Session 29 - Job Crystal Interview

Previously, across the Horizon...
Cassiat Alyon is on the Seventh Dawn, and Orrey Alyon has gone missing in his search for her, taking Apocynthion Lunakreia Tolvani, the Third, with him in some capacity. At the crack of dawn, Isa, Linnet, Yves, and Bast went out to inspect the airship, search for any clues to their location, and hopefully bring them back safely. Linnet found a friendly ear in a local sailor, a sailor who turned out to be on the Seventh Dawn itself, and who took her enthusiasm and friendliness as an invitation to a stronger social connection -- a potential fellow sailor aboard the Dawn. After no end of worried planning and contingencies from Bast, Linnet has set out to meet the captain of this particular ship, under the cover story of looking to sign on with the Seventh Dawn and assist in its mission of seeing a brighter future for all of Ducorde.
We join Linnet deep inside the cargo hold of Seventh Dawn, facing down the most dangerous interview she's ever known...
**
"Doctor Cid, then. Before I even approach the subject of signing on, may I ask about this...rather startling display around us? What are these things? And what do they have to do with falling stars?"
Doctor Cid rises. "Is there a particular mask here that you would like to learn more about, Linnet?" she asks, observing the six masks with her fascination plain on her face.
"I suppose...the two that almost match. Was it...did you fight something to get these? Was it one something, or multiple? How do you even fight a falling star? Or are you fighting whatever's calling them?" (Current tone: balance of academic curiosity, open-mouthed wonder, and trying to encourage the relative expert to expound on one of her chief topics.)
She taps a rhythm out on the wall by her, and those two glass panels slide back into the wall. She reaches up and takes the masks, one in each hand, and turns. "These are the shells of monsters."
"...like turtles? No, that would be silly. If this is the shell, what is the substance?"
"Sleeping." She pauses. "Which is as inaccurate as one can possibly be while still being true to the spirit of the term. These masks are fragments of the power of the stars, pulled out of the sky for Alterna to trap inside the Great Crystal." She looks at the mask that fades into orange, and shakes her head. "The powers of these stars -- these creatures that spread their vast energy across the night sky -- were used to lock the people of Ducorde on Alterna's chosen path. What we know as Jobs were just shadows of their powers, every single Job pulled from one of these creatures. From the fragments of their most treasured hidden records, we know that the Empress first referred to them as the Guardian Forces. They were known to the rest as Espers."
"You mean...one of these was the first White Mage? Or possibly the first everything mage, all in one being? What were they guarding?" Linnet stops herself. "No, sorry, you've answered that. Who or what were they guarding Ducorde and Alterna from?"
"On that, the records are empty." She holds the midnight mask up to the light, and then offers it to Linnet. "But yes, the powers of the Crystals stemmed from these Espers. Each with the power of multiple people, some equal to thousands, or hundreds of thousands. Far too powerful for this world. When the Great Crystal shattered, the constellations were once again in the sky, as they should have always been, and as they should remain."
Linnet accepts the blue-white mask, taking it gingerly, as if expecting it to come to life and bite her fingers.
"But now something is calling those stars back down here, and bringing untold destruction with them."
"Did you see what happened when these fell?"
"Yes." She taps the edge of the twinned mask to yours. "These two, manifesting as small, seemingly harmless faeries, locked a small village in Caerwyn into endless day or night, shifting between the two only when it amused them. Eos and Selene. Unchecked power, unyielding torment, completely absent of morality."
"...oh. So these aren't like comets or meteors, screaming out of the sky only to explode. These were sentient. Are sentient, perhaps." Linnet turns the mask over in her hands, inspecting it for any sign of ethereal weirdness. "...did you kill all of these?" "We have stopped the manifesting." Her eyes glitter. "But they are very much alive, Linnet."
"...can they hear us talking about them?"
"As far as we are aware, no. There have been no side effects during the utilization process." She holds her hand open for the mask
"How did you stop them manifesting? And, not to express any lack of confidence, just unfamiliarity, but...how sure are you on that point?" Linnet hands back the mask and resists the urge to wipe her hands on her jeans.
"Eos and Selene were tricked. The others were subdued via force. We need people of all talents, Linnet."
"...utilization. That implies that you're not just keeping these for display. May I ask how they are utilized, or is that classified?" (Linnet is unclear whether "people" refers to the masks or the ship's crew - her face may show that she's gamely trying to follow along but is a bit lost.)
The masks are placed safely back in their cases. "I assure you, the process is quite safe. But that is for crew members only."
"Are they weapons? Power sources? Shields? Spell foci?"
"They are unique." She looks back. "What sort of power are you interested in, Linnet?"
Linnet shakes her head vigorously to clear too many thoughts. "Hm? Mine is half elemental and half healing, but I don't think that was what you were asking."
"You have come seeking the Seventh Dawn," she says calmly. "What are you looking for? What power do we have that calls to you? What opportunities do we present that your current life does not offer?"
"Oh. Right. Sorry, Doctor, this is rather a lot to process all at once."
"More tea? We can also offer coffee." She smiles warmly. "I'm sure we can scare up a pastry if you haven't eaten."
