un: bahamut | text

[oblige]

Good day, fellow Etrayans.

Concerning Antigone's warning regarding our real names, it occurs to me that we would benefit from collaborating on this front.

To that end, I wish to open discussion.

For those who have chosen a name, please respond with what you have selected, that we may know what to call you.

For those who have not, you may use this posting to discuss your ideas or invite suggestions from others.

As for myself, I shall be using "Lucien", the name of a character from a novel in my world.

Mission Names
Dion → Lucien
Antigone → Shadow
Dwayne → Harry M'Egg
Jayce → Prometheus
Sunday → Dominicus
Prompto → Vesper
Odin → Joss
Mayuko → Murasaki
Vax → Kalas
Clive → Crandall
Percival (Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III) → Scanlan (Keylethus Pikegratia Taryon d’Shorthalt-Grogson, Heir to the Shattered Glory)
Samil → Whiskey
Noctgar → Navyth
Accelerator → Isuka
S.Rogers → Ruirthech
Nico → Slash Brightburn
Jason → Edmond
R.B. → Harker
Lady Vex'ahlia de Rolo → Velora
SquirrelPower → Sally Awesomelegs
Shinra → Evan
Emet-Selch → Eubulus
Vincent Valentine → Garm
Sciel → Céline
Vivi →
Gustave → Jean-Napoleon
Maelle → Esmé
Scott → James Bond / 007
Sleeper → Stevens
Joshua → Praeclarus
Zagreus → Dionysus
Gladio → Heliodorus
Apollo → Artemis
Dylan Brock → Reed Richards

Note: This list will remain available until the date of our deployment. At such time, it will be omitted as a precaution.

[ ooc: Free-for-all on responding to one another, of course. ]

Comments

[oblige]

Yes, according to scripture. This may sound odd, but it does feel correct to me.

[ It may be because he's Bahamut, though he can't know with certainty. Something about it rings as true, which isn't the case for everything. ]

Other nations have their deities, such as the Founder for Rosaria. Joshua or Clive would be better-equipped to speak of him... But that too seems right— there being other gods. Why wish such loneliness upon Greagor, besides?

[twin_blade]

It's not odd at all. The Matron of Ravens was once human. Or that's how the story goes.

[ As they walk, Vax looks at the city street. It always feels so empty to him. Such a big world for such a small selection of people. All these buildings are sitting empty. It's a bit spooky. And a bit sad.

But Vax isn't lonely when he's with Dion. ]

I suppose even gods might take comfort in not being the only one. Especially when they have eternity.

[oblige]

I should think so.

[ Dion recalls what a difference it had made to him as a child, meeting someone like him. Not being the only one, in so many ways. He also remembers how crushing it was to lose that. In nigh twenty years, that sense of loss had remained.

How much worse would it be for a god, who has forever? ]

It could be terribly dull, watching us all squabble amongst ourselves, and no one to speak with about it.

[ Etraya is more developed than it was before, but illumination comes and goes as they walk. So Dion conjures a sphere of light, which rises and takes a position ahead of them, drifting along to brighten their path. ]

[twin_blade]

[ Vax watches as that light appears and illuminates the street for them. ]

I wonder if gossip among gods is even worse than it is in a royal court. Or perhaps we're too small and unimportant to gossip about at all.

[ He smiles over at Dion, giving him a gentle nudge with his arm. ]

Well, maybe they'd chat about royalty. People in positions big enough to change the flow of history.

[oblige]

[ He smiles faintly at the nudge. Being Bahamut may warrant a goddess' opinions, when he was purportedly her divine servant, but royalty does tend to have a greater impact on their world. ]

The Emperor is meant to be the voice of the goddess' will, so the only surprise to me would be if she hadn't any opinions.

[ Meant to be, for Vax had seen the visage of his father. He knows Dion disagreed with the man and why, and surely no one so invested in his own ambitions of conquest and forming a dynasty could truly be enacting a benevolent god's will. ]

Perhaps they have personal favorites too. Character matters more than role, surely.

[ Had Vax himself not been chosen? ]

[twin_blade]

[ If Bahamut and therefore Dion was blessed with the power of Greagor, and Dion felt so at odds with his father, that just serves as proof the emperor was going against the will of the goddess. Instead of serving her, he was serving his own desires.

There's a little smile, since Vax gets the implied meaning behind Dion's words. ]

Unless you can have both, of course.

[ Character and role, as Dion does. ]

If I was a god in your world, I'd have a personal favorite.

[ Hopefully, Dion catches the compliment due to the warmth in Vax's voice. ]

[oblige]

I'm sure you—

[ Would, he means to say, but he catches the tone belatedly. Him. He means him. ]

...Turning into a dragon isn't a demerit?

[ It's a light jest, finding himself uncertain how to field that compliment once he recognizes it, flattering as it is. He may have been beloved a distance by his people, but it's another matter entirely to hear such a thought from someone who's seen more of him as a person than prince or war hero.

Vax knows things about him that others do not, some of which are far from flattering... And as he'd said, he does value his opinion.

The warmth he feels in his face tells him where he lands on that remark, but it's dark. He'll live. Probably. ]

[twin_blade]

Not if you're a good dragon.

[ Vax can make an exception for that. He's not really in the habit of holding people on a pedestal he doesn't know. Kings and nobles and war heroes are not always who they're painted to be. The opinion Vax has of Dion exists because he knows who Dion is.

At least Dion did understand the compliment, and as it so happens, even half-elves see really well in the dark. ]

[oblige]

[ Dion can tell that Vax noticed. There's nothing for it, he supposes. He always has been too expressive for his own good. ]

Someone has told me that I am one, as I recall.

