Intro Log || The Night of the Thirteen Moogles

[melodiesmods]

Characters: All the "Heroes of Light" (only new characters can start threads).
Where: Aqures Ixen.
When: The 5th of October. 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. New Heroes of Light will not have their Crystal.
Warning: N/A

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," the call of the Moogle finally waking 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 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 arrived these past months too and they will come soon! Like you, they had Jobs and a Crystal-- Wait, you don't have a Crystal...? That's weird.

Your Moogle will be puzzled by this fact, as all Heroes of Light are supposed to have a crystal with them. Well, maybe you are not a Hero of Light after all?


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 one or two months ago. 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 worthy of being revered as heroes. 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 minor 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 Night of the Thirteen Moogles
— Anytime —
Something that may be obvious, is that the city has a spooky feel to it. There are various decorations, it clearly looks like a work in progress but it seems the idea is to make the city looks as scary as possible. Characters familiar with Halloween may recognize the decoration as being strikingly similar. The Moogles will be more than pleased to explain these are all preparations for the upcoming Night of the Thirteen Moogles on the 31st, and they will explain the legends to characters if they ask.

Hopefully all this talk of curse and King Moggle Mog is nothing more than legend.


The City of Aqures Ixen
— Anytime —
There are a lot of things left to do in the city, especially with everyone excited for the upcoming celebration. Starting from 18:00, a series of BLitzball games will take place at the stadium located in the tenth district, opposing amateur teams in a friendly competition. At the same time, a small group of Triple Triad players are playing before Mognet Office in the ninth district, and they are more than happy to teach the rule to anyone passing by. Characters are free to enter and play games of Triple Triad, and if they do so they will be given very basic cards and explained the rules. This may be the start of a promising career!

Characters are also free to visit the city-- Be it Mognet Office just behind the Triple Triad games is filled with very busy Moogles, or the Airship Port in the twelfth district from where characters can board for free Airships from Shoopuf Airline, knowing the next airship departing from Aqures Ixen will do so on the 9th. Still, characters can board an exposition Airship should they like and visit it.

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.

Comments

[servaturus]

Those assumptions would be right. He had begun a cycle to lay ruin to three worlds, colliding two against each other while the third would lay in waste in a state of entropy. The realm that remained unseen would be brought forward though that event wouldn't come to pass until his defeat, though he had seen the vision that started it all. For now, it was only a plan that had not come to pass. He had Yeul with him, his charge and his only reason for living by one purpose and one purpose alone; to protect her at all costs.

He gave a thoughtful nod and moved through the crowd slowly with patient steps. Honed and seasoned for battle, Caius was removed from humanity long ago only to be reborn here. It was odd to feel his own heart beating again without the crystalized heart from a goddess that kept him alive simply for that purpose to serve as Yeul's protector.

"Yes. I was, once. Yet I stand here again with a new life though my purpose is shrouded in an enigma." Caius, on the other hand, simply didn't care for secrets the same as others would guard them. He was confident in his own ability to survive that no matter what he did, or would do, those secrets may no longer matter. Eventually, someone may give warning about Caius' appearance here.

"To feel the breeze once more has been nothing but a memory of a life long ago." It was a clue that he was a lot more than he appeared and Shun was right to understand that much about him by his presence alone.

[empty_smile]

The once-demon would feel conflicted, regarding how much room he held to judge the man. Shun walked along a rather interesting path, in terms of morals. After destroying his very home, just from a subconscious thought, alone, he would not be someone to preach about right and wrong. Not to say he would condone destroying worlds, or anything along those lines...

Matching pace with the man, Shun peered up at him with a curious gaze. When he hears that answer, his brow tensed. Narrowing his eyes, just a bit, green eyes lowered to the ground. He doubted it was the same situation. Still, though; human "once"?