"I'm fine, thank you. And to be perfectly frank, this all started as an attempt to check on one of your newer crew members. I honestly didn't approach young Master Herman with anything other than concern for my crewmate's younger sister. But then I saw the new cannon, and wondered what in the world an airship would be hunting with it, and then Serge started talking about destiny being written in the stars and we agreed that it's bollocks, and then..." Linnet lets out a big breath. "And then I'm here and learning that stars are falling and Alterna's possibly risen from the depths of history to control everyone's fates again and. It's been a very odd few hours."
She wrinkles her forehead. "Who are you asking after?"
"First name is Cassiat? Sixteenish? She and her brother parted after some rather heated words and, well, we were all teenagers once." Linnet looks sheepish.
"Aha." There's something in her expression. "I can assure you Cassiat is just fine."
"That aside, Doctor, I've spent almost my entire life up to this point in academia. Alterna and the Great Crystal were fascinating research subjects, but I never expected to encounter anything of the sort outside of the library. I certainly didn't know it's actually possible to stop something like Alterna rising again..." She appears to catch Doctor Cid's sentence as a sort of afterthought. "Oh, good, thank you. Any chance I could talk to her for a minute at some point today? Just so I can pass on her brother's apology. I promised him I'd try. And as for what kind of power do I seek? I seek knowledge, Doctor. Knowledge is power." It's a terrible cliche of a statement, but Linnet is at her most radiantly honest.
Doctor Cid thinks this over.
Linnet allows herself to be distracted by the empty iron helmet. Is there something inside it? She cranes her neck a bit to see, then realizes she's being really obvious and pulls back.
"...I will go see Cassiat and have her come here to meet with you." She then smiles, all warmth and doting mentor again. "If you are seeking knowledge, there is nowhere else on Ducorde that can teach you as much as we can."
"Thank you, Doctor. On both counts. ...having said that, I am currently part of another crew, and it's my first time on an airship, but I assume it's not the done thing to just up and run off without at least talking to your current captain. Contracts and things." She fidgets, one foot rubbing the opposite ankle in a clear demonstration of anxious desire not to offend anyone on either side. "Does one generally recruit one's replacement? That was sort of expected in the university library." Doctor Cid pauses on her trip back to the door. "If your current ship is failing you, Linnet, then they are failing you. Loyalty is admirable but often misguided. Contracts are a way of locking down talent from reaching their true potential. It works for the system, not for the people. Do not let guilt keep you from making the best of your situation."
"Understood. Would it be acceptable to ask Cass a couple of questions about shipboard life? I don't want to take up too much of your time, Doctor."
"Of course. I will send her right along."
"I really appreciate that you granted me this interview more or less on the spot. There's so much to learn..."
She gives you a very understanding smile, and then departs.
Linnet sinks into a chair and breathes rapidly into her hands for a minute, trying to keep from hyperventilating. Why the hell do my powers not include telepathy? BAST!
At the slightest sound from outside, she straightens up and composes herself, trying to show only curiosity. Staring at the iron helmet helps.
The iron helmet stares back, only of course it doesn't, it's only a mask. There's nothing inside of it. No sort of intelligence that seems to be following every motion you make.
The intelligence that isn't there is kind of creeping Linnet out. "What are you?" she whispers to it.
The door opens, entirely too loud.
Linnet jumps about a foot in the air and almost knocks over her chair.
Two figures enter, one familiar, one not. The unfamiliar figure is a slender moogle with a very large golden shield on his back, covering his entire body from pom-pom to toe. Inside this shield he has a crossbow, and on his hip he has a beautiful blue sword. His fur is white, with the suggestion of gray stripes along his cheeks.
The familiar figure is Orrey's little sister, sullen.
"Cassiat. Good to see you, kiddo." Linnet's smile doesn't quite reach her eyes, but she's trying. "Hello, sir. Thank you for facilitating our meeting." She bows slightly to the moogle officer.
He nods stiffly, and then settles himself by the door.
Cassiat takes about four steps into the room, and folds her arms in front of her. "What do you want?"
"I wanted to make sure you're in one piece after you and Orrey parted the way you did. And to convey his apologies." (current tone: soothing, like talking to a wounded animal, but attempting not to condescend.)
"I'm fine. I appreciate your concern," she says, ignoring the second sentence.
"Do you have a minute to sit and chat, or am I taking you away from important duties?"
She glances back at the moogle, who just raises his eyebrows slightly. "Sure, whatever," she says to Linnet.
"How's Galley?"
"Fine."
"How's the Slim Reaper holding up? Heard you might have had a rough time a little ways back." (Linnet is not-so-subtly scanning Cassiat with a sisterly eye, checking for obvious bruises, out-of-character behavior, twitches of concealed restraint, etc., etc.) "He's fixing it," she says, dropping any further explanation off a cliff.
"Glad to hear it. Here in the Triad?"
She shrugs.
"Right. Well, there's some nice boys aboard this ship, maybe one of them will strike your fancy. Rather cute redhead with a few brothers, family name of Herman..."
She rolls her eyes, fixing the ceiling with as withering a stare as is humanly possible. "Honestly."
