melodiesoflife | Event || Terra Incognita

"An Avatar of the Calamity...?" Robin's eyes widened. She hesitated; at least some of the others had been their enemies, and yet, the Sage wasn't being hostile. Did that make him different? She raised an eyebrow.

"What makes one into an Avatar?" she asked. "And... Kalki, forgive my saying, had opposed us. You don't?"

Ashelia stepped forward. "Honored Sage, if I may - the nature of the Calamity would seem to be less black and white than we previously thought." The Queen looked around at the gathered Heroes, her jaw set in its way. "And Kalki...her motivations are not necessarily to oppose us. She works to complete the will of the Heroes of Light - she was once one of our number, in the previous cycle. Her methods are questionable at best and abominable at worst, and she is of the Calamity, but only in so much as all of us are."

She sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Those statues - those Heroes worked with her in the previous cycle to preserve our hope, that we may continue the fight, perhaps even end it." She looked at the Sage. "Is that not so?"

Zelda nodded as Ashelia spoke. "I was told that the avatars would watch, hinder or help us. While some didn't even know that they were avatar's." Another hero had told her after their shared dreams and that space with the crystal.

"How is it that memories of the cycle before had seemed to be lost and yet it's depicted here?" They hadn't seen any hints or books that indicated it before they came here.

"An avatar is a being that simultaneously serves as a terminal for Narayana to observe the Heroes of Light and as an embodiment of her will." The Sage replied to Robin, before marking a pause. "Or rather an aspect of her will. Narayana is a being on a scale beyond our understanding. Kalki acted as your enemy, yes. But even I cannot say if she is your enemy. An avatar may embody the despair Narayana feels. Another may embody her resentment toward the Ancients or her hatred toward the Heroes of Light, while another may embody the compassion she feels for your cause. Or one may embody her desire to see all existence end. Should it reassure you, I feel confident when I say I embody none of these things."

He paused once again and then turned his attention to Ashelia. "Those Heroes are the very reason Avatars such as myself exist. The cycle repeated countless time and everytime, the same happened. From Narayana's point of view, it would be like watching the same play over and over again, only the actors change but never the ending. But these Heroes did something different. What they did intrigued Narayana, they caused the Calamity to feel curiosity toward the Heroes of Light."

And finally he turned to Zelda to answer her question. "Memories do not belong to a single person. Those who experienced these memories returned to the source of all life in this world and became one with it, before being reborn as Doppelgangers. Their memories ceased being attached to their own individual experiences and became apart of the collective unconscious of this world."

"I see... it makes sense," Robin mused. She frowned, her hand rubbing at her chin, while she thought it out. The Calamity as a person was something she just came to understand -- and yet, she could see its importance. They weren't opposing an event. They were opposing something that had a personality to it; an existence behind it. "She would like to see the cycle broken, too, then? Who... is Narayana, if you can explain?"

Edited 2015-12-06 22:12 (UTC)

Minato had been stunned when he was addressed earlier on, and after complying with the order now was paying even closer attention to the situation at hand more than he had previously--away from how numb his legs were from the climb through the stairs, and bemoaning the necessity of dramatic architecture. (At least, he asked about the door nicely.)

This was already far from a normal welcoming conversation; hopefully they'd be able to maximize on answers that would shed more light on their limited understanding of this world and the scenario they were fighting against. It was against his usual nature: being, to let others do the talking, but something the Sage mentioned bothered him. He may as well speak up now, before the opportunity to mention it passes.

"How do you exist, if you embody nothing? ... And how many more Avatars are there?"

"Shakyamuni said there are ten. That leaves four we haven't found yet."

Jade went quiet for the moment. This discussion was bringing them a little closer to answers... and yet he couldn't bring himself to be happy about it, knowing that the suspicion that had grown in his mind the moment he saw the statues downstairs was about as good as confirmed.

"She also said the black crystals we've encountered once belonged to Heroes who lost their minds trying to communicate with an entity beyond their comprehension. Moreover, the crystals were originally found at the Crystal of Fire, the exact same place the four Heroes ended the last cycle." He turned to the Sage, his expression grim. "That was how they restarted the cycle, then. By communicating with the Calamity itself, even though it cost them their sanity."