The teenager did pick up on the clue. After a long pause, he looked back up at Caius with a thoughtful look. What, exactly, would he have become, to deny him the feeling of wind? The former telekinetic was at a loss, simply allowing his thoughts to wander on their own. So, on that note, he was speaking, "My apologies if I'm understanding you incorrectly," he started, and paused to decide on the wording, "I'm under the impression that you became something that denied you years of even the simplest of worldly enjoyments. May I ask, exactly, what you became?"

[servaturus]

"Dead." Caius simply stated without giving much of an explanation. It was the truth and it wasn't exactly the entirety of the story either. At the very least, if the kid turned and ran or simply quieted from his questions, Caius wouldn't feel the least bit surprised. It was a sadistic twist of his terrible humor that also betrayed the kind of man that Caius really was.

The terms of black and white were not so easily defined when one saw the timeline from beginning to end, returned to the starting point and erased his own past. The only thing he couldn't change were memories passed down from generation to generation. Once a celebrated hero, he had tasted the tainted waters and the rancid decay of humanity's best and worst.

He knew the consequences he would face and that regret carried through in all aspects of his life, living or as an immortal. His response carried so much meaning in not only tone but through definition as well. He was...dead.

[empty_smile]

He did fall quiet, but it was not the most...uncomfortable silence. At the very least, it wasn't the kind of silence that came out of shock. Rather, Shun's expression turned to one of thoughtful. That man had been dead, prior to arriving...? Honestly, if he had heard something, like that, without having been spirited away to a new world, he might not have believed it. As it stood, however, he was finding himself with a new perspective on the realm of possibilities. There was also the matter of him being, suddenly, without his abilities. If not for the new abilities, he might have considered that they were all dead.

Or, perhaps, it was that he was still in shock, period...and so nothing was fully sinking in, "Dead..."

That was his response after a few seconds. It was almost as though, repeating the word, would help him understand in spite of the lack of explanation.Saying it did serve a purpose, in reminding him that there were several meanings of the word. There was no guarantee the person meant it in the same sense he'd been thinking. Not to mention, the man could be lying.

Less than two seconds after his repeat of the word, he continued. For the sake of the chance that Caius could be telling the truth, Shun was going to go along in a calm tone, "So, before arriving here, you were dead...? I assume most wouldn't be so calm to admit something like that. Also, it sounds as though you were dead for quite a long time, yet are fully aware of it."

...Was he saying that he had been a spirit, then? Shun did come from a world that had those, and so he wouldn't be the least receptive to the idea.

[servaturus]

He nodded once. It wasn't that he didn't wish to explain it, it was that didn't know how to explain it without generating more questions. He wasn't alive in the same sense and so to say he was dead was the better choice. It wasn't a lie, just not the entire story. "Yes. I was nothing more than an empty shell dwelling on the surface without beginning or end. I had no pulse, no life of my own, to explain more would cause you grief."

It was odd, he was willing to explain himself to a stranger but somehow he felt a familiar pull to this boy. He was reminded of Noel and that meant something. At least it had for Caius. With each step he took toward the unknown paths in the city, marked one more step on a journey that he had hoped would bring him peace. Such things were fleeting, and he knew it.

[empty_smile]

While Shun had it in him to push matters, his mind was flooded, enough, as it was. He accepted the nod. Green eyes rested, curiously, on the much taller man's face, for a moment. Lowering his gaze as he continued to listen, Shun didn't hesitate to absorb what knowledge he was being offered. Even if it was starting to feel as though his head had begun to complain. The pressure within it warned of a headache, and he ignored it.

"..."

Those words rang a strange...sense of familiarity, somehow. He couldn't explain it, but it vaguely reminded him of his...final days as someone classified as human. He could not help but to wonder if the man had been lonely. That wasn't something he could bring himself to ask, though -- even if he would be able to understand on some level, if he had.

"I won't press the subject, if it isn't something you're comfortable with sharing. Besides, it would put us on unequal grounds, as I haven't shared anything about myself," he said, looking up with a faint smile.