melodiesoflife | Intro Log || The City That Never Sleeps

Intro Log || The City That Never Sleeps

Characters: All the "Heroes of Light" (only new characters can start threads).
Where: Trano Golsaucia, Aqures Ixen, Airships.
When: The 5th of May. The new Heroes of Light will awaken early in the morning.
Summary: The new Heroes of Light awaken in the Temple of Wind next to Trano Golsaucia, and they 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: N/A

Where you were or what you were doing— It does not really matter. Not any more. Within a split second, 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 know 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 before long it feels as though life itself is slipping out of you...

And at this very 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 a gentle breeze. Had it all been nothing more than a dream? The soothing voice repeats its call once more, but is soon replaced by a much less graceful "Wake up, Kupo!" Hand clutched on your Crystal, the call of the Moogle may finally bring you back to your senses. But you are no longer in your world, nor in the void. You are before the Crystal of Wind, in the Temple located right outside of a city called Trano Golsaucia. At this point, you may realize the breeze originates from the massive green Crystal floating nearby. 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. They look pretty tired, but they will be more than happy to tell you everything you want to know. They shall tell you about your 'destiny' as a Hero of Light and about what awaits you. Or at least, they will tell you everything they do know, which isn't much in the end.

There are quite a few people around you as well. For the most part, they are people like you-- All clothed in their Job garbs and most likely wondering what is happening. There are also some other Humans, Tarutaru and Hypello in the room, but unlike you they don't have a Crystal, nor do they have a Moogle following them. If addressed, they will say they are the Guardians of the Crystal of Wind and will confirm everything the Moogle said. They will reveal they found you unconscious around the Crystal a couples hours ago, and immediately contacted the Moogles and the government of Aqures Ixen.

If asked about it, both the Moogles and Guardians will explain that Heroes of Light have already appeared in this world within the past year, and they all are in a city called Aqures Ixen. It's the first time Heroes have appeared in this temple. In fact, you probably should go to Aqures Ixen as well. The Moogle will tell you this is where your house is and where the other Heroes will be able to help you. Thankfully, should you decide to take your sweet time to get there, the other Heroes may just come to you.

The Other Heroes
— Anytime —
And indeed, thanks to the efficiency of Mognet and Shoopuf Airline it does not take long for the other Heroes to come around. You may meet them in Trano Golsaucia or in Aqures Ixen, or maybe even in one of the Airships going back and forth between the two cities. They are those who arrived in this world months ago and they have gone through quite a lot. You may have imagined heroic and charismatic figures when your Moogle told you there were other Heroes of Light in this world. You may have imagined persons with fearsome powers when they told you how they recklessly attacked the Heran Empire to free their friends a few months ago. And most importantly, you may have imagined them as people who would have the answers to your, doubtlessly, numerous questions.

If so, you may be up for a complete and utter 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.

Trano Golsaucia
— Anytime —
Should you leave the Temple of Wind and head south, you will reach Trano Golsaucia. It's a gigantic city covered with snow-- To make it simple, this city is a gigantic amusement park. It is the most popular place in this world and of course, there are plenty of people all around. Thankfully, other Heroes of Light are easy to spot: they are the only ones who are followed by a Moogle and holding a Crystal.

And there is quite a lot to be done in this city. Maybe you could stop by the Triple Triad Center to begin a successful career in card games, or maybe you could buy a ticket at the Blitzball Stadium to support your favorite team. If you're the kind of person who relies on luck, you may have more fun gambling in the Casino or betting on your favorite Chocobo in the Chocobo Races. If you're more of a person who enjoys simpler games, maybe you could try one of the numerous carnival-style mini-games found in the city, such as the shooting stand or the treasure chest game.

If you'd like more details regarding all the attractions and games available in Trano Golsaucia, you can find everything here! Of course, all of this requires money and odds are that you may not have a single Gil yet. If your Moogle is nice though, maybe you could ask him or her to loan you some Gil...

Airships
— Every Four Hours —
Upon reaching Trano Golsaucia, you will also have the right to board an Airship. Exceptionally, there is an Airship available every four hours, all because of your arrival so that Heroes of Light can meet each other and go to Aqures Ixen with ease.