"Met your dad, by the way. He sends his best."
Her behavior completely changes.
Linnet's does not.
"He made it back home? He's okay? Was he hurt? We couldn't follow him, but I saw that a moogle helped rescue him and Byakko said that he knew Cosmog and Cosmog would take care of him...!"
"He's back home with your mom. Looks like he was working pretty hard, but he seemed in good spirits." Linnet's eyes flick to the moogle at the door.
The moogle keeps his expression very blank.
She runs both of her hands up into her hair. "I sent another letter home yesterday. I don't know how often mail is sent from here. I was hoping he would be home."
"Well, I'll assume he won't have gotten mail in a day, but he seems like a good sort. I'm sure he'll try to write back if he knows where to send letters."
Cassiat sinks down onto the floor, hugging her knees in relief and escaping emotion.
Linnet kneels beside her and rubs her back gently.
The moogle coughs politely, and then steps outside of the room for a moment, but he keeps the door cracked.
"We couldn't tell them about you because we didn't know where you were, but it'll be a relief for all of your family to know you're safe. I don't have to tell them any more than that, if you don't want me to."
"The letter tells them everything they need to know," she says through her arms, emphasis on 'everything.'
"Are you planning to stay here for a while?"
She nods.
"Have they told you what you'll be doing onboard?"
Another nod.
"And are you okay with that assignment? Whatever it is?"
She shrugs your hand off and gets back to her feet. "It's fine," she says distantly.
"...Cass, speaking as someone with an idealistic too-damn-noble-for-his-own-good irresponsibly-heroic big brother......if there's anything you need to tell someone and you need that someone not to be Orrey, I promise to keep my lip zipped. I also take requests to punch specific people in their stupid faces. Standard offer. And yes, I am willing to extend that offer to your brother, though I will be healing him afterward."
"I'll talk to Orrey myself, whenever he decides it's important enough."
"Okay. Is that a no on the punch?"
She raises her voice a little. "I'm done, Byakko."
Linnet blinks at the familiar name. "Cosmog brought your father back. They're both all right. She kept her promise."
The door opens. "Very well," the moogle says in a posh, melodic tone.
"Hey, uh, Cass, one last thing. Where's your staff?"
"I'll thank her too," Cassiat says. "Thank you for checking on me. You can tell Orrey I'm fine if you want." She blinks a little at that. "In my room."
"Oh, good. Keep practicing." Linnet sighs. "...it's good to see you, kid. I'll tell Orrey you're all right and it's his own damn responsibility to talk to his sister. Write home if you need anything. Fair winds at your back." The last is a wind sylph parting blessing.
With a final nod, she leaves, Byakko as well, and Linnet is once again alone in the cargo hold. The door is slightly open. The masks are still there, all staring at her.
Very quietly, Linnet closes the door and sinks back into a chair. She faces the helmet and stares intently at it, trying to be subtle with magic that has so far been anything but. Quietly, she begins to speak to the mask, while holding folded hands to her face in an attitude somewhere between supplication and summoning. Talk to me. Show me what they're using you for. Are you out to destroy? To shield? What brought you to Ducorde again? What were you? Did you know Asura? Are you trapped like her? ...are you the Forgotten? (The questions get quieter and quieter as she continues, and Linnet begins to feel increasingly silly for talking to a mask, but she doesn't look away.)
A faint blue glow is rising from Linnet. Specifically, from Linnet's personal inventory, where a certain crystal, a gift from Perilune, is kept.
Linnet's not breaking eye contact (?) with the mask, but she can feel the crystal starting to warm slightly - she fishes it out and holds it up before her face. "Perilune?" not Forgotten
It is not Perilune's voice that speaks into Linnet's mind.
It is the mask, she somehow knows.
"Who are you? What happened to you?" (...why am I not asking Perilune these questions directly?) (when I'm off this ship I am sending her a message right the heck away.)

An image flashes across Linnet's vision, of a hulking metal brute, a humanoid living suit of armor three times the height of a human, walking through a city so magnificent, so perfect and beautiful and brilliant it must be Alterna, humans not even reaching its waist.
The image wipes away in water, sinking to the bottom, a statue of protection mossing over and sinking into the sediment, until only a mask is returned to the surface, the sun shining on the fraction of its power.
betrayed abandoned fallen
"Captured? Looted? How did you come to be here? What are they doing to you? ...how can I help? ...I don't think I can break you out without causing us both a zillion more problems, but...if you talk to me, maybe I can help you not be betrayed again. Nobody deserves to be used."
A vision of the night sky sears itself across Linnet's vision, and then, letters, or at least they must be letters, shapes forming multiple different ways, gibberish turning deeper and deeper until P A S H T A R O T
Stars then streak down from the sky in her mind, and then the magic drains itself dormant again.
The door opens.
Linnet stashes Perilune's crystal before turning to the door.
Doctor Cid returns, carrying two mugs, one green, one blue. The blue mug smells of cinnamon. "I apologize for the delay."
"No apologies necessary, Doctor. You've given me much to think about. Thank you for arranging for me to speak with Cassiat. Her family will be considerably relