tushanshu | [Video] 001

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[Video] 001

[Having been here a few days now, Aqua has mostly acclimated to being around people again, and simply sitting idle doesn't suit her. She's had enough of aimless wandering with no direction to last her a long while.]

Hello, my name is Aqua, and I arrived here a few days ago. Things have been mostly explained to me, and I'd like to help out in any way I can. I'm not sure where to start looking, though, so I'd be grateful for some direction. I know a fair number of spells, but I'm not sure how useful they would be here. [She hasn't seen Unversed or any other sort of monster around, so she doubts being able to summon a bolt of lightning upon a target would be of much help to the general population.]

[A brief pause while she considers whether or not to ask her other question, given that she's just offered to help, but decides to go ahead anyway.]

And... I understand that how we are brought here is not fully known, or how we could leave, but if anyone has an idea, please let me know. I've been away from my home too long.

[She's worried about both Ven and Terra. The former is safe, but what if he has awoken in her absence? And the latter... she doesn't know at all.]

I'd truly appreciate any advice. Thank you.

[End video.]

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I'm more than happy to explain, and perhaps I could learn about your magic as well. I've been to several worlds before, so maybe I can offer a wider range on what the parallels are, too.

[That wry smile is not unnoticed, and Aqua has a glimpse of worry on her face that quickly disappears.]

I look forward to it as well. I hope to be of some use.

That would be wonderful. [Quietly, half to herself:] I wonder if you could... Hm.

Until then.

---

[When Aqua finds her way to the Guild building, she'll catch Raine in the main hall, sitting at the front desk, head bent over a notebook full of unfamiliar script. At Aqua's entrance she looks up, stands with a pleased smile.] Hello, Aqua. Did you have any trouble finding your way?

[Aqua smiles back at Raine.] Not at all.

[She looks around the hallway, an appreciative tone to her voice.] This is a lovely place; how long have you run the Guild?

Good. I know the city can be confusing at first.

[Raine follows Aqua's gaze for a moment, appreciating the architecture again. Every so often she has to stop and do that; it really is lovely.] Since shortly after we returned from the Dreaming-- something like two months, officially. Not long at all, all things considered, but I've made some progress.

[There's a pause, as she thinks about that, and the complications of politics. Then she turns her eyes on Aqua, bright and inquisitive.] If you can teach your magic, that will be helpful. You said you've been to several other worlds before?

It is, but your directions were very clear.

[Aqua approaches one of the walls as Raine speaks, studying the intricacies of the architecture.] I heard a little about the Dreaming; that must have been incredibly disorienting.

[She turns back to Raine, meeting the other woman's eager eyes.] I've never taught anyone who hasn't already had some known ability beforehand, but I'll do everything I can to teach anyone who is willing. [Aqua nods at the second statement.] Yes, although unlike here I actually chose to visit them. Have you been to other worlds before?

The Dreaming? It was, and it wasn't. [Raine considers that thoroughly unhelpful statement briefly before adding,] At the time everything seemed perfectly logical and rational, much in the way dreams do, and time barely seemed to pass. It was only afterward that things became quite so jarring.

[Moving on. Magic: much more interesting to Raine at this point than revisiting the multivarious horrible things about the fight with Malicant.] I hadn't thought I could teach anyone without elven blood, either, but... well, suffice to say your efforts may not be so futile as you'd think.

[A headtip-- an equivocating gesture, though, not a curious one.] After a fashion. My own world was split into two parallel worlds for a very long time. Long enough that the fact that they had once been the same was forgotten. My friends and I traveled between them relatively frequently for some time.

[Aqua doesn't press it further, only nodding in agreement. She's getting a general idea of what it might have been like: dreams are strange things, after all.]

I hope so; there's always good in having more hands available to help. [There is, of course, one way to guarantee the ability to learn her magic and cast it effectively, but Aqua doesn't even consider it an option.

The mention of a split world catches her attention.]

Were you able to reunite your two worlds?

[According to legend, all worlds had been one, once, before being separated and cut off, so she's intrigued that two worlds may have been reunited.]

And even if you cannot, your own hands will still be a great help. I have some students, people who are willing to help, but there's still very few both interested and willing.

[Her demeanor shifts a little, and there's definitely something like pride in the way Raine speaks now. Some little bit for herself, but mostly she's just proud of what her students managed to accomplish.] We were, yes. It had just happened when I was summoned here-- I don't know yet what the repercussions will be, and there are certain to be political nightmares, but it must be better than the alternative. [That is, two dying worlds and a war that never really ended.]

Of course. [Even if she can't teach her magic to any of the kedan, she'll help out herself.

The hint of pride in Raine's voice doesn't go unnoticed.] I hope it won't be too bad, at least. It sounds as though you did something for the benefit of all.

[By now she's finished taking in the hallway, and has not forgotten what she's here for in the first place.]

