass into the distance. To the right, nighttime, distant strains of epic trance, a haze in the air, an alleyway between two buildings in a crowded downtown. Somewhere close, people are dancing.
AURUM: Both of these hold promise, but to which might you turn?
Ezekiel starts going left,
Ezekiel but not very long,
Ezekiel stops in front of a tree,
Ezekiel grabs one, two three peices of fruit,
Ezekiel bites into one, while shoving the others into a pocket,
Ezekiel then heads right, lightly bobbing his head.
AURUM: The grass tried to grow in over the path; there's even some branches growing to try to block you, but they're not yet thick enough to actually stop you from going back the way you came and heading back to the right.
Ezekiel: Haha. Fuck Trees.
Ezekiel takes another bite.
AURUM: There's a distinct sense of frustration coming from somewhere behind you, from the plants themselves, but, I mean, the one fruit you're eating is still delicious, so it doesn't really matter, right?
Ezekiel: "Man this is some good shit though."
Ezekiel lazily waves a hand behind his back as he heads into the city.
AURUM: As soon as you're out of the tree line, they wall themselves up with sudden spiny branches. Vindictive fuckers!
AURUM: Anyways, a good choice.
Ezekiel: Yeah I mean,
Ezekiel: not really the best state of mine for vines with a mind of their own, y'know?
Ezekiel: Shit could get weird
AURUM: For real.
AURUM: The club's called The Orrery, and you can't quite make out the face on the guy who's at the door, but he seems to know who you are and wave you in, and this basically seems okay and normal. On the inside, looking up, somehow you can see a night sky full of sparkling stars, even though it was a cloudy day with light pollution outside! Neat trick.
Ezekiel: What's not normal about not recognizing the face of the doorman? "Wicked ceiling, though."
AURUM: There's some really nice trance playing, the DJ seems to really know his shit. He's a tall guy in a really snazzy suit, with some kind of crazy mask covering half his face that somehow seems to blend smoothly in? Like, you've seen huge mouse masks and shit but this is something different.
AURUM: Anyways, he hands things over to a faceless understudy (who takes over just fine, really), and starts walking towards you with a friendly wave.
Ezekiel flashes the guy a thumbs up, before finding a less populated wall to hang out on while finishing up the last few bites of this fruit.
AURUM: The guy heads over to that wall, leans back against it languidly. "Hey, Ezekiel, how's it goin'?"
Ezekiel: "Pretty good, pretty good." Pulls one of the fruit out form his left pocket, extending it to the guy. "Nice set you got goin'."
AURUM: He reaches out and takes the fruit- and then stares at it for a good few seconds like he's seen a ghost. "Thanks, man. Yo- where'd you get this?"
Ezekiel: "Forest on the left. S'pretty good."
AURUM: He just… smells it at first, seeming quiet, before taking a bite. "It's been a while since I had one of these is all, and I didn't really think you could even get one and still wind up here, haha. Surprised me."
Ezekiel: "Well I mean all you gotta do is stop walking,"
Ezekiel: "Not really that hard. Thorns seemed kinda pissed about it but whatever." Fuck Trees.
Ezekiel: "Maybe I shoulda left 'em a blunt,"
Ezekiel: "But I wasn't really expecting it."
AURUM: He chuckles in surprise, shaking his head, taking another bite. "Thank you, anyways."
AURUM: "So, uh, whatcha lookin' for?"
Ezekiel: "Uhhh…"
Ezekiel scrunches up his face, thinking hard.
Ezekiel: "…Duno."
Ezekiel: "There was a thing with like, wings…?"
AURUM: "Huh, that's a new one."
Ezekiel scratches at the side of his face. "Some kind of question for a bird…?"
Ezekiel: "I 'uno."
AURUM pulls out a little notebook and flips through it, then tilts his head all the way to the side and starts cracking up laughing.
Ezekiel: "Sup?"
