Event || Revelations

[melodiesmods]

Characters: All the Heroes of Light and their Moogles.
Where: Order's Sanctuary, The Interdimensional Rift and their Homeworlds.
When: August 03rd - August 30th

Summary: Following the battle against Palitutu, all the Heroes of Light were transported into the Interdimensional Rift. They were told by Palitutu they would have to find her to prove they can break the cycle-- But before they could reach their destination, a malevolent entity from the Rift stripped them from their immortality...

And now, they woke up in a decaying and dying world, most specifically in a place called Order's Sanctuary. From there they are ready to jump... Into their homeworlds! Feel free to use this post for the Mingle at Order's Sanctuary and should your homeworld be the stage for the Heroes of Lights' next adventures, feel free to make a thread for it and as many sub-thread as necessary! Please refer to the OOC Post for questions and plotting.

Warning: Whatever you come up with.

Comments

Saori Nakagawa - Kuukan

[needsteaplz]

Saori shielded her eyes for a brief second as light flooded her senses as she stepped into a portal. Rounded pebbles crunched under her feet and she opened her eyes. Any heroes who followed after her would find themselves in a rather large Japanese stone garden with a koi pond. The sun wasn’t overhead and tree tops that peaked above the white walls surrounding them were still green. Several feet away from their landing, there was an equally large Japanese-styled house.

“I wonder which world this is, kupo,” Brigid looked around she hovered but noticed her Hero walking towards the house. Without a second thought, she placed her spear on the stony ground and removed her greaves before walking in through the opened doors of what looked to be a seating area to view the garden from but only there were no chairs.

“I don’t believe it, this is….” She looked back towards her fellow heroes. “It’s alright, everyone. We’re actually in the summer house my family owns. Come in, but shoes off first.”

“I-Inari-sama?!” A female voice called out in surprise but it came from a red fox who had just turned the corner to see the Heroes. She skidded over to front of Saori and bowed. “M’lady, forgive me. I did not hear you would be arriving today, let alone have guests here!”

“It’s alright, Tamamo. This visit was rather last minute on my side so I should be the one to apologize.. I’m afraid I don’t know how long we’ll be staying, but we’ll be in your care.”

The fox gave a nod and turned to give the guests a bow. She had never seen such an array of characters here before. “Welcome, guests. Please make yourselves at home. Would any of you like anything to drink?”

Mingling/Playing Tourist

[needsteaplz]

Kuukan, aka the Otherealm of Saori’s World is home to gods, souls and the supernatural. The summer home the Heroes arrived is in the First District where gods reside but there are plenty of places to explore.

At the summer home, there's a dojo to train in, an outdoor hot spring, as well as a smaller Japanese tea house. Fox spirits in both human and animal form are available at everyone's beck and call.

Some points of interest are the All-Souls Library where not only memories of past lives are archived but every written word in the history of mankind exists. For all things food, there’s the Gods’ Kitchen. It’s where gods associated with cooking, kitchens and the hearth work while they create and preserve recipes and stock on the finest ingredients.

If neither place is your cup of tea, there’s the Second District. Compared the First District, it’s three times the size. It’s a residential area for many souls and supernatural creatures. There’s shops lining alleyways as humans souls and animal spirits make their way through daily life.

Meeting the Family

[needsteaplz]

Brigid had taken upon herself to explore the house. The moogle couldn't believe this was just the summer house. Saori did her best to explain what the main manor looked like but Brigid had no concept of a Japanese house looked like until now. At the moment however, she looked over the garden as she sat on a cushion, two pairs of eyes watched her behind.

Seconds later, a scream could be heard. “KUPO---!” Anyone who came to the poor moogle’s aid could see it in the arms of a five year old girl with a boy the same age as her. They both had black hair with a faint hint of green to it. Their eyes however resembled a certain someone everyone knew.

“Gotcha! Toshi, it’s so fluffy! I bet Mommy would let us keep it!” The girl rubbed her cheek against Brigid’s face. It was then the boy noticed they weren’t alone. He stood in between his twin sister and anyone who approached them. As much as he tried to put up a strong front, there was something rather adorable about it.

“Who are you? Are you one of Mommy’s friends?”

[OOC: Saori's children, husband and her close friend are later available if you like!]

Re: Meeting the Family

[not_most_days]

The talking fox at the entrance of the house had been a bit of a surprise, even considering all the things that Mary had been exposed to over the past year and several months. That this turned out to be Saori's home was the real surprise. The pirate doffed her bandana at the moment of realization, trusting in her host and lover that there would be no need to keep her identity concealed here.

But now she wasn't quite as sure. Saori had already told her about her family, but to see them in person made her feel...she wasn't quite sure. Her hesitation is what makes her linger long enough for the children to notice her as well.

