Session Start: Tue May 17 22:33:21 2005 * TheStoryteller changes topic to '-= Chapter 3.1 - Reading Between the Lines | Location: Hylan Academy, Damon's Library | 4100 § | 5 MXP =- OOC chan at #iog-ooc ' == SESSION START == Going their seperate ways, one splinter of the group made up of Trune, Niri and Ryllan heads to burn the midnight oil at the campus's largest library facility. Attached to Prof. Damon's history department, it is positively massive... you could get lost in here among the rows and rows of books piled to the cieling. The cavernous hall is very quiet, as most students have left at this time of night. * Ashton (Ashton@c-67-166-171-177.hsd1.tx.comcast.net) has joined #lunar-iog2 There are many wooden tables set out in the central lounge, with a mousy young woman behind a desk and interfacing with a terminal of some sort. On her desk is a sign that says "KEEP QUIET" below the normal "Catalogue Information/Helpdesk". * Niri winds her way through the bookshelves with obvious familiarity, searching for some of the documents acquired on previous expeditions with her father. * Trune seems to be somewhat at home here as well, waving a bit too the mousy secretary, "Are the books actually here somewhere?" Niri doesn't have far to go.. in the nearby rotunda is a display of the new arrivals, chief among them the collection of what Elementalor project archives could be salavaged inr eadable condition. * Gayo is now known as Twilight_Princess_Gayo The librarian waves to you curtly, still behind her device. "Looking for the latest discoveries? Please head over there." She points to where Niri is rummaging through fancy shelves on the raised level. Ah, thanks. * Trune walks behind Niri, peering at the volumes, "These are it, huh?" * Niri carefully stacks her finds on a nearby table, treating the ancient books with great care. Yep. Take a look. All kinds of stuff about the elemental magics... * Ryllan approaches the desk as well, "Got any books in particular about old prophets from the days on Lunar?" Well, I'll be damned. Niri collects a few a of the things. The ones in best condition with protective covers are labelled "Adept Catalogue - Vol 1", "Elementalor Project - Abstracts" and one other that deals with "Homunculi". [Librarian] Old Prophets? Specify a time period please. Adepts...A project...Homuculi...what the hell? To be honest, I didn't get all of it. ^^; The style of writing and language is very old, and the pages are crumbling. But whatever it's talking about, it looks big. Something to do with...well, personifications of the elements, if I'm not mistaken... * Trune looks surprised, "So you're saying that these people represented the elements themselves? But...how?" [Librarian] We have pre and post Dragonmaster, the ruins age, and Virtue Kingdom. Ah... Ruins-age I think. The Prophecies I'm looking for were all attributed to a "Prophetess". I don't think she had another name... The Librarian nonchalantly points to a far off section, half empty. "The amount is poor.. our scholars are still working on some new editions." [Librarian] Please visit tomorrow when Damon is here for more specific inquiries... * Ryllan nods, "Alright then." He walks down to the far-off section, peering at the titles and selecting a few likely candidates." Hmm. Only way to find out answers... * Niri shrugs. "I'm...not precisely sure. I can't quite tell if they were created, or if they always existed, and I'm not really sure of their nature...like, if they merely represent the elements, if they can control the elements with perfect totality, or if they ARE the elements, in some way. It's a good question. But whatever the case, Dad and I think we found one in the last ruins we searched..." * Trune glances at Niri, "You think you found one? Did you actually see it?" Ryllan finds a good one written by Damon himself. "Of Heresies and Heiroglyphs: The Post Dragonmaster era." No...but we know there was SOMETHING alive down there, being monitored, and there were references to the Elementalor project. There were indications that the being, whatever it was, WAS an Elementalor. Obviously, I want to go back to check it out. ^^; But it's pretty dangerous down there. Eh, understandable. But...you know your dad wants me to go down there with you guys, right? * Ryllan takes the book, "Now, with any luck... you'll have the text of the prophecies." He moves to join Trune and Niri, plopping down in the chair and starting to flip through the book with a wave and a nod to the two. He does? I wasn't even sure he was going to try again anytime soon...although knowing Dad, I shouldn't be surprised. I know he hates leaving a mystery almost more than I do. So