The flight itself should take between four to six hours as it will travel from one city to the other on route. This is nothing special for the denizens of this world, but for you it may be quite the experience if you never boarded a plane or any flying contraptions before. The service is nothing special, but there are some light refreshments offered free of charge. Note that most of the employees on Airships are Hypello.

Aqures Ixen
— After an Airship Trip —
Upon arriving in Aqures Ixen, the first thing you will see is the Airship Port in the 12th District. Following that, no doubt your eyes will find the Castle of Aqures Ixen, a classic yet refined structure standing in the city. From there on, characters are free to visit the city-- There are no attractions in this city, but there are scientific buildings, another Blitzball Stadium and even an Observatory serving as base for the Heroes of Light. If you'd like more details regarding all that is available in Aqures Ixen, you can find everything here!

Or maybe -and perhaps inevitably!- you could visit your new house in the 11th or 14th District, and get to know your new neighbors and housemate. It's been a long day, so you could use some sleep. Hopefully your neighbors are people you will get along with...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Breaking off from his conversation, Ven looked over at the stranger with a curious look that quickly broke into a smile. "Yeah! I just arrived the other day. I'm Ventus -- just call me Ven," he offered, as casual as ever.

"He's new to Blitzball, too, kupo," Mograe added. "You can probably answer his questions better than I can." Probably was the slightly proud disclaimer there, never mind that she had seen only a couple games herself in passing. Ven missed it and looked back to Cloud, his expression lighting up.

"Oh, yeah -- so the teams play underwater, right? Is it really for the whole game?"

"Good to meet you Ven." Cloud gave the moogle a friendly nod before turning his attention back to the new Hero and his questions.

"Not for the whole game. There's two halves. Some of the players have breathing gear but some of the best players can actually hold their breath the whole time. One of the other heroes, Yuna...well one of the Yuna's, they have Blitzball in her world too and she's decided to be a player here. She's one of the players who can hold her breath if you wanted to learn more about that."

Well, that was awesome, to put it mildly. As good as swimmer as Ven was, he couldn't imagine holding his breath that long, especially if it involved more than just swimming around. He doubted even Terra and Aqua could manage that, idolization notwithstanding.

"Wow... So have you ever played it yourself, Cloud? And can just anyone play, or only the professionals?"

Mograe shot him a look. Surely he wasn't actually considering it...

"No, I haven't tried playing myself. I've thought about it a few times, but I'm not even sure how I'd go about just "trying" it. My main hobby here is Triple Triad. It's a card game that's popular in this world. I'm not a professional player, but it's a bit easier to get into than Blitzball."

Cloud wasn't about to talk the newcomer out of trying if he wanted to give it a go though.

"Card game?" Ven echoed. He was curious, not skeptical, even if it sounded much more tame than what he knew of Blitzball. He had played different card and board games with Terra and Aqua over the years, after all; that was likely -- at least partially -- to blame for his competitive nature now. "That sounds fun! I didn't know cards could be a professional sport."

"It can't be that surprising, kupo," Mograe spoke up. "You were talking about hitting food around for fun, kupo."

"It's called Fruitball, and it's better than it sounds," said Ven patiently, although his expression held a shade of challenge in response to the moogle's continued skepticism. The look dissipated as he turned to Cloud again. "Anyway, is there a place to go play it or something?"

"Yeah uh...hang on." Cloud checked his pockets and then pulled out a small case that held his cards. He offered it over to the new Hero to take a look through. "There's a bunch of strategy involved. If the cards are placed in the right order a small number can beat a big one."

Cloud does raise an eyebrow at the mention of Fruitball. It sounds pretty odd, but so does Blitzball if you don't know anything about it. "If you want to play Blitz then you should go to an arena. For Triple Triad, I'm sure there's a card shop around here somewhere. Or I can lend you some of my cards for a game. We only need five each."

Accepting the case with care, Ven opened it and looked through the cards with interest. They had different numbers, he noted, and some had what looked like elemental sigils. If Cloud hadn't already mentioned it being a strategy game, Ven would've figured that out quick.

