ilyana | [Voice]

Umm... hello? Is... is there anyone there? I'm not sure who exactly I'm speaking to, as I've never used something like this before, but... does anyone know where I am? I... I was traveling with a merchant caravan until just recently, but I'm afraid I'm a bit lost. I... ohh...

[the voice grows fainter, and fainter, until an audible thud is heard.]

Ooh... I'm so sorry about that... I'm afraid I'm feeling a bit faint... This kind of thing happens to me from time to time. Does... does anyone have any food they might be able to spare me? I feel... so weak... I have so many questions I want to ask about where I am... and why in the Goddesses name have I found myself here... but I don't think I can really rightly ask those questions until I eat something. It... feels like it's been weeks since I've last eaten anything.

[The young woman's voice becomes a bit more somber for this last part.]

There is... one more thing that is incredibly important to me. Upon arriving here, I seemed to have been stripped of my belongings, and there was one item that was very precious to me. Does anyone know what would have happened to my rexbolt tome? I fear it is... utterly irreplaceable.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It will. If you need help or you're going to pass out though, give me a call and I'll come looking for you.

I'm Marco, by the way.

You're awfully kind, aren't you? Thank you...

I'm Ilyana... a traveling archsage.

No, it's just a tradition for New Feathers here. People helped me when I was new, and I remember how easy it is to feel lost in a new world, eh? [Besides... you're starving. That's pretty disconcerting.]

Archsage? What's that like?

I see... then I appreciate your assistance regardless of your reasons.

I'm a practitioner of arcane magic. It usually involves me fighting with my lightning magic for some reason or another.

Lightning?

We don't have magic in my world so I guess I'm pretty curious, eh. Does it involve talking to spirits?

Yes... lightning.

Well some of it does... there are 4 primary sources of magic in Tellius, the Goddess, the Spirits, the land itself, and your own soul or spirit. The druids, or dark magic users work typically through the spirits, while the priests, or clerics typically work through the goddess. Mages such as myself rely on the power of the raw elements of the land, and the power within our own hearts. As an archsage, I also have learned to draw power from faith in the goddess as well...

Are you following me so far?

Aye, I am!

It's pretty fascinating to me, actually, but it makes sense so far.

The most experienced practitioner of magic I knew was the goddess herself, as she was capable of using all forms of magic through sheer force of will.

So you use the goddess' magic and then the magic the land? And she also uses both I take it? Or well, I guess she could probably use all four sources, right?

That's right. Although the goddess... I'm not sure where the source of her power comes from other... than herself. She created the entire world after all so...

Wow, really? That's pretty impressive. And you actually met her?

Well... sort of. She had divided into two separate entities several hundreds of years ago, although that wasn't what we'd all been taught. There was Ashera the goddess of order, and yune the goddess of chaos. I met both Ashera and Yune, and... fought against Ashera.

You fought against Order?

[Note that he just looks amused by this.]

Well... yes actually. It threatened the fate of the entire world.

Interesting...

Why?

Ashera had made a covenant with the ancestors of all my people... that we would not war for a thousand years. We broke that covenant, and her judgement upon the world was to destroy us all.

Hardcore.

You were actually able to stop her?

With help from the goddess of chaos Yune, that Ashera had sealed away hundreds of years ago? ... Yes.

Wow.

But then the world would be in complete chaos, right? Although that's better than ceasing to exist, I think.

No... believe it or not Yune, was in more of a state of balance than Ashera. When sealed within the medallion, she spent the entire time being sung to by the heron Laguz, beings of pure order. They sang comfort to her, and because of that she was kept in check... to a degree. Ashera had sealed herself off from the rest of the world.

Yet... Yune I think knew the danger that she could be... so she left our world after we defeated Ashera. She said that maybe one day she'd return to us when we needed her most, as the whole goddess she once was.

Oh... wow.

That's... pretty impressive.

So what are heron laguz, and how did that help?

Hmm... that could take some explaining... See, the Laguz are gifted creatures that have the ability to shift between two forms. One that resembles us Beorc, or humans as we've also come to call ourselves, and another form that is of a great creature. The herons were one tribe of Laguz focused on peace, order, and living in harmony with nature. They had no offensive capabilities like the other Laguz trives, whose animal forms allowed them to fight with the strength of their animal.

Yet that did not mean they were powerless... their power was in their songs, and they were incredibly gifted in seid magic and galdrar. Their abilities allow them to heal, or imbue others with energy, or enormous feats of strength. Through the power of the slumber galdr, they had the ability to suppress the chaotic energies of Yune. I believe that it was through the power of the herons, Yune was able to remain more at balance than Ashera, who became so cold and calculated.

Laguz are zoan? You have an entire tribes like that in your world?

Wait... just in songs?

What's a Zoan? Also... there's more than just tribes like that, there are 5 well known Laguz Kingdoms. The beast kingdom of Galia, the dragon Kingdom of Goldoa, the hawk kingdom of Phonicis, the crow kingdom of Kilvas, and the herons of Serenes. Recently we also learned of another kingdom across the great desert, the kingdom of Hatori, where queen Nailah and the wolf tribe originate from.

... What do you mean by just in songs?

Zoan are... like me. I'm a zoan. We have more than one species. We can change in-between animals and humans usually, but some of us are two different animals.

But tribes? It's genetic then?

Ah, the power of the herons. You said they could do all those amazing things with just their songs.

[Voice]

ilyana - 2012-11-26 03:53 (UTC) - Expand

fierybluebird - 2012-12-01 00:12 (UTC) - Expand

ilyana - 2012-12-09 20:52 (UTC) - Expand

fierybluebird - 2012-12-15 00:59 (UTC) - Expand

ilyana - 2012-12-15 01:20 (UTC) - Expand