[OOC] AURUM: Er, FIXME on that line in post lol
Ezekiel: NO TAKE BACKS THERE IS ONLY FORWARD IN THE DREAM
AURUM: The guy's still laughing. "Haha, okay, that's… that's super wacky, haha. I must have been stoned out of my mind or something."
Ezekiel: "Happens,"
Ezekiel leans over, glancing at the book.
AURUM: It's got a description of you, as well as a bunch of numbers and stuff that don't really make sense, and a short description of an encounter with 'Professor Owl'.
Ezekiel: "OH right, I remember that,"
AURUM: (Which, you realise, is the same guy as the DJ at this club.)
Ezekiel: "I think."
Ezekiel: "HOLY SHIT YOU'RE MISTER OWL!"
AURUM: (Somehow. Dream logic!)
Ezekiel: "I swear to fuckuign god you weren't like, ten second ago!"
Ezekiel: "Damn yo."
Ezekiel: "Must be the club? Gotta step up the threads I guess, haha."
AURUM: He's just… still laughing. "I mean, the name's Belenus, haha- god, I'm tryna… I can't… hahah… I swear I don't remember that at all, but I guess it happened, haha."
AURUM: "Anyways, uh. How many licks to the bottom of a tootsie roll pop, that's some deep shit."
Ezekiel: "I know right? You kinda loose count after a while, or accidently bite down when it starts getting thin,"
Ezekiel: "And it's like, do they even fucking sell those things outside of october anymore? So it's not like you can check very often!"
AURUM: "Man, who wants to wait for fucking October, anyways."
Ezekiel: "Fuck October."
Ezekiel: "But I mean, what can ya do."
Ezekiel rolls a shurg as he finishes off the fruit.
AURUM: "Anyway, uh, I mean. I bet you can find one around here?"
Ezekiel: "Hmm,"
Ezekiel: "Well maybe but I don't really wanna sucker punch someone and steal their candy."
Ezekiel: "(Get it,)"
Ezekiel: "(Sucker punch.)"
AURUM: "(I get it!)"
Ezekiel: "(Because it's a suc - haha he gets it!)"
AURUM: Belenus nods.
Ezekiel laughs to himself.
AURUM: He's also laughing, and he rummages around in a pocket of his coat for a minute. "Anyways, uh- so, I've got some weird shit. It's a book, except when you read it, you fall in, and then you're there? Like, you've probably played a game where some shit like that happened, right?"
Ezekiel: "I… think so? S'usually more of a movie kinna bit though."
Ezekiel: "Oh shit is this about to turn into that one episode of futurama?
Ezekiel: "Fuck I need a harpoon."
AURUM: He starts laughing again, and hanrds Ezekiel a book with stars embossed on the cover. "You're gonna run into some other guys, they're all pretty cool. Dunno what you'll find exactly, but just… y'know, keep asking around about the tootsie roll pop."
Ezekiel takes the book, squints at it.
Ezekiel pulls out his phone, presses a few buttons.
Ezekiel: "Confusion… firmament Heng? That can't be right."
Ezekiel pushes another few buttons. "Confusion sky hen? Not sure that's better."
AURUM: "Man, you can't trust web translation shit, it's all garbage. It's like… 'Braid of stars in disarray', or some poetic shit like that."
Ezekiel: "Aaaaaaaaah."
Ezekiel: "Right on. Why's it in two languages though?"
AURUM: "Fucked if I know, haha. Someone wanted to be clever?"
Ezekiel: "Shhhhiiit."
Ezekiel: "Confusing maybe which - hahahahaha."
AURUM: "Sup?"
Ezekiel: "Aw naw just the shitty translation was pulling up that word and - not - actually funny just."
Ezekiel vague hand motion.
Ezekiel: "Anyway."
AURUM: "Haha, yeah, I get it."
AURUM: Looks like there's moonlight and starlight leaking out of the pages of the book.
Ezekiel: "So I guess I should open it up and start pokin' around and whatever now…?"
AURUM: Like you could cup your hand, and it'd just gather there.
AURUM: "Yeah, pretty much."