Professor Nebilim, too. True, it wasn't the Nebilim from his version of Auldrant, but knowing what kind of end she'd met was still a bitter thing to swallow.

Mograma. Varaha.

There were two named that Sephiroth hadn't known beforehand, these Avatar's of the Calamity. He nodded silently as Jade answered Minato, taking in also that tidbit of information that he'd either not heard before or not taken into account; with so much else on his mind as of late it was little surprise something important might have slipped through the cracks.

A mental note made, to somehow try to discover later what their roles as Avatars might be. One to test their capacity for forgiveness and justice, the other to observe their prowess when faced with impossible odds? For General Varaha, in particular Sephiroth recalls how strange he found it at the time, that a Hero of Light should be placed in charge of the stand against the Herans attack on Aqures Ixen.

Moreover, to what extent and to what purpose was this overseeing of the Heroes of Light? It felt uncomfortable, to finally have revealed what he had suspected for a long time; that they were all being watched by very many more eyes than they could really count.

He'd have pressed the question with regards to the black crystals himself; these items being of the most direct threat to the Heroes' in his opinion -considering by all reports the Calamity was still stalled- but given as Jade had taken it up Sephiroth looked over his comrade with another nod, before turning his attention back to the Sage.

He wondered, if it might be a similar phenomenon as the reaction which had caused some individuals crystals to turn white and never change since. If it could be the polar opposite effect...if white was being drawn into (since 'reunited' is a particular sticking word for him) the Calamity in some way, then black could mean...freedom from?

Kidd listens to the words being said by the sage and her compatriots. She'd thought she was keeping on top of things as she best she could but clearly there were details that had slipped past her. She was about to nod to Minato as he asked the number of Avatars before she could but she was a little surprised that Jade already knew.

But she listened and she took in what she could. The explanation of the doppelgangers was appreciated and lined up with what they knew so far, but then there were other details that still bothered her. "So those doppelgangers, those versions of us from the past cycle, and the few multiples we have here. We're all the 'same' people but separated by our memories and experiences?"

She pulled her crystal from her pocket, turning the white crystal cube in her hand. There seemed to be a red dot in the center, but it was more an illusion of the way it was cut than any vibrancy of the crystal itself. "If that's true of the Black Crystals, then what of the other colors. What do these mean for us? And the worlds we come from? Some sinister things have been implied but I think we'd like to know for sure."

"Yes and no. Even I couldn't describe what Narayana truly is." He answered Robin's questions and closed his eyes, thinking for a moment. "Think of it like trying to explain a cockroach the thought process of a human being. The cockroach lacks the capability to comprehend such a thing. It lacks the biological advances of humans, their awareness, senses, faculties, intelligence and knowledge. Compared to Narayana, we are the cockroaches."

With that said, he turned to Minato. "I was the first avatar to come into existence. A prototype if you will, that is the conclusion I have reached. This is why I can see through your eyes and that of the other avatars." And then he nodded as Jade confirmed there were ten avatars. "You are nearly correct. The cycle was restarted by Garland, not Narayana. It's always him."

Then finally he turned to Kidd. "There are multiple instances of each worlds. The previous Heroes came from different instances of your world. This means your worlds are safe. For now. If you were to die in a definitive manner… Your world would die along with you. And when your crystal turns blue—" He looked down and shook his head. "Some things I cannot tell you."

"Then... suffice it to say there is a danger to our worlds," Robin concluded, with a nod. "You are limited from telling us more by your duty, then?"

She wanted to press, but she knew how these things could be.

The explanation made sense. A being who was beyond their ken; and, she thought, much like a human did not care if a cockroach died, Narayana might feel the same about them. She tilted her head, though, and raised an eyebrow. Another name in that...

Robin looked back at Sephiroth and Jade. Then, with a frown, she looked back at Vamana. "Garland always begins the cycle," she said. "Then, is Garland here, now? And is he someone we must stop?"

As the Sage stopped with his explanation and turned away at that important point; what the changing of their crystals meant, Sephiroth immediately looked up from where he'd been idly watching the floor while listening and with narrowed eyes fixed them on the Sage. Some things he cannot tell them...