[ He hasn't so soon forgotten that. ]

[twin_blade]

[ Vax likes that Dion is expressive. After spending years under the cold gaze of his father, he much prefers it when one's feelings aren't a mystery. ]

Did they? Must be true, then.

[ Dion is indeed, a good dragon. One that would get chin scritches if they weren't busy walking at night. ]

[oblige]

[ Dion knows a cold paternal gaze all too well. He even recalls being under it while actively being told he needed better control over his emotions. The trouble was that, try as he might, he never did quite manage.

It's too much a part of him, he supposes. ]

Either that, or the individual in question is terribly biased. Who is to say?

[ Said lightly, because they both know who he means. ]

[twin_blade]

[ Could that person have been biased? ]

Hell if I know.

[ He responds with a little smile, then blinks when his eyes catch sight of something on a nearby rooftop. ]

That's new.

[ Things in this city change pretty often. New places are dropped into the city overnight. There's a sound behind, like someone shaking out a thick blanket as Vax's wings spread behind him. ]

Come on.

[ With a leap and beat of his wings, the half-elf takes to the air and heads for the rooftop. He's certain Dion can manage the leap to follow, of course. Once on the roof, they can explore the hanging gardens that were recently added to the area. ]

[oblige]

[ Dion peers up toward whatever had caught Vax's eye. He would agree, it does appear to be new. No matter how much he might roam this place, there's hardly a sense of predictability about it. Out of nowhere, something can appear that had never been there previous.

He first jumps to the nearest rooftop, then the next one over to join Vax there. While he could fly himself, jumping seems simplest, and he lands as lightly as he always does. ]

...Quite a large addition.

[ For a rooftop, that is. Dion had not seen the like before. ]

[twin_blade]

[ Vax had caught sight of the greenhouse structure and windmill from below, as well as a hint of foliage. Once he's landed on the rooftop, however, the garden is bigger than he first thought. ]

It's beautiful.

[ Even in the moonlight. During the day, it's probably a lovely sight with all the different colored flowers. A pleasant place for a walk at any hour. ]

[oblige]

It is indeed.

[ Like stepping into some other place and time entirely, or so it seems to Dion in comparison to their immediate surroundings.

The light he'd created before catches up with them moments later, hovering in place just ahead of them once again. When Dion lifts a hand it disperses into small, pale motes that drift through the area casting illumination along their paths.

Something like fireflies. ]

I wonder if this garden may have been a request.

[twin_blade]

[ Vax smiles a little as Dion sends his light forward to give them a better picture of their surroundings. ]

Must have been.

[ He strolls further, following the small lights and pausing to look from flower bed to flower bed. ]

Thanks for dragging me out. We were able to find something new.

[ Though he knows Dion's intention was to make him feel better rather than explore. ]

[oblige]

We did find something new. And I've a reprieve from networking.

[ Dion thinks it's wordplay rather than an actual term, but it's true either way. Replies had quieted down by this hour, and he appreciates that mercy.

He'd never posted on the network before. It's refreshing to get outside and stop staring down his HUD for a while. ]

Do you recognize any of these flowers?

[twin_blade]

[ Vax pauses to look at some of the blooms a little more. He then smiles over his shoulder to his friend. ]

I'm no druid. Can't really tell them apart. Your wyvern tails are unique looking, though.

[ There's none of those here for Vax to recognize. ]

[oblige]

You may have to explain druids to me, unless that is some manner of gardener.

[ He hopes wyvern tails are memorable for something other than the fog's manifestation of them, though he supposes few would forget that. ]

I've no better knowledge, myself. The flowers I grew were trial and error.

[twin_blade]

[ Vax chuckles. ]

Kind of? Actually, they're spellcasters whose power comes from nature. They can manipulate plants, harness elements, or change into animals. Back home, our friend Keyleth is a druid.

[ Every now and again, Vax thinks of Keyleth and the others and hopes they're safe. ]

[oblige]

[ Dion doesn't recognize the name, but then, there remains much he doesn't know about Vax and his world. It's good to hear him speak of a friend. ]

Power from nature... Does not all magic stem from it?

[ He supposes that could more refer to how her magic manifests, the form it takes, but as it was phrased there seems to be a distinction. ]

[twin_blade]

[ Vax doesn't mind the curiosity. He's often curious about Dion's world, as well. ]

Not all. Some magic is gained through tomes and learning, others through the blessings of the gods, and many harness magic through objects.

[ Vax touches the chest of his armor as an example of the latter, though that is also an object blessed by a goddess. ]

Magic is everywhere in Exandria and a regular part of people's lives. There are entire schools dedicated to its learning, though not everyone has the ability to master it.

[oblige]

I see. It does differ from aether then, though not entirely.

[ Aside from the crucial, blessed lack of the curse, that is.

Dion pauses near one of the flower beds, running a gentle finger over a moon-pale petal. ]

There is aether in all things, yet few can channel it. You are born thus, or you are not. Else, one relies on crystals.

[twin_blade]

[ Vax can't imagine how different his world would be if magic came with a curse, but there was a time when people could not use magic at all. ]

And the ones who are born with it are made into bearers.

[ He thinks he remembers that right. Only Dion, as a dominant, is an exception, to an extent. ]

[oblige]

Bearers are treated as property, yes. There are those who go undetected, but they are few and must hide their gift.

[ Else they would be identified, and treated as less than human. ]

A Dominant, in contrast, is not identifiable as such until awakening. Yet I've not heard of a Dominant's awakening going unmarked.

[ His wasn't, being as he was an infant. ]