uh...what do you think you could find down there? I mean, well, sounds like you know at least a little about this... What do YOU know about the Elementalors? Whatever they are. * Niri waves to Ryllan as he approaches. To be honest, I know nothing of 'em personally. I just know the elements exsist in a sentient sense, you know? * Zack is now known as ZackAway Ryllan leafs through several boring pages of Althena Cult history and tales of the Last Dragonmaster Alex, before coming to a section that catches his eye. It speaks of a group of powerful Vane magicians who existed 400 years ago who called themselves 'the Prophets'. So, uh...how'd you find that out? It's not like it's common knowledge...in fact, I don't know a whole lot about what happened, but it seems to me some people were calling the idea heretical. Claiming to know "The Truth" about Lunar, they began to gain much notoriety and followers with a doctrine of personal empowerment and a brand of magic that did not rely on the Goddess Althena. For this they were branded heretics and hunted down. On Lunar, old ruins like 'Lionhead' were believed to be their fortresses, though only this one was confirmed. It's not like I just came upon the knowledge out of the blue, yanno. It started out in a real simple kinda way and sort of evovled from there. People are just scared of it because it throws a curveball into the theory of how people use magic. .oO(Exactly the doctrine we ended up with down here. Interesting.) Well...I admit that I don't really understand how we use magic in the first place. I mean, I've never been much good with theory. I just use it, and it happens. *shrugs* I guess some of it comes naturally to me, you might say, although that means I have a little harder time figuring out how to do what I want with the magic. The only remaining pieces of history from this dark era are several black stone monoliths and the ruins themselves which hide their last words. This is collectively known as the 'Truth Seeker Prophecy' and was believed to be fufilled by the 10 heroes of Queen Virtue and the Unraveling. There is more text of the full Prophecy below it. Well, think of it this way. Most people use their own skill and willforce to make magic happen. That much we know. People assume that we will the elements to do what we desire, and that's all fine and good. But what if it was there other way around? What if the elements granted US power based on our own wills? * Niri blinks. Whoa. That's quite a thought. Possibly a little disturbing, in a way... I mean, it suggests that maybe something is guiding our hand, when we think we're the ones controlling things. On the other hand...if the power we use comes from something alive...I'd much prefer to have its permission, you know? ^^;; Exactly, and for real high-powered mages who think they control everything, that's a scary thought. Exactly! If we could somehow contact the elements themselves...imagine the possiblities! * Ryllan looks up from the book, taking a sheet of paper and beginning to copy passages from it, "What kind of possibilities are you thinking of, Trune? Whatever they are might not be friendly, you know." * Niri frowns thoughtfully. Well, that's one possiblity. Another is if they are friendly, our magic could be even stronger than it is now. We could do things we never dreamed of doing. It could revolutionize how we go about using it. It'd sure be interesting....I think I'd like to meet them. But...if one of them really is under those ruins...it strikes me that maybe they're not there of their own free will. ^^; In which case...they'll need to be rescued. * Trune frowns, "Yeah...maybe we should look in the books. Maybe they'll tell us something." * Niri looks at Ryllan. "What might not be friendly? The Elementalors? Hmmm....I don't see why they wouldn't be. Although...if they weren't friendly, it really would be a scary thought." * Niri sits down at the table and starts flipping carefully through the first book. She turns the pages very gently. There's no reason why they /should/ be is the thing. Which makes both options equally likely. * ZackAway is now known as Zack * Trune hms. Niri has a hard time reading it, as it is missing pages here and there. Well...there is if you assume that most beings are, by default, benevolent creatures. But uh...I know a lot of people who assume the exact opposite. ^^; * Niri continues flipping through the book, sighing in frustration. "No easier than the first time I looked at it." Weird. Mind if I take a look? I've done a lot of research with the books we have in the library. I might recognize a symbol or three. There is one section in fine condition: it seems to be an index of 9 names. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, saturn, Uranus, Pluto.. and one is torn off. * Ryllan stops scribbling, staring at the book he's reading, "When the child of the light and dark awakens, the Prophecy will be fufilled... and those scorned by the Goddess light will revel in her blood upon the earth. ...I wonder what that last bit means? It's the only prophecy attributed to her that /hasn't/ come true yet, as far as anyone can tell." Each of the names quoted has a few small lines next to it, which seem to be written as an analytical summary of a science experiment... Weird... * Niri blinks at Ryllan, thinking. "Uh...well...according to the old stories, aren't those scorned by the Goddess light the Vile Tribe?" * Niri points at the book. "You make anything of that, Trune? I'm not too good at reading abstracts...they're too...well...abstract for me. ^^; But what are these names here? I've never heard these before." I haven't either, really...But the way it's written up is almost like they were experiemented on. "Mercury: Aerokinetic Adept test subject. Ability to shape winds into hurricanes and conjure storms without equal. Currently in hibernation in Cape Canaveral Florida facility." Looks like it. ^^; It gives me the willies, actually. * Ryllan nods, "Could be, or maybe the demons..." He shrugs, "It's the part about reveling in the goddess' blood that worries me." Hmmm. Could these be the names of the Elementalors, maybe...? Looks like they have elemental powers... So it seems like the Elementalors are just ...beings with elemental powers? Yeah, Ryllan, speaking of giving me the willies...that does too. It's downright creepy. But many of the Vile Tribe pretty much were demons, weren't they? To be honest, I don't know that much about them. 'Mars: Pyrokinetic Adept test subject. Can withstand extreme heat and shaping firestorms of moderate to large scope. Currently in containment, San Franscisco Naval base." * Niri shrugs to Trune. "Maybe. I don't know. It's pretty hard to say. We should look at all the books before we even think about making any conclusions..." * Trune nods. * Ryllan steps around to peer at the book, "Hmm. Look at the way that's written. It's like a clinician's report... Certainly not the attitude I'd take if I were writing about the controller of elemental powers." "Venus: Photokinetic Adept. Solar power and light refraction showing promising signs. Energy levels within parameters. Currently in containment, Newfoundland Reserach Station." "Uranus: Geokinetic Adept. Earthquakes, land moving and other earthworks tests positive. Resilence beyond human parameters. Currently in hibernation, Geothermal Grid Station." I wonder where all these places are located? I know some of the ancient names, but not all of them... I'd kill for a really, really old map about now And yeah, Ryllan...I think you're right. Whatever these people were doing, they weren't treating their test subjects as human beings... "Neptune: Aquakinetic Adept. Underwater terraform, wave generation and water cycle OK. Further testing needed, results promising. Currently in Great Lakebed Laboratory." They might not have even treated them as sentient. Although it seems they'd have to BE sentient... * Trune nods, "They're taking some form of commands, after all. How else would these people experiment on them?" Yeah, you're probably right. ... That's just awful. :/ "Pluto: Umbrakinetic Adept. Shadows night/day cycling still under observation. Energy negation abilities beyond expectations. Currently in stasis, in Pearl Harbor Naval Facility." * Trune nods. * Ryllan nods, "You're telling me. From what I've read, a lot of awful things went on back then." * Ryllan points at the page suddenly, "The Geothermal grid... Didn't I hear something about ah... Vulcannon Labs finding an old one of those?" Hmmm....maybe. I wonder if that's where this Elementalor is located then? * Niri points at the entry for Uranus 'Jupiter: Electrokinetic Adept. Electromagnetic signatures normal, nearly ready for active testing. Experiment underway with Homunculi sub-controller. Currenlty in lockdown nerve center, Pentagon Darpa Lab B10." Pentagon! That's the one we found! Jupiter huh? ...Wait, he's in lockdown? Yeah. The ruins we visited were in a building shaped like a Pentagon. Or she. I don't know what lockdown means as opposed to containment or hibernation. It seems like they were just getting ready to do experiments on this one. Maybe he or she was uh...a newbie? * Trune chuckles suddenly, "Man, I can't believe I'm calling an elemental a newbie." "Saturn: Florakinetic Adept. Bio-generating signatures unstable... 'Garden of Eden' experiment in Mesopotomian Biolab on hold for further observations... progress report next month, 4.15.2012." He. It's proper grammar if you don't know. *Sobers* Hmm. Hibernation would be a really sleep... Containment... I'm not sure, but I think that implies that they were dangerous to others, and had to be kept apart when they weren't being testing. Lockdown, on the otherhand... almost implies punishment, the way I'm reading it. «ooc: A really LONG sleep, thank you » You can't make out the last torn off name Hmmmmm. I wonder what the ninth one was? What elements are we missing? There is also a smattering of jargon concerning a doomsday project for the 'Devestation War'. * Trune hms, "We aren't really missing any, unless you could offshoot magics like time and mental capabilty." «ooc: could=count » * Ryllan frowns, "As far as I know, there are only eight elements... I guess you could lump the 'nonelemental' magics under a ninth catagory, if you were being comprehensive about things." Hmmm. I wonder.... Do you think this was all research for weapons? :/ Were they wanting to use the Elementalors as weapons in the war that eventually destroyed the Blue Star? I...don't know. I never thought of it that way. That's pretty twisted if true. ...Almost looks like it, doesn't it? Now that you mention it...yeah. * Trune looks a bit disturbed. * Ryllan frowns, not liking his own thoughts, "But if this book is still up to date with the locations, like Niri says... they never got the chance." In fact...huh. Darn it. Where did my Dad go? He's never around when I want to ask him things... But Ryllan, even if the Jupiter one is still down there, that doesn't mean they never used the others... Hmm. * Trune glances through the book about 'adepts' (carefully, of course). True enough... Trune finds it's an absolutely HUGE catalogue of people's names! * Ryllan hmms, "Much as I don't like this idea, this may be a way to stop the Prophetess." * Niri peers over Trune's shoulder. What, Ryllan? By using the Elementalors? * Niri makes a face I suppose it might be possible...but let's try to get their help by asking their permission, if it comes to that, okay? Whoa...lots of names here. O_o What kinds of names? It describes different catagories of psychic powers manifested in people, and also deaths resulting from over uses of these abilities. There are location sin several countries of the day, and across the globe by your best guess. Many seem to be gathered in the "United States of the Americas". * Ryllan nods, "Of course. If we force their help... we become just as bad as those who caused the Devastation War... And run the risk of history repeating itself." Untied States of whosiwhats? Weird. I think that's what this place used to be. It was a really big country. Oh. I just wondered what made 'em so united and all. There is also a record of DNA samplings, and lines connected to Elementalor names. By your best guess, this is a record of successes and failures in a eugenics program of some sort. The Elementalors were the final result, or possibly an enhancement to mental powers humans were developing. It seems...maybe the elementalors were man-made in some respects. There is also the distinct references that these texts are refering to willforce magic, but seem to treat it as a totally new science at the time. * Niri blinks. Huh. They created the Elementalors by specialized breeding? There's something wrong with that... You're tellin' me. Is there any other books we haven't looked through yet? There's everything wrong with it. I think there's one or two more. Pass me one, I'm a pretty quick reader. Homonculi....I looked through this one a while back. * Niri hands it to Ryllan * Ryllan smiles in thanks, starting to flip through the book. The book Niri hands over is falling apart, several entire sections missing wholesale. The remaining portions are a biography of an English scientist named Dr. Alexander Webbly. He apparently was an important figure in the Elementalor Project. Going deeper, you find he created a robotic psychic interface called 'Homunculi' to allow remote controlling and observation of Elementalor field tests. Hm. This Dr. Webbly guy seemed to have his hand in everything, huh? Session Time: Wed May 18 00:00:00 2005 * Niri peers at the page. Hmm. I wonder if that's the robotic security device we encountered? * Ryllan blinks, "Now that's interesting. These 'Homunculi'. They were designed so that the scientests could get close to the Elementalors without being in danger... But, it worked the other way as well. I'm not sure, but it /looks/ like they thought the Homunculi would let the Elementalors use their powers 'through' them. All without ever leaving their cages" He spits in disgust. Hey, I'll be right back. I'm going to go look for my dad. * Trune nods, "No problem." * Ryllan nods, "Sure thing." * Niri runs off to the archaeology area, searching for Hiro. Unfortunately, the final entry here states that during the final operative phase, an accident occured during his personal operation of the device, rendering the good doctor comatose. An investigation into UN foul play is pending. If Niri's theory is right and they were created as weapons, then it's sadly understandable. War warps people and makes 'em do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. There's a few other pages in the book Ryllan missed, ones that involve using them not only has weapons, but also recreating a devestated world. It's obvious there was two minds struggling over their fates. * Ryllan blinks, "Hey, look at this. I missed it the first time... Almost seems like watching some of the professors here debate their theories." * Zack is now known as ZackAway Niri comes back after awhile dragging Hiro with her. The Librarian smiles at him, the first bit of emotion she's really shown all night. * Niri rolls her eyes. It's not as if the librarian doesn't know her, too. But Niri can't deny her dad's popularity... Hey Dad, we'd like your opinion on some of the information we found. * Trune glances over the books, waving to Niri's dad as he approches. [Hiro] Niri, what's this about anyhow? I was catching up with ol' gramps.. Hiro nods. "Oh, you've found more secrets in those books?" Sorry, but this stuff looks really important. We're looking at information about the Elementalors and we've been coming up with some ideas of what they were and how they came to be... And what people were using them for, too. :/ I was hoping you could tell us some details you might know about the Devastation War. Had you ever heard of Elementalors being used in it? Hiro pulls up a seat at the table, grinning. * alis (~e@adsl-69-234-119-228.dsl.irvnca.pacbell.net) Quit (Ping timeout) ....You do know something, then. * Ryllan looks up, "I'm not sure, but it looks like either the Elementalors were used as weapons in that war, or they were going to be but the chance never came." [Hiro] Well, let me see.. hmm. From some relics I've found, the Devestation War was a real doosy.. machines.. plagues.. genetic mutated soldiers.. I never heard of any Elementalors though. They might fall under that last... There was some form of breeding program that was used to... make them. Details must be on one of the missing pages, though. [Hiro] Nations back then had all sorts of competing "special projects" going on, so it's not surprising to find something that was never used in time. It seems something swept the planet quickly everywhere. They must have been desperate. [Hiro] Breeding? Hmm.. I've heard Queen Virtue was invovled with trying to revive things like that, under Archbishop Sinel. [Hiro] Chrissy still has the secrets of biotech, but it's mostly just sued for terraforming these days. « er used » I wish I knew some more details about the Devastation War....exactly how it started and all. Hiro, quick question. What makes you think this staff can help us reach the elementalors? Was it just the names...what you heard about it...or is there something I don't know? [Hiro] Nobody really knows, Niri. The legends say the Goddess Althena ended it with her power before it destroyed the Blue Star. [Hiro] So she saved us from ourselves... and Zophar. [Hiro] Well Trune, buddy.. the reason is because that staff is made out of the same material as an impregnible doorway in the Pentagon basement. * Trune glances down at the staff that's with his belongings, "Seriously?" [Hiro] And it resonates with all the elemental energies, so it's worth a shot.. anyone who gets close to that door so far sets off the security systems. So chances are we could get inside now that we have the staff. [Hiro] I've found a remote key disk thingamajig, so I've reason to believe it could be one itself. I just hope you're right. It was a long, hard road getting this thing. [Hiro] Oh and Niri, before I forget Well....the Blue Star WAS destroyed still, in a lot of ways. :/ Yeah? [Hiro] I sent that message out to Lucia-honey.. she's alright, albiet worried sick! She departed immediately for the base camp when she got it. She'll be safe there? [Hiro] It's about the safest place to be I can think of, other than this Academy! The best minds and hearts of Lunar are gathered there helping on the Old Captial excavation for the last month. [Hiro] If these books are accurate, there's even more sites to locate related to this Elementalor project too. * Trune listens, then