Ezekiel: "For real though like,"
Ezekiel: "If you find a harpoon before we get to the whales or the flying brains,"
Ezekiel: "Drop that sucker in."
Ezekiel drops the book to the ground, letting it fly open as it falls, then steps inside.
AURUM: It's beautiful. Starlight spilling from galaxies, the moon overhead gazing down like a loving mother, a wild laugh in her eyes, a silver forest spreading for miles.
AURUM: Truly, this is a story where anything could happen…
AURUM: A story that could even end with a tootsie roll pop.
AURUM: Slowly, you fall forward, gently, and become a shooting star.
Ezekiel: Wheeeeeeee~!
AURUM: Belenus bends down, picks up the book, stares pointedly at his notebook, looking around at the club floor, closes the book.
AURUM: "…when the hell did I meet him before this? It can't have gone well, I didn't even offer him the book."
AURUM: "Why don't I remember..?"
AURUM: He looks up at the false night sky, and shakes his head in confusion.


AURUM: You've been looking for a secret. The answer to a question.
AURUM: Maybe the question's been haunting you all your life. Maybe it's something that's been eating at the back of your mind for weeks. Maybe it's something that seized you just yesterday with its ferocity, drove you deep into a pile of books, or datachips, or orbs containing the sum total of knowledge contained in all the wisest minds of your people that have ever lived, that you couldn't shake until you found the answer -
AURUM: It doesn't really matter. Somehow, in your search for the truth, you've taken an odd turn, and wound up here.
AURUM: Where were you before, seeker of truth? Before you stumbled, sideways, falling through here and not-here?
AURUM: Tell me, so that your journeys might be recorded in the Book of Gold. [_]
Solberg was searching through the enclave's data-stores. Nondescript buildings that tower with the rest, scattered among the city. While access to most is available on the enclave's intranet, this secret, Jo suspects, is at one of these locations offline.
AURUM: Walking down a corridor formed by servers on either sides, gleaming facades interspersed with panels of inscrutable blinkenlightzen; sometime when they weren't paying attention, they must have taken a turn. Not a wrong turn, that's not the word to use. Just a different turn, a strange turn, one they didn't mean or expect to take. And now here they are, the city's gift to me.
AURUM: How beautiful, this story! That you would find your way to us, here and now.
AURUM: There's ground beneath your feet, now. Solid ground. Air to breathe. (Not that there wasn't, before, but it's of a markedly different character.)
AURUM: None of it's real, of course. Not yet.
AURUM: Light delineating a hallway, stretching to infinity in either direction.
Solberg looks around. But the path they -came- from - gone? Interesting.
AURUM: To the left, tangles of cables - power cables, data cables, the roots of some immense plant, the nerves of a beast whose flesh is woven into the land itself - spiderweb the underground tunnels; an endless warren, and a refuge for those whom The City has forgotten. To the right, the tunnel opens out onto a bridge leading to a bright tower at the heart of The City, with wide glass windows looking into the sorts of offices the old world had - wooden floors, warm lights, books lining the walls from floor to ceiling. (It's not -your- city, mind you - it's just The City.)
Solberg frowns. Their upbringing resembles the latter, and represents what they want for everyone. But so long as the other path exists, their work isn't done. As long as the voices of the forgotten cry out, they must answer. For this purpose, left it is.
Solberg: Maybe others would venture this way out of some infatuation with the occult and the secret sciences. But not this one.
AURUM: A good choice.
AURUM: The light from the spire at your back dims and fades, and if you turn around again, there's only darkness on that path. In front of you, then, you hear voices, smells - laughter, a rickety little stand run by a few children, who wave shyly as you pass by, offer some root vegetables roasted on a stick.
Solberg bends down with a chuckle and offers a trade: some coins and a few lollipops as a tip.
AURUM: The lollipops are /exciting/! They weren't expecting tips! In exchange, they give you directions - a sequence of turns and landmarks, the latter increasingly bizarre. But if you head into the underground, the surreal murals painted on the walls, the enormous stone dragon curled up in a subway tunnel, the mist-shrouded pillars of crystal - they're all there where the kids said they'd be.