"Garland is the Emperor of the Herans." He was a little surprised Robin didn't know, but didn't even look to her as he quickly pulled thoughts around the more important point.

If Robin wasn't going to press, then someone had to. It was all very well being polite and respectful but some Heroes were already tired enough of being played with. The fact that the Sage knew they'd come here, and even requested them to be escorted here set off all sorts of alarm bells.

"When our crystals turn blue...means what, exactly? The Calamity connecting to our Worlds, or our consciousnesses connecting to this one?"

"If memory serves, no one knows what he looks like, right? Or at least... we don't." Not that Minato supposed it matters, he admits internally with a long sigh. But it figures it would be someone no one would be able to tail, if on top of their facial anonymity, they also chose to have their advisers often act in their stead. One can't help but wonder about the appearance of this powerful man to match the reputation of his actions.

"Excuse me for asking, but your looking through others' eyes... it only goes one way, right? The other avatars don't know what's going on here, or...?" It was a stretch, but after everything they'd been through, it was better to clarify. He also imagined the Sage would have had some other good reason for withholding additional information, maybe if not through this down another line of thought.

At the mention of worlds' deaths, and the meaning of crystal colors, he stayed quiet and looked to the others. This was heavy stuff, and he expected some other Hero to word their inquiries better than he could. He was grateful Sephiroth was able to bring up that honesty... and Minato also pondered, was there really a way for them to perish and not be revived? He thought of the current Crystallized Heroes, and the ones who would come to that state the future; he already had his worries and thoughts up to this point, albeit without confirmation.

"Whether Garland is a friend or an enemy, that will be your choice to make."

With that said, he nodded and turned to Minato. "Technically, yes." He sighed and closed his eyes. "However, two avatars managed to become aware of my presence and reversed the link. I cut all connection with them, but I do not know how much they learnt in the process."

And finally, he turned to Sephiroth "This is for you to discover." He replied to him and also to Robin. "I could tell you everything you want to know. But to what end? Knowledge alone won't serve any purpose. Right now, you are too weak to change the fate of this world or of yours. However, during your journey to learn the truth you may grow strong enough to do so. And I will not rob you of this possibility."

"Ah... I understand that you want us to grow." The 'but' may not be said, but it was unmistakable in her voice. She tilted her head to the side, unsure about discovering the information as they went; it disagreed with her sense as a tactician and her experiences.

But, if amnesia taught her anything, it was that sometimes one had to operate without critical information.

"Many of us, though, had different powers before we came. Some of us were far stronger before our arrival," she said. She wouldn't, necessarily, count herself among them. "Can you tell us why we lost our original abilities?"

Robin beat Twilight to the punch with that question. However, as she pondered it herself, she came up with her own answer. "Because our natural powers aren't what's needed."

She turned to the sage and questioned it. "It's the Onion Knight of legend, isn't it? I haven't read too much about it since I got here, but it's a part of it and we need to master it. Also, like I've surmised, they weren't taken, just locked."

Zelda had been listening but one question which hadn't been asked hung in her mind. "What about the white crystals or the black ones from our dream?"

She assumed that he would know of their trials if he had truly been able to see through their eyes. She knew a little bit about the blue crystals, that they would grow darker the closer they came to Crystallis but what about the others and why did it start off as red?

The tip of K'pandolu's tail had been twitching involuntary for the last little part of the conversation. Now, she clenched her fists, ears twitching back as her tail lashed from base to tip. "So it's not that you can't tell us anything useful- you won't. And why? Because 'we should learn it for ourselves'? Because that will 'make us stronger', here where so much has been taken?" There was a bitter taste in the back of her mouth, her words catching in her throat as she pushed past ancient instincts murmured anger. She'd woken with more memories in October- but she still remembered that moment of seeing van Baelsar alive, of feeling her own strength gone and then even victory hollowed out. "Knowledge is a kind of power- one we can use to empower ourselves to bring a final end to this. Is there anything at all you think you might bother to tell us?"

