Log 083

[ruin_mania]

[Filtered away from anyone who would use this information for harm]

[As always, Raine dictates in a pleasant voice, though this time it's tinged with a bit of frustration.]

I think the castle is rather determined not to let Aradia leave. Every time we would like to leave on an expedition, something seems to happen.

Therefore, we will be leaving next week on the morning of the twenty-first, losses or no losses. In the event of a world change, we will be leaving immediately after it is finished, if the twenty-first sees us in Asgard or wherever. [Okay, she'd really like to visit Asgard, but that's not the point.]

Anyone who would like to go, please be fully prepared by then. We'll be leaving no later than 8 AM. [And she underlines the time and date for emphasis once it's appeared on the page.]

Please feel free to contact Aradia Megido or myself if you have any questions.

[And she writes up a quick bulleted list:]

-Destination is Lastlook
-Part of the journey will be mounted or on carts
-Part will be by water
--If you have a Water-type Pokemon you would like to bring, I can teach it Surf
-Expected travel time is three weeks total, allowing for several days at destination

Comments

[ninjainviolet]

I don't know, Raine. I've seen some pretty bad drawings that you couldn't tell what they were at all.

How much do you have now? [Maybe she can do a series if she has a lot.]

[ruin_mania]

Yes, well, I'm not Lloyd. [His crafting skills are great, but....]

Several expeditions' worth. Quite a lot, really.

[ninjainviolet]

[Whoops.] I didn't mean yours. I meant in general.

Have you thought about putting them together piece by piece, chronologically? It might help some people.

[Although, she runs the risk of them possibly disappearing.]

[ruin_mania]

I have, but frankly Lois Lane has already done most of that work for me. Have you not seen her guide?

[ninjainviolet]

No, I haven't. Is it in the library?

[She's been reading more about the different worlds represented, rather than the one they were brought to.]

[ruin_mania]

Actually, it's in the journal. [She writes in a page number.]

[ninjainviolet]

Ah. Okay. [Sheena flips to that page and dog ears it so she can find it easily. There's a lot of info there, and it might take her a while to get through it all.]

The castle can't do anything to the journal?

[ruin_mania]

I'm sure it can, but no one has ever observed it actually changing anything that is written. Since they work well outside the castle's sphere of influence, it's entirely possible this book's properties are not tied to the castle at all.

[ninjainviolet]

Maybe it actually can't, then. If it's the one that took away the books in the library, then why not just get rid of any entries in this thing that might be about the same subject?

Maybe it's connected more to the planet's powers than the castle's.

[ruin_mania]

Precisely. Although it was not long after that, I think, that we began filtering anything important away from the First Generation.

That would make a good deal of sense to me.

[ninjainviolet]

You think they might have journals, too? [Which, if they were connected to the planet makes sense. And another thought occurs to her.]

So, which one was responsible for knowing my name? The planet or the castle?

[ruin_mania]

I know for a fact that at least four of them do. It's natural to assume they all do, unless proven otherwise.

A good question, and one we haven't yet determined the answer to. We do know the castle has sentience, though, while we don't know if the planet itself does.

[ninjainviolet]

Natural? Or safe? [Suspicious ninja is suspicious.]

So, the castle's the brains and the planet's the body? [You know, you think of running, and the body runs?]

[ruin_mania]

I wouldn't call anything about them safe, not until we know more, but perhaps prudent is the right word. And even if they do not have journals themselves, it's likely they are in contact with someone who does.

Perhaps. Or perhaps they are two different individuals.

[ninjainviolet]

[That's what she meant. Safe to believe they all had them.] Sounds like the information network back home. [Said ironically.]

You mean like partners? Working together?

[The more Raine explains things, the more confused Sheena becomes.]

[ruin_mania]

With slightly more magical involvement, yes.

Again, it's difficult to tell. Perhaps they're not working together at all. Perhaps they're only barely aware of each other. They could even be enemies. When one is speaking of a sentient building, it's not necessary that the same rules that apply to our own relationships are in place.

[ninjainviolet]

[That would have made the job of her people a lot easier.]

That-- That almost sounds like what had gone on at home. [Not the first time the victor used the vanquished.]

[ruin_mania]

[It really would have.]

It does, doesn't it? Though if there is a Cruxis equivalent, we've yet to detect it.

[ninjainviolet]

But you don't think the elves ever visited here, do you?

[After all, the whole thing with Flora sounds similar to the mana tree and the Spirits back home. Hopefully, it's just a coincidence.]

[ruin_mania]

I don't. There's no evidence they ever did, and whatever it is that makes the Dead Zone act the way it does is an antithesis to the way elves would have influenced the land.

I do find it interesting that other cultures I've encountered here seem to have some of the same elements we do, though. For example, you recall that the alternate name of the Mana Cannon was Thor's Hammer? Thor's Hammer is a destructive artifact found in the mythology of several worlds, including Earth. At the very least, this suggests contact between us at some point.

[ninjainviolet]

Unless they found the Dead Zone and nothing they did could change it. [Sighs.] But you're right. There is nothing to say they ever came here, is there? And Flora's just a coincidence. [Not exactly disappointment, but at least the elves were familiar.

Her eyes widen in surprise.]

Wait-- What? Is it just the name that's the same? Or is the cannon identical, too?

[ruin_mania]

That is a possibility, true. And if the timeframe was anything like the ten thousand years it has been in our own world since they first appeared, traces of them may have vanished over time. Still, I would call Flora's pact more a common theme than a coincidence.

Oh, it's not identical by any means. Thor's Hammer is by most reports an actual hammer, albeit with the power to control lightning and thunder, and several other properties besides. But many of the other names are similar as well - their World Tree is even named Yggdrasil, if you can believe that.

[ninjainviolet]

If they never settled here, or if they had but left when things didn't work out, there really wouldn't be much of anything of theirs around, would there? And Flora's pact is like those other similarities you mentioned?

Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Hammer that controls lightning? Raine, don't you remember Volt's summon? I call him the "hammer of godly lightning"! [Something that makes digesting the name of their tree a lot easier.]

[ruin_mania]

Perhaps there would be, but if it was long enough ago it would be unlikely. Though I'll be the first to admit there's a very large part of this world we haven't seen yet - one more reason to explore. We may find more similarities, like Flora, there.

Well, this was more of a physical hammer, as I understand it. But you see what I mean?

[ninjainviolet]

Do you think there's a chance there are other spirits like the ones back home for Fire, Wind, Water, and others? [She can see why Raine wants to stay here--some of her curiosity is rubbing off on Sheena.]

Yeah. It's kind of weird. [She thinks for a moment, and is about to say something, then shakes her head.] Nah. You'll think I'm silly.