AURUM: There are other people, too - people that look like they haven't had visitors for a long time, who make small talk, point you in the right direction. They seem to know where you're going.
AURUM: Eventually, there's a cavern, and in the cavern is a clearing with a sunbeam falling onto it, from a hole in the ceiling, far up above; there's a purple-and-blue silk tent pitched in the middle of the clearing, and the smell of cinnamon wafting from that tent.
Solberg tips their hat in farewell to the residents, grateful for their help. Glad to see points of light make their way to even the forgotten corners of the world.
Solberg bends down and knocks on the floor in front of the tent, signalling their presence.
AURUM: "Ohoho, that's a new one. Usually people just stroll in, my dear." A melodious voice from inside - which seems more spacious than the tent's exterior would have indicated, with a table in the middle, and soft pillows, and carpets, and a smoking censer. It's the sort of tent that makes you feel like there ought to be a crystal ball? On the other side of the table, there's a dark-skinned woman in purple silks with a luxurious scaly (!) snake-tail (!!), and on the table is an array of colourful, hand-painted Tarot cards, and two enormous mugs of black coffee. There's a cushion, opposite her by the table.
AURUM: "Please, have a seat. You're Solberg, right?" She smiles.
Solberg: "Never hurts to be polite."
Solberg steps in and peers at the woman while taking a seat. "And yes, that's right."
Solberg: "I didn't wear a nametag. RFID scanner's a possibility, but I get the feeling you don't have one on you here."
AURUM: "My name's Mairim. It's a pleasure to meet you." She smiles, and shakes her head. "Not around here, no. I only get the tiniest glimpse of the stars, down here, but they do tell me things every once in a while."
Solberg: "Oh yes, the Solberg constellation is in retrograde this time of year. I always thought the name was a little on the nose."
AURUM: She grins, delightedly, takes a sip of the coffee. "They -didn't- tell me whether you'd be turning left or right, though. I'm glad I got to see one more of you before you all went on your adventure."
Solberg takes a sip, eyebrows raised, and perches the cup in front of themselves. "Plural. I wasn't aware I was part of a group."
Solberg might have just said something so they'd have an excuse to drink some more coffee in the middle of the usual games of conversational tennis.
AURUM: "You weren't. Now you are. Funny how a moment changes things, isn't it?"
AURUM: "You're all seekers of truth in some way or another. I'm sure you'll get along."
Solberg: "As long as they don't overlap uncomfortably."
AURUM: "Comfortable overlaps are fine, though? That's nice to know." A flash of white teeth (and fangs (and little purple venom-stains at the tips of the fangs (it's a friendly smile, honest, just- sometimes fangs make things seem a bit more ominous than they ought to be!)))
AURUM: "What are you looking for, though? The cards weren't being very cooperative. And… one thing that's true about the underground… we're the eyes and ears and beating heart of the City. Of every city, that's ever lived."
AURUM: "You're from somewhere… that forgot that magic was real, aren't you?"
Solberg skeptically glances at the Tarot cards and the stars and whatever other knick-knacks Mairim has around. "'Forgot' is an interesting choice of a word. Maybe it's in use and we don't think of it as such, just interleaved with our natural lives. Where do you draw the line between magic and the mundane when your city's machines can fabricate a renovated city block overnight?"
AURUM: She beams, again, with something like pride. "Then not everyone forgot. Good."
AURUM: "You're going to see a lot of strange things- in a minute I'm gonna give you a book called 'Anything Can Happen', so I mean, spoiler alert- and I just wanted to make sure you had your eyes open. Then again, you wouldn't have found your way here if you didn't, would you have?"
AURUM: "…anyways, what are you looking for?"