"Would you mind teaching me?" he asked, looking up again with an eager glint in his eye. Blitzball still sounded awesome, but there was nothing to say he couldn't check out both. Besides, chess was a strategy game, too, and the Master once told him that it had been used to help prepare for real life battles; maybe this game would sharpen some strategic skill or two with practice.

"No problem. The basic point is trying to top a number that's already out." Looking around, Cloud found them a convenient table and laid the cards out in a 3x3 grid. "Players take turns until nine cards are down. There are other rules that help smaller numbers beat bigger ones, or use the elemental notes or let you set up combos. Those vary from region to region and player to player though."

Cloud was happy to play a few rounds with Ventus to show him how the game worked in action while answering any questions he could answer. It was the best way to learn a game like this after all.

Ven took a seat across from him, watching and listening with the air of someone who was used to taking pointers. The game certainly seemed straightforward enough, although the different strategies definitely made it more interesting (and challenging, but that was never a bad thing). Ven was also the type to ask questions, but the hands-on experience was useful and within a couple rounds he felt confident in his understanding of how it worked. He hadn't won yet, but eh, that was fine, too.

"Right," he said finally, with a smile and confident nod, "I think I've got it down, although it's not really like anything I've played before." Not that he had a whole lot of gaming experience, but all the same, the statement was true. "So have you ever played against a professional player, Cloud?"

"Just once or twice. One of the other Heroes, Chiaki, she's a professional player. She even won a tournament recently. I'm pretty good at this, but I can't do the math in my head fast enough for tournament matches that use Same and Plus rules." He grinned and chuckled, "Sometimes I get lucky though and play a good move by accident."

Minigamer's luck was strong with him, but luck and basic skill can only take one so far.

That made Ven grin. Hey, luck was a legitimate factor sometimes. "So you've gotta be pretty sharp to make it as a pro, huh?" he mused. He was known for his speed, but puzzle-solving and strategy were a different kind of challenge, for sure. Not something he was bad at, but not really his forte, either.

"So you said this is your main hobby, right? Is there a lot of stuff like this to do here?" Games and things, he supposed.

"Yeah, pretty much. You have to be ready to react to whatever gets played, but the players who beat me are the ones who are better at planning ahead." There were quite a few times he helped his opponent set up a combo play without realizing it.

"Triple Triad and Blitzball seem to be the big things, but there's probably more out there. We've also been collecting monsters from different regions so that a fighting arena can open up. If you want to lend a hand I know we still need to capture a few more.

"Oh, yeah, I heard about that! It sounds like it'd be fun to participate." Ven smiled at a memory as he gathered his cards up, straightening them before passing them back over to Cloud. "I've been to a coliseum before; it was kind of like that. You signed up for the Games to fight monsters and the other fighters. I only got to watch, though," he added, although he didn't sound particularly put out about it. Watching had been fun, too, and he'd learned a few things.

Still. Thanks, Zack, for taking that last spot.

"So, yeah! Count me in in the next time you go hunting!"

That coliseum that Ventus described sounded fun. He hoped whatever they wound up with here was like it too.

"I will. And people usually send out letters through the moogle mail when they want to arrange something so you don't have to worry about missing anything. I'll let you know next time Yunie is playing a blitz game here too so you can see her in action. She's really good."

It had been a while since Cloud was really able to open up and have fun talking to someone like this, nevermind enjoy a friendly game of Triple Triad. He had a feeling Ventus would be a good friend.

"Great, thanks! And I'll make sure to get some training in before then!" Not only to adjust to his jobs and the state of his Keyblade, but to also make sure he wasn't rusty. It had been a long time since Ven had done anything, and if the way he'd felt after waking was any indication, he needed to make sure he was still up to speed.

He would have to look into this card game a little more, too. It wouldn't hurt to practice on rainy days, especially if he could give Cloud more of a challenge next time.

"And thanks for the lesson! I owe you."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Intro Log || The City That Never Sleeps

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I THINK they played together but don't quote me on it

haha np

Re: haha np

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