suddenly twirks his lip in a weird position, as if having a weird thought. . o O ( ...Lucia-honey. Wait, did he say... ) Okay. *nods* I hope Mom will be okay.... So...what's our next step? Are we going back to the ruins to check out the Elementalor thing? That seems to be where all this research is leadin' and all. I for one wanna find answers. It'd be nice if people here stopped calling me a nut job. [Hiro] I'd like to go by tomorrow night, if possible. Enough time to take care of business here with Haylee. * Ryllan nods, "I don't think we can do much else at the moment. Not without more information." I'd like to go even earlier than that, but I know that's sort of hard to do. Whenever we can leave, I'll go with. [Hiro] Well, find me when you're ready. I'll be next door with old man Gywn, helping arrange some new artifact shipments... [Hiro] Keep hittin' the books though.. it'll do you good, like Niri here. ;) * Ryllan nods, "There's not much on the Prophetess, unfortunately. A couple lines that might be leads, but nothing definate." * Trune nods, "To be honest, it's gettin' late and I'm about ready to crash." Hiro pats her on the shoulder and rubs once, before getting up from the chair. «ooc: Definite, Since Gayo insists. » [Hiro] Don't work too hard now. Explorers need to rest, too. The truth we still be wherever it is tomorrow. « er will still be » Thanks Dad! I'll probably quit for the night pretty soon. The day really wore me out. :/ * Ryllan yawns, "I should probably sack out too, then. I don't remember the way to the rooms they gave us." * Niri looks a bit excited though. She's clearly eager to get back to the ruins... * Trune stands up and stretches, grabbing his stuff, "Well, I'm gonna hit the hay. I know where the rooms are if you wanna follow. I've lived here long enough." You can follow me. I don't live TOO far away, but we stay over often enough anyway. ...Orrrrrr you can follow Trune. * Trune glances at Niri and smiles, but it's actually not too snarky, surprisingly. I might as well follow you, Trune, wouldn't want cause you any trouble, Niri. The Librarian is powering down her terminal with a sigh and gets up, passing by rows of bookcases and with a thought or three causes fields of wispy energy to seal them off. [Librarian] Closing time.. please return all material to the proper places... * Trune looks up, "Or you might just wanna follow us, Niri. Seems the library is closing for the night." You can see through the windows it's now completely dark outside and some clouds are rolling in. "Yeah yeah." Ryllan mutters at the librarian as he gathers his notes and books, walking down to replace the books on the shelf. * Niri puts the books back, carefully. Well, I'm off to bed then...see you tomorrow! * Niri waves to the other two Right. Seeya. * Niri skips off down the hall. * Ryllan waves, "Good night." * Trune looks back at the three books the group was studying, sighs, and motions for Ryllan to follow. Hiro follows his daughter out of the Library, yawning once. * Ryllan follows Trune, "Energetic, isn't she?" I'll say. She's...not bad. Just...uh... * Trune shrugs, "Clueless in some ways." Naive, maybe? Very, very naive. People like her get burned if they're not careful. I seem to remember someone who thought he could sneak into Bree's mansion undetected. *Smirks* ...Ouch. Man. Okay, yeah, that was horrifically stupid on my part. But I was desperate...and naive. ...Okay, you win. Then again... I recall someone thinking that he could take on Bree D'Alkirk herself. Which, you know, IS kinda naive considering she's one of, if not the best, martial artists around. * Ryllan laughs, "/I/ fully expected to get pounded into the pavement. The idea was to have everybody's eyes on me and not you." * Trune glances back, "She could have killed you. You really believed in your cause that much, huh?" Believe. The point may be somewhat moot now, but I still know that what I was doing was the right thing. * Ryllan yawns again, "We should get out of here, the Librarian looks like she's going to kill us if we don't leave soon." Erm. Yeah, it's right down this way. S'not too far either. Follow me. * Trune heads off to the dorm rooms the party was assigned to. «ooc: >> There is a smell of pecan pie from Saki's room, but the door is securely locked. » * Ryllan follows, waving cheerfully at the tired Librarian as he leaves. She nods and shooes the last ones of you out, finishing her nightly checklist. The Library fades from view as you travel the campus grounds, the humid night air speaking of rain not to far off... a storm gathering much like the ones in your thoughts. == SESSION END == Session Close: Wed May 18 00:54:47 2005