Solberg spins the now-emptied cup of coffee around their finger with all the dexterity of an ocelot. "The devil's greatest trick was convincing everyone they didn't exist. I fear the ones in my city seek to lead the masses, using mob rule to exterminate anyone not of a similar mind. But there must exist some fine balance between care for the concerns of the few and the needs of the many,
Solberg some impossible balancing act - "
Solberg: "Equilibrium between tyranny and mob rule."
AURUM: "Mmmmm."
AURUM: "A tightrope-walker, then."
AURUM: "I can work with that, I think."
AURUM: "…Long ago, there was a philosopher-king who saw his people suffering, dragged off into the dark, preyed on by monsters."
AURUM: "And so he thought, and he thought, and the rules of his world were, that when you killed something, you got stronger."
AURUM: "And so he thought, and he thought, and he built a machine, and turned the crank, and then… all of a sudden, his people had things to fight. Safe little problems to solve, until they could grow up and solve the real problems."
AURUM: "Even made a festival out of it."
Solberg: "Curious. Maybe if you ate it, or took in its energy in some other fashion. Or maybe it's a matter of training or expertise."
AURUM: "…long story short, it didn't work. Something bigger and scarier than the philosopher-king ever imagined came along, and swallowed up the whole world in his jaws."
AURUM: "…I guess the point is, we're forced to work within the rules of the system, but then every now and then, there's a very loud thud, isn't there?"
AURUM: "And when we weren't looking, the rules have changed."
Solberg: "Or the rules existed all along, and just didn't come into play until then."
AURUM: "Mmm. Also a possibility."
AURUM: "So some people try to learn the rules, grow the roots deep, change the system, hang together against the cold…"
Solberg glances back a little. "Like out here?"
AURUM: She smiles.
AURUM: "The story continues, though."
AURUM: "That machine, the philosopher-king built."
AURUM: "It's still runnin'."
Solberg: "Inside this massive entity's jaws, even still?"
AURUM: "From the outside of things, looking in…" She shakes her head. "There's things I can understand. But on the inside, that's a whole lot of pointless suffering, don't you think?"
AURUM: "Imagine if you were stuck in those jaws."
AURUM: "Imagine if that's all you knew."
Solberg: "Alright. So … where are you going with this?"
Solberg gives a wry smirk. "Hard to tell if you're being literal or allegorical with all this. I mean, 'anything can happen,' right?"
AURUM: She pulls a book out of her robe; it's shimmering and silver, and titled <混乱大空ヘン : Anything Could Happen>. "Now, this title's a promise. Anything can happen. You can find the strength you need to balance out your utilitarian equations…"
AURUM: "I mean, that's just it, right? This is a frame story around the jaws I'm about to ask you to jump into, so it's… both literal and allegorical."
AURUM: "Bear with me here."
AURUM: "I'm stuck out here, but… you're not."
AURUM: "You got an idea of what you can do, in there? The difference you could make?"
Solberg: "Not fully. Not yet. But I get the feeling I'm going to find out."
AURUM: "Don't skip ahead." She slides the book over to Solberg.
Solberg picks it up, leans back in the cushion and kicks up a leg as they read. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Solberg: "Thanks for the coffee, by the way."
Solberg refrains from making a bad 'cup of Jo' pun. It gets old.
AURUM: Moonlight and starlight climb out of the book, and up Solberg's arms, and there's the feeling of falling you get from a dream, sometimes, then -
AURUM: It's beautiful. Starlight spilling from galaxies, the moon overhead gazing down like a loving mother, a wild laugh in her eyes, a silver forest spreading for miles.
AURUM: Truly, this is a story where anything could happen…
AURUM: A story that could even end with a miracle.
AURUM: Slowly, you fall forward, gently, and become a shooting star.
AURUM: Mairim watches, reaches out with a hand and takes the book back, once Solberg's gone, glances back at her tarot spread with an odd expression.
AURUM: "Well. Two out of six, and one hared off into who-knows-where."
AURUM: A long, deep sigh.
Solberg thinks, as they fall, with a bemused tone. "(I don't know what else I was expecting.)"
AURUM: "…safe travels, all of you. I suppose I've some promises to be ready to keep."

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