Intro Log || Melodies of Eternity

[melodiesmods]

Characters: All the "Heroes of Light" (only new characters can start threads).
Where: Aqures Ixen.
When: The 5th of March. The new Heroes of Light will awaken early in the morning.
Summary: The new Heroes of Light awaken in Aqures Ixen and are informed by their assigned Moogles of what the situation and what their destinies are. This a log for them to react to the situation, meet each other and be welcomed by the former batches of Heroes of Light.
Warning: Lots of distressed and depressed Heroes of Light.

Where you were or what you were doing— It does not really matter. Not any more. Within an instant, the world around you collapses. Reality twists and shatters... Or maybe you are the one who is collapsing and shattering away from reality as you knew it. No matter what the answer is, it will only take a few seconds for you to find yourself sinking into a void, your world vanishing into the distance. There is nothing but darkness as far as the eye can see. Even you feel different: all the powers you might once have had, are now gone. It is silent, cold and it feels as though life itself is slipping out of you.

At this moment, when it looks as though nothing but a never-ending void awaits you, a red Crystal forms before you. In this void, its warmth compels you to grab it. Upon doing so, you can hear a soft, soothing voice speaking:


"Wake up."

Soon, the void itself vanishes and is replaced by distant noises of engines. Had it all been nothing more than a dream? The soothing voice repeats its call one more time, but is soon replaced with a much less graceful "Wake up Kupo." Hand clutched on your Crystal, the call of the Moogle may finally wake you up. But you are no longer in your world, nor in the void. You are before the Crystal of Fire, in the third district of a city called Aqures Ixen. At this point, you may realize the engine noise actually originates from an Airship flying low over the city and headed to dock beneath the castle. As if it wasn't strange enough, your clothes have changed as well. They are now a reflection of the Jobs you are wielding. Last but not least, you are surrounded by Moogles, small and fluffy creatures who are more than happy to tell you about everything you want to know, about your 'destiny' as a Hero of Light, about what awaits you.

Or at least, they will tell you everything they do know, which isn't much in the end.

The only people around you are like you-- There are quite a few of them, all clothed in their Job garbs and most likely wondering what is happening. If somehow you do not realize it, the Moogle who woke you up will be more than happy to inform you there are others like you around. In fact, there are other Heroes who have arrived in the course of the past year and they will come soon! Like you, they have Jobs and a Crystal.

If asked, the Moogles will mention that the Heroes of Light - that is to say you - are fighting against time to save Crystallis from the Calamity that is about to awaken to devour the entire world. Well, that is if you don't die or crystallize first. A couple days ago, a lot of Heroes of Light crystallized or died out of the blue without any warning! Sounds terrible? Welcome to Crystallis.


The Other Heroes
— Shortly Thereafter —
Thanks to the efficiency of Mognet, it does not take long for the other Heroes to come around: those who arrived in this world within the past year. You may have imagined heroic and charismatic figures when your Moogle told you that there were other Heroes of Light in this city. You may have imagined persons with fearsome powers when they told you about how they managed to push back the Empire and defeat gigantic beasts in the past. And more importantly, you may have imagined them as people who would have all the answers to your, doubtlessly, numerous questions.

If so, you may be up for a tragic disappointment. Still, for the most part they know more than you on the situation and may be more than happy to fill you in, especially if your Moogle didn't tell you much.


The City of Aqures Ixen
— Anytime —
With Choco Egg day nearing, there are a lot fo Hypello working on the upcoming competitions and on making chocolates! Want to eat some? Too bad, the Moogles will hit you with the stick they use to make the chocolate if you try to eat them!

And besides the chocolates, there are a lot of things to do in the city for newcomers. Moogles are working hard in Mognet Office of the ninth district following the election of their new director, and while there are no Blitzball Matches today, a lot of Triple Triad players are gathered at the stadium. Why? Because they are working on the early preparations for the Triple Triad World Championship that will happen in May! Characters are also free to visit the city-- They can visit Airship Port in the twelfth district from where characters can board for free Airships from Shoopuf Airline.

Or maybe you could visit your new house in the 11th District, and get to know your new neighbors and housemate. Hopefully your neighbors are people you will get along with.


The Laboratory
— Anytime —
A location where a lot of Heroes of Light seem to be gathering is Palitutu's Laboratory. It is a place where employed characters can research into various topics. However, most importantly, characters can see a file with their name...

Should your character decide to go there and peek at their file, there are two possibilities. Either the file is corrupted and they cannot access it: too bad for them, but at least their life will remain a mystery. Or should you decide the file isn't corrupted, they will find a summary of their lives up to their canon point, as if written by a third-person omniscient narrator. On the column left to the text, to the top there is a portrait of them, and beneath it there is a 3D model of them. Said portrait and model can be switched to any year of their life. At the bottom there is a percentage, indicating 0%. On the right column, there are various links, most of which are grayed out. The clickable links lead to their Homeworld History and their future post-canon point history (corrupted file for unfinished canons).

At least, they can lock this file away if they don't want anyone to see it.

The Hospital
— Anytime —
Characters who have already been in Crystallis before do not wake up by the Crystal of Fire like everyone else. Instead, they will wake up in the Hospital of Aqures Ixen, in a room where there are over a hundred of other Heroes of Light like them-- Maybe even some familiar faces... Except they're all in Crystal Stasis.

A few Moogles and nurses will be waiting by the room, and they will welcome all characters waking up. However...

Upon exiting the room, they will find the Hospital is very busy. Nurses and healers can be seen moving corpses around on stretchers, and overall a very dark and tense atmosphere reigns over the Hospital. In closed rooms, some of the most skilled healers are trying to analyze the corpses and find out what happened. And these dead people? They are of the Heroes of Light who died on the 29th of February.


Melodies of Eternity
— Anytime —
If you are a Hero of Light who survived that accursed day, your crystal will shine at the very same moment the new Heroes appear before the Crystal of Fire. That means your character is now linked to the Crystal of Fire and will come back to life after a week if killed.

They will also receive their Moogle and their housing in the 11th or 14th District. But that probably isn't enough for the pain to go away.

Comments

Laboratory

[21stcenturyguy]

[Santa is convinced Ed knows more than he is letting on. Of course, he thinks that about everyone, so it's nothing personal. His fuzzball mentioned that there are files on everyone on the computers here, so he's definitely checking it out.

He smirks when Ed asks for help.]

Sure. Scoot over. I'll see if I can change the settings to make it easier for you, old man. [He wishes he could just email the file to himself to peruse later he bets the old man is clueless enough that he could do it without Ed even knowing, but there's no internet. He'll make do with the quick glances he can steal while he pretends to search for the right buttons to press.]

[has_been_faking]

[Ed definitely is, and he's usually good at covering up or glossing over anything about his past that's too in depth. But here it is, all ripe for the picking. He doesn't look too thrilled about asking for help with this, since he doesn't want to draw attention to what's on the screen. But better than only one other person sees it, than potentially dozens of his new colleagues.

A quick glance will tell Santa that Ed's here from 1953, so he definitely wouldn't know an email if it smacked him in the face. Also that he was in prison at that time. Federal prison. Once glance and he's already got gold.

Ed hovers over him as he works, though. He's inexperienced, but he's not dumb. He at least managed to get this far on his own with the computer.]

I just-- It's a little disconcerting how they have this information on every last one of us. Better do the same to yours, if you haven't already.

[21stcenturyguy]

[Santa scrolls, filing away tidbits. Prison is interesting and all, opens up avenues for all sorts of insults, but it's not what he's looking for. Santa is scanning for mentions of telepathy, espers, the weird shit he'd used to.

But while it seems that Ed is a believer in better living through chemistry, he's got zilch on what Santa needs, which is a way to communicate with his sister. He snorts and locks the file with a few easy keystrokes before Ed gets too suspicious.]

There. Done, old man. [And he sure wasn't kidding about that.] What makes you think a charming guy like me has anything to hide? [He does, but he doesn't want anything thinking he does, and he'd like to save the prime blackmail material he just learned in reserve for when he really needs leverage. So bluffing it is, until he can get his file locked.]

[has_been_faking]

[Lots of mention of studying magic and alchemy, being friends with a werewolf, something called Shadows, but nothing about psychic powers. He did have some dealings with a necromancer, though.

And old is right. Apparently he's 82?]

Thanks. I appreciate it.

[Ed shoots him a raised eyebrow and a smirk.] Find me someone who says they have nothing to hide, and I'll show you a liar.

[21stcenturyguy]

[Santa huffs. Yeah, he's got his secrets, but nobody here knows his real name, so he doubts anyone can get to them. He's still going to lock it down as soon as he gets a private moment.]

Yeah, so I got secrets. But an old geezer like you'd be too senile to remember 'em even if you could get to 'em. I'm not worried. [When in doubt, bravado out.]

So, is it good to be out of the pen? [Because that's a sure-fire way to deflect talk about Santa's file.

[has_been_faking]

Awfully harsh. What ever happened to respecting your elders?

[That sarcasm stops in the face of that comment, though.]

Did you read enough, then? Get enough dirt on me to satisfy yourself?

[21stcenturyguy]

[Whoops, looks like Santa hit a nerve. He puts his palms up.]

Calm down. Can't help if it some things popped out at me before I could look away. I ain't gonna tell anyone.

[He gives the doc an appraising look.] Besides, it's the most interesting thing about you. I thought you lived in libraries and jerked off to tomes for fun. I'm proud of you.

[has_been_faking]

[He's not sure how much he trusts Santa when he says that, but he died back off. Ed gives him a look that's almost pitying when he says he's proud of him. Naive kid.]

There's nothing to be proud about over going to prison. Trust me on that. I don't want people getting the wrong idea about me, either, which is why it's not something I want spread around. I'd much rather have been living in a library.

[21stcenturyguy]

[Santa doesn't get what the big deal is. Nobody knows him here, and he doubts they'd really care what he was in for back home. Santa didn't think Ed had imprisoned any kids to experiment on and murder, so what did it matter?]

I'm more than happy to spread the story that you're a weird library hermit. Did you wanna have one true book love, or did you work your way through the Dewey Decimal System?

[has_been_faking]

[He smirks slightly, shaking his head. You're a piece of work, Santa.]

I think people are more likely to believe that about me anyway. I hardly come off as some kinda criminal mastermind.

[21stcenturyguy]

[He studies Ed a little more closely.]

Are you some kinda criminal mastermind? 'Cause that could be useful.

[He shrugs, not wanting Ed to think it matters to him one way or another.] You know, if you exhaust the library here and need a new hobby.

[has_been_faking]

[Flatly:] Do I look like some sorta criminal mastermind, Santa? [No, he looks like an average, though disheveled, 30ish year old. Not some gangster.]

I have a hobby. It's called alchemy. I also enjoy gardening, playing piano, and baseball. Would you like a list? I can keep busy. Besides, the first thing I plan to do is go traveling and see as much of this world before it's covered in crystal.

[21stcenturyguy]

No, you look like a creepy bastard you'd avoid on a bus. That's why nobody'd suspect you of actual devious plans. [It's perfect. Well, mostly. Santa's preferred method of disguise is the 'angry asshole' front, but not everyone can make violent look as sexy as he does. Ed's gotta work to his strengths.]

Look, you don't wanna share your plans to make creepy homunculus babies and shit, that's fine. [Just, don't think that Santa's not on to you. Cause he is.]