"Uh...yes...my name is Mary. I'm...a good friend of your mother's."

Re: Meeting the Family

[needsteaplz]

Yae's eyes lit up in awe as she came closer to Mary, still cuddling Brigid. Any pleas for help from the moogle were drowned out by the little girl with pigtails. "Oh! Mommy's told us about you! Is it true you're a pirate?"

Toshi followed after his sister. "Yeah like did ya have a huge ship and treasure too?"

Given that the two were only five years old, there was no way they knew how their parents' open relationship worked. Saori kept the introductions of the Heroes simple for them. She figured they would eventually bombard everyone with tons of questions. After all, it's not that often they guests from different worlds.

Re: Meeting the Family

[not_most_days]

The sheer eagerness of the children washed over the awkwardness of the meeting. It still lingered, but how could she possibly remain troubled in the presence of such happy younglings. And she couldn't say she was surprised either that Saori was a fine enough mother to raise such good children.

"Aye, at times. Mostly sailed with a fair few other folk and did some fightin'. I'm not really the Captain sort." She thought for a moment. Would these kids know names from her era? She wouldn't be surprised if they stood the test of time. "But I've sailed and fought alongside Blackbeard, Charles Vane and Edward Kenway."

Re: Meeting the Family

[needsteaplz]

"Blackbeard? Wow!" The two exclaimed in awe. Sadly their knowledge would be very basic given they were still five years old. "What's it like to be a pirate?"

Yae spoke up again. "Mommy told me girls weren't allowed to do lots of things back then but that's just dumb! Girls can do anything they want too!"

Re: Meeting the Family

[not_most_days]

She wasn't expecting much, and really as someone who lived during the era she's glad at least one name survived.

"Being a pirate was interesting. There were some who did it because they were bad people. Because they wanted to live outside the law or hurt people. But most of us did it because we wanted to be free." She turned and looked at Yae, smiling wide, "There were lots of things women weren't expected to do where I come from. Or told we couldn't do. But never let anyone tell you that. Or if you can, use their own ignorance against them."

[forcegalactic]

So this was what a god's house looked like. Mordecai didn't see much difference between that and a rich mortal's house. Sure, there were talking foxes and otherworldly creatures that felt more like cosmic beings than aliens all around town, but the architecture wasn't a surprise. He wouldn't blame the gods; this house is beautiful.

He takes off his shoes at the entrance and removes his thick robes out of politeness. The ends of his pants were stained with dry mud, but his buttoned shirt was still clean. It wasn't the best state in which to visit a god, but it was better than nothing.

Before he could step any further inside, he was stopped by a small child. Mordecai game him a side glance. Now, he wouldn't describe himself as good with children, but he understood there was a level of patience one needed when talking to five-year-olds.

"...Yeah, work friends." Did Saori ever mention having kids? He had assumed that she and Mary were single before hooking up, but it was pretty darn cute if Saori were a single mother. "I'm visitin' your mom only for a short time, don't worry."

What else do you say to kids?

"Name's Mr. Jiminy. What's your name?"

[needsteaplz]

"I'm Toshi and that's my twin sister, Yae," the boy introduced them. "It's nice to meet ya, Mr. Jiminy."

"Mordecai...help, kupo..." Brigid was still in Yae's embrace.

It's clear the girl wasn't going to give up the Moogle any time soon. She walked up closer to the Barkeep, and she definitely has her mother's eyes. "Where did you come from, Mr. Jiminy?"

[forcegalactic]

His mouth tightened.

"I'm from Mars. It's pretty far from here."

He didn't know if such a planet existed on a plane populated by gods, but if it didn't, he wouldn't have to explain how such a colony could exist in space.

[needsteaplz]

"MARS?!" The two looked up at him from shock but Toshi spoke first.

"Wow, we've only been able to see it in the sky. I didn't know people lived up there!"

[forcegalactic]

"Yup. Only recently, so there's not a lotta folks livin' there." Saori might explain that this was true in an alternate timeline, but for now, Mordecai couldn't deflate the kids' excitement.

"Haven't been to Earth in years, much less...wherever this is." Earth? The sky? He shrugged.

Re: Meeting the Family

[acceptedoblivion]

Of all the things to surprise him, it wasn't the talking fox, or even whose world it was. No, it was the overly loud cry of a distressed moogle. Gollowing Lin when she sped off to the source, he almost does a doubletake at the two twins. Well. They certainly did find the scene of the crime so to speak.

"Yeah. You could say that." For a moment, Ira tried to recall if Saori ever mentioned having kids. Though it would make sense, considering how she knew how to handle him and Ven. "I'm Ira."