Can you show me where you treat patients? Maybe I can be of help right now, if there is anyone here.

That much I'm sure of. [She has to be.]

[She smiles at Aqua, just a little thing, and gestures to indicate Aqua should follow.] There's no one right now, which is fortunate except in that it removes the opportunity for demonstration. I'll show you what we're working with, however, and I can give you some idea of what to expect.

[Raine leads Aqua through halls, and while she hasn't been in charge long her attitude is not tentative; she carries herself like she belongs here. There are rooms for examination and treatment, for storage, for teaching. One looks halfway set up for keeping a longer-term watch on people. It's not a hospital by any means, and there's equipment lacking here and there, and overall the space is too big right now for the few people who work in it, but it's clearly a work in progress.]

[As they go:] You said you'd been battling 'dark forces' before this. I take it then you're most used to a combat setting?

[Aqua nods and follows Raine, speaking as she goes.] I would like to demonstrate, but I am glad that there is no need for it right now. A tour will be wonderful.

[She finds herself looking at nearly everything they pass, taking it all into account. It isn't huge at all, but appears serviceable, and Raine has clearly put work into it, and is continuing to do so.]

Yes, I am. Fighting monsters and those who would upset the balance of light and darkness. Although, recently it's been more defending myself.

[Raine slows on occasion if and when Aqua shows particular interest, wanting to make sure she gets an accurate enough picture.]

[At this last she nods, understanding.] Prior to my arrival here, I most often used my artes in a similar context. [A pause to consider, because that's an interesting way to put it.] The balance between light and darkness? How do you mean that?

[Aqua does take a little time to pause and study things of particular interest, noting things to ask about in detail.]

Light and darkness are two sides of the same coin, and keeping that balance is important. If, say, the darkness begins to overwhelm the light, the worlds of the Realm of Light will be in danger. [She pauses a moment.] There are some who would try to force such an imbalance for their own gain.

[This does give Raine some minor concern, and she turns the idea over.] There always are.

What of the reverse? Has it ever happened that light threatens to overwhelm darkness?

[This curiosity mostly because Aqua has almost explicitly identified herself as on the side of light, and Raine has to wonder, given the typical associations of good and evil and the example Aqua chose, if she really means balance. She doesn't doubt Aqua's character; she just has to wonder.]

[That gives Aqua pause. Master Eraqus had spoken often of the darkness and the dangers it presented to the light, as well as the need to preserve the balance, but never of the light threatening the darkness.]

I've... I've never heard of the light endangering the darkness. Wherever light exists, there are always shadows, but the absence of light is also darkness. That's why the light needs protecting: it can be lost, but the darkness is always there.

[Raine makes a quiet, thoughtful noise, watching Aqua. In a moment she lifts her free hand, turns it over, and there's a faint light gathering at her fingertips. It's brief, not there long before she dismisses it.] In my world, light and darkness are perfect opposites. Two sides of the same coin, you could say, working in concert but rarely competition. Balance is... an intrinsic property, I suppose, of the elements.

The way you speak it sounds more like you're charged to protect the light, rather than keep a balance. A noble goal, to be sure; I only wonder why the idea of balance is important if there's virtually no risk of darkness, too, being lost.

[Yes, this is absolutely an academic problem by now.]

[It's something to think about, at least. In Aqua's experience, darkness has never brought good, and while protecting the balance of the two was taught to her, Eraqus certainly put a strong emphasis on the defense of light against the claws of darkness.]

I would consider myself a defender of the light in those terms. But the balance is important, in that the darkness must be kept from overwhelming the light, or disaster will befall the worlds.

[She thinks for a moment, running over her training and Raine's words as well.]

If... if there ever is a time when the light threatens to consume the darkness, then it would be my duty to prevent that as well.

[The way she says it though indicates that Aqua highly doubts such an event would ever occur.]

[Raine's not surprised by the doubt, but she does consider her question answered. She nods slowly, assimilating the new information into her picture of Aqua's world. Or worlds, as the case may be.]

But there's not really a risk of that, with the state of your world as it is. I see.

[Overall Aqua's concern seems more like keeping people safe than keeping a nebulous concept of a balance intact; the latter is only a means to the former. Raine approves.]

You've mentioned traveling between multiple worlds a number of times now. Is that normal, where you come from?

[Raine's not correct about Aqua's own world, but though the shadow of sorrow over the loss of her home crosses her face, it's gone quickly; Aqua understands the intended meaning.]

That's right. The darkness is the greater threat.

Actually, no. Most people aren't even aware that there are other worlds aside from their own, let alone travel between them.

[She catches that moment, but doesn't comment, only moves on to the next point of curiosity.]

That does seem to be the case when there are multiple worlds. Hm.