She flicked one ear in Twilight's direction, not bothering to look at her straight on. "A poor consolation. And how are we to know that that will in truth do us any good?" In the last cycle… the Onion Knight hadn't quite managed to pull matters off, in the end. And then there was Chiaki's theory, that such was part of Kalki's plan-

Ah. She focused her attention forward on the Sage again, arms folded. "The Moogles said something about Kalki. What is her current status? Was she one of those two avatars who realised you existed?"

"I am not speaking only of physical strength." He paused. "Mental strength as well. Mental development." Before looking at K'pandolu. "Kalki was one of them, yes. I couldn't tell you what she is doing or whether she is even alove."

With that said, he stood up once again and didn't reply to any of the other questions. Instead he walked to the shelves, remaining silent for a long while.

"You think my choice not to tell you everything you want to know is wrong." It was an affirmation, not a question. "... Those among you who want the answers, come back in two months." He turned away and looked at the books on the shelves. "The 'Calamity' shall awaken once again in the course of January, this cannot be stopped. Once it has happened, come to see me again. If the conditions are right, I will tell you everything you want to know."

"Just one more thing, if I may."

Jade wasn't exactly happy about being denied vital information, but it didn't seem like the Sage was going to budge. Short of threatening him and earning the ire of the entire city, there wasn't much they could do about it.

"On our way here, the townspeople mentioned a battle between Narayana and Kali Shashidhwaja. Can you at least tell us what they meant? We could ask them, but I suspect you know more about it than they do."

This doubtfully sounded like an answer the other Heroes wanted... Minato lightly bites his lower lip, and when he opens his mouth again he tries to make his words not sound as obviously tentative as they actually are, from the jumble of new information in his mind. This would be his first time dealing with the Calamity in the next year--and it sounded more serious than he had ever given it credit for; it was unfortunate this seemed like it would be the Sage's cut-off point from more exposition.

"If anyone's in more danger about dying for real--and their worlds with them, this sounds too important to wait on. Not just us, the ones "sleeping", too. Can we at least get a yes or a no, if this might happen soon?"

Robin looked at the Sage... then nodded. But she stayed quiet, after that; she wanted the answers to Minato's and Jade's questions, too. And a lot more, really.

But they could get them in two months, loathe as she was to accept that.

K'pandolu's tail flicked again, and she tightened her fingers on her arms, fingernails making little crescent marks. "I think it unhelpful, at best," she said, snapping off the ends of her words. He'd known about the Heroes for how long, now? As long as they'd been in this world? And all he had done- was watch. And of course he didn't specify what these 'conditions' were- presumably that was another part of whatever damnable test they had to pass to show they were worth it. As though he had the right, after this.

But her eyes widened and she hissed at the revelation the Calamity would awake again, closing in on herself a little more. Of course- they couldn't have expected that state of affairs to last forever. At least they had warning, she supposed.

"They mean the battle between your predecessors and the Calamity. Even though, it would be more accurate to speak of it as a battle between you, the Calamity and Garland."

He shook his head and briefly looked back at the Heroes.

"You're all at risk. Immediately I do not foresee any danger, but Garland, Palitutu, Kalki should she still live, all can kill you. And another avatar in particular you have yet to meet... And maybe will never meet."

With that said, he went silent. It looked as though he wouldn't say anything more, nor answer any more questions.

Too weak. May grow strong enough.

Come back in two months

As further questions were answered, Sephiroth remained near the back of the group and his arms had come to be folded tightly up over his chest. He had forced his gaze away from near enough glaring at the Sage in the wake of the answer to his own question and as yet more questions were dashed aside he found that his distaste with the situation was quickly bubbling into something more sour. More angry.

By the end, he was discreetly biting at the inside bottom of his own lip as if the sensation might help him to temper his own outrage. A strong part of him wanted very much to cast all of this off and the more he pondered about that the harder it was to remain objective. Sephiroth was glad that K'pandolu vocally expressed that she too were -putting it politely- also feeling acutely that the answers given simply weren't good enough, he looked her over momentarily, invisibly dedicating some support to her point of view.

It was probably a good thing that he'd remained near the back, as once it became obvious that the Sage wouldn't say anymore, Sephiroth was the first to turn and promptly head for the door back to the staircase before a soured, all too familiar feeling of betrayal threatened to swell up and burst over his stern self-control.

Event || Terra Incognita

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