"Kupo!" Lin exclaimed, flitting closer to the three as her Hero "Do you mind loosening your grip, kupo? I think you're squeezing my friend too tightly." Light bless these children, but she could see the other turning a bit blue.

Meeting the Family

[needsteaplz]

Saori may have let it slip back in the day when she and Ira were housemates. It wasn't because she was trying to keep her kids a secret. No one really asked or just assumed things since she was close to Mary.

"I'm Toshi," the boy introduced himself and then pointed to the girl. "And that's my twin sister, Yae. Nice to meet ya. You're one of the guests that came with Mommy, right?"

"S-sorry!" Yae didn't mean to hurt the moogle after all. She lets go and Brigid flopped down to the floor on her back. The girl's attention turned to Ira now. "Ooh you have really pretty hair!"

"I thought I wasn't gonna make it, kupo..." Brigid groaned after catching her breath.

Re: Meeting the Family

[acceptedoblivion]

Ira nodded once. "Nice to meet you, and yeah-" He began to answer, nodding, until the point that Yae spoke up once again. A bit of frustrated red began to show crossing his face at the sincere compliment, but otherwise he tried to deflect it. "Ah, I'm afraid my sister got the good looks."

By which he meant that she had several depending on who you asked, but the children didn't need to know that.

"A-are you okay, kupo?" Lin asked of her friend, before pulling out a small kupo nut from her pouch. "Here, this should help!"

Questing Time!

[needsteaplz]

The other Heroes are called to the main room in the Inari summer home. Both Saori and her husband, Kenichi, sit at the front. The foxes bow as they leave to close the door. Saori gave them a nod and began.

“Alright, so we had a talk with the other gods. A few of them have agreed to help us with weapons and armor. They’re not doing it for charity work however. You’ll need to do a mission for them.”

Kenichi continued. “Depending on which mission you select, you’ll receive a personal commission of either a weapon or armor. If both missions are successful however and you manage to impress your future benefactors, they may consider doing both for each of you if you desire. I recommend taking them on as soon as you can. After all, with the huge mission of ahead of you, they’re going to need as much as possible to produce the finest.”

"Now I'm afraid I can't fully participate in the missions myself," Saori added. "They argued having a goddess on the front line would make it too easy. I'll tag along as back up if anything unsavory rears up. Other that, are there any questions?"

[shinrasfinest]

This realm was something else. Sephiroth would never have believed it was truly a world which was populated with gods, souls and near enough anything which could be considered 'supernatural' until he'd seen it with his own eyes...yet after a brief period in exploring Kuukan -as if the summer house itself wasn't spectacular enough- Sephiroth often found himself being led by his moogle as Spencer expressed fervent interest in the various goings on in Saori's world. It was all a bit too much to take in for his hero, however.

They couldn't sit around forever though, surely, and so Sephiroth stood in the main room as Saori and Kenichi presented something of an opportunity...for equipment no less. Considering what he and Spencer had managed to piece together about this Otherealm, it was no offer to be refused. Never mind that it did feel a little like they were subjects brought before royalty...not least considering the way that the talking fox-kin acted around Saori and her husband.

"Future....benefactors?" Surely he was overthinking it- "Exactly what sort of an arrangement will we be entering into?"

[not_most_days]

For Mary, this world was an exercise in changing her perspective. Saori had spoken of being a god before and she had no reason to doubt the woman, but even with trust it was something else to meet the reality of it. It was all just a touch overwhelming even as Saori tried to keep an open mind.

At least Bonnie was enjoying herself, and she was utterly thrilled to be brought along on one of the portal trips. That it was a realm where Saori had the power to watch over them and keep them from harm helped her feel a bit better about the moogle being with them.

But her eyes drifted back to Saori's husband throughout the exchange. That all of this was going so pleasantly made her worry as well, but not quite about the same things as Sephiroth was.

"If Saori is vouching for them I see no need to worry about the offer. We were treated as guests when we arrived. We're still guests now." She looked back to Saori, "Am I correct? We're under your house's protection?" She was laying it on a bit thick but she knew how Sephiroth could be when a worry got into his head.

[needsteaplz]

"Yes, you're all under our protection," Saori reassured them. "That's not going to change so long as I'm here."

Kenichi chuckled. "It's true. She would fight half of this world's pantheon for you guys. It took some time but they're convinced you're not a threat to our world. Wish I could say the same about this Calamity I've been told about. Unless you light a fire under their ass, threaten their to revoke their powers away, or mildly threaten to break their jaw...again," he looked at Saori, who rolled her eyes. "I'm afraid a majority of them won't take a large scale threat like this seriously until it's visible in our world which is far too late. For some gods, they let their status and pride render them blind to others and lazy."