[A slight diversion, to explain her curiosity:] The parallels between all the worlds fascinate me, especially because they're all so very different. And yet, a number of people are from different versions of the same -- template, I suppose, called Earth. I met a man from a world where the spirits had the same names, and a thirty-day, twelve-month calendar seems more or less standard... there are more points that coincide than I would have expected, initially.

[She's almost lecturing, but this is something that Raine's really intrigued and occasionally excited by, and it shows as she talks.]

[It is very fascinating, though Aqua's never heard of a world called Earth in particular, nor if it would have many variations of itself. She does, however, have suspicions about the cause of the similarities.]

There's a legend I've heard that all the worlds used to be one, bathed in light. But people began to covet the light for themselves, and fought over it, and that in turn opened their hearts to darkness. And so the world was plunged into darkness.

[She pauses for a moment, recalling the story.]

But there was light still in the hearts of children, and with that light, the children rebuilt the world as many, smaller worlds, each separated from the others. Perhaps the similarities are a result of several worlds being rebuilt alike to one another?

[She's no scholar by any means, but it could be a plausible theory.]

Perhaps.

[Raine has to think that over, and there's silence for a bit, her head canted to one side as she looks not precisely at Aqua, but rather through her. It sounds like a fairy tale, a myth, but there's usually something of truth within those.]

It seems reasonable that the state of your world -- one that contains multiple worlds within it -- would be a result of the situation you describe, much as my own was intentionally divided by another's hand. By the standards of others, including the spell that brought us here, they likely count as one world, despite containing or having contained multitudes.

Before the fight with Malicant, my-- [oh no what does she call him in this context] --partner and I were doing some study of the Dreaming specifically, and the planes in general-- looking into the ties that connect all of our worlds. After all, each world is connected to this one, so though travel between them independently seems impossible at this point, there must be at least that one common factor. It had begun to seem like the-- underpinnings, I suppose, of Life and Death and Dreaming and so on, might bear some passing resemblance, and if the underlying structures were similar then the way the worlds grow would also necessarily have things in common.

The why of that, however-- well, it would explain much if we all came, long ago, from some common source, long since diverged.

[Raine's really going to have to think about this more. Her attention's been consumed by the Guild and the politics and everything else, and talking to Aqua about this is reminding her of what drew her and Solomon into extended discussions in the first place, and it has always fascinated her.]

[The idea that the universe Aqua knows, the one she's traversed, would count as one 'world' by the standards of the spell bringing Foreigners to Keeliai is beyond anything she's considered.

Her eyes widen at the sheer scale of such a thing.]

How could that even be possible? So many worlds, each divided from the others, spread across several Realms... how can they be considered all one world overall?

[It's simply mind-boggling. And yet, if it is true... that could explain her inability to access the Lanes Between. Unless...?]

The planes here; they sound much like what I know as Realms. The Realm of Light is where most worlds exist, where they are together and yet separate. The barriers dividing the worlds also exist there. But they can be bypassed by means of traveling through the Lanes Between, which exist in the Realm Between. And... my homeworld was one of the few to exist Between, as well.

There is also the Realm of Darkness. [She hesitates for a moment.] It's... the Lanes Between cannot be accessed from it, and how travel between it and the other two Realms is possible aside from the tearing of pathways through dark magic, I don't know. Is it possible that what I know as Realms are known as planes here? Life and Light, Dreaming and Between, and... and Death and Darkness?

If they were one in the beginning, then-- [Raine stops there, because fairy tales while often based in truth cannot always be used as the best judge of what actually is. She comes at it from a different angle.] Consider that you may travel between all of those places, but have somehow never been to this world before, despite its evident central position to many of ours. It's possible a different term would be better to use -- 'universe,' perhaps? [She doesn't sound convinced about that, though, and shelves the matter for later.]

Keep in mind most of this is theory, and either untested or unfeasible to test, but it's certainly possible your Realms and the planes here are roughly the same. Death is harder to access, I understand, than Life and Dreaming are, and in many worlds death and darkness do seem to be intrinsically intertwined concepts. And the Dreaming is a sort of-- interstitial place, where boundaries are much less clear, and memory and emotion take priority.

[Raine looks a bit wry now.] Although I believe something of the nature of the planes changed recently, when we returned.

It's been said that every star in the night sky is another world, so traveling to all of them in a lifetime would be impossible. [She pauses.] But if this world is so central to others, then surely I would have known about it...? [Aqua shakes her head. It's all so complex, and to think of entire other universes separate from the one she knows....]

That would make sense. The Realm of Darkness is not easy to access, and even harder to escape. And while the Realm Between is not quite the same as you've described the Dreaming, it's similar enough. But if the nature of the planes has been changed, it might... it might not be as similar as I thought.

[She's still trying to wrap her head around the idea that this is not only an entirely new world, but a whole new universe she would otherwise not have known of. Any magic capable of pulling someone across a universe to this place would have to be truly powerful. Aqua's getting a little overwhelmed by it all.]

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