"Also," Saori cleared her throat. "It's rare for a god these days to just hand out weapons and armors. Yeah back then, we might've asked a lady to emerge from a lake to give a man a sword as proof of divine providence that he was to rule as a king but that quickly proved to be a lousy basis for government. Look, they just want to be sure they're backing the right horse. They want to see us in action. Don't let the fact the main goal of these missions is to bring back specific items. We're going outside the safety of the first two Districts. It's a much more wild world out there."

[shinrasfinest]

Hearing Mary lay it on so thick made Sephiroth feel as if he was being almost immature in his stubborn awareness of potential hidden agendas. He made a conscious effort to unfold his arms and at least try to uncoil some of the apprehension he had lingering somewhere in the top of his shoulders. Indeed, they had been treated more than amicably during their stay here; he'd even been able to get cleaned up and fresh again.

Kenichi's manner seemed to ooze fairness and transparency which, alongside a particular comment about gods and their pride, further helped him to come around and so by the time Saori came through with a further explanation Sephiroth had naturally become more interested. After all, equipment of that certain 'divine' quality simply wasn't obtainable on Crystallis nor in any of the other worlds he'd stumbled into so far. The idea had merit.

He nodded and cast a glance to whomever else had come to this meeting, just to affirm his interest considering he had a habit of making himself hard to read.

"So long as we've the proper guidance for venturing outside into that wild world, I don't see why we shouldn't make an effort for it."

Quest: This is No Mine/Egg-Straction

[needsteaplz]

[Since the party number is low and by some luck the locations of both missions were near to each other, both quests are taken on.

The Heroes will get their first taste of the Third District, a much more expansive area as this is the home for more unsavory souls and feral things. Thanks to the fox spirits' magic, the group is teleported to the border between Second and Third District. The area is dry like bone with dead trees, patches of giant rocks and an occasional flickering of red light from embers across the surface. For the district that was associated frequently with Hell, it almost seemed picturesque. If there was any fauna, they hid themselves well.

Ami, Saori's friend, had provided them with two longer rectangular cases that looked like they were more suited to carry musical instruments. Saori strapped the two to her back since she was demoted for these missions to transport duty. If push came to shove however, she wouldn't hesitate to help her friends out. She looked over her shoulder and then pointed to the mountain.]

Okay so the mine's main entrance is at the foot of the mountain. The Roc's nest isn't far from it. Actually it's up the side of the mountain. We should head for the mines first before grabbing the eggs. Does that sound alright to everyone?

[shinrasfinest]

[A picturesque Hell is right, yet as they teleport in and Sephiroth takes his first look around there is something about the perpetual dryness that irritates the end of his nose a little. As far as the 'wild' world that had been spoken of back at the house this seemed just a little too...dead? He flexes his left hand, close to the handle where Masamune is available from it's harness but there is no reason to even consider to draw his blade just yet.

That Saori was taking transport duty was something he still felt unsure about, he'd gladly help to carry, but the real fact is that she's not to get involved too far with whatever comes of the quests they've been assigned. So instead as they come to see the mountain, Sephiroth pulls both hands up behind his head to tighten the band holding his hair up.]

Sounds logical. Lets get it done...

[If no one else is going to take point, he'll just have to do it. Nothing new.]

[not_most_days]

[The teleport is a bit disorienting but Mary recovers quickly enough. She takes quick stock of their surroundings, reminded a little of a volcanic island she once found herself on. She nods in agreement with Sephiroth and follows his lead.]

Best watch our step as well. But a Roc? Can't say I ever imagined running into one of those. I suppose I've long since learned something that's just a story in one world can be truth in another. Just still manages to surprise me sometimes.

[She moves carefully as they walk along, making sure each step is along bits of ground that aren't glowing. Her eyes drift to the mountain, expecting she'll take the lead once they have to start climbing.]

Anything else we ought to worry about while we're here?

[needsteaplz]

[Saori walked a few steps ahead of them. As quiet as it was, she knew this place could always hold a nasty surprise at anytime. If there was anything that could pick up the smallest activity, it would be Saori's heightened senses.]

Well, all mythical creatures migrated with the gods and souls of the dead once Kuukan was created. Our predecessors realized co-existing with the living was too disastrous so that's why there's a separation between this world and the living.

Most of the residents here are more concerned about being eaten by the mononoke, the corrupted beings that break the taboo of soul consumption, and finding a way to be reborn into a better life. Plus, since we're still relatively close to the border so those who live here aren't as bad. A single hit or a warning shot would be enough to scare them off really. And actually, I actually had some of the members of the corps Kenichi and I run to do some recon a few days ago just to be sure.

I imagine the Roc parents won't be happy when they see their eggs are gone though. A chase will be inevitable but if we put a strong enough front, they'll be forced to cut their losses.

[Or at least that's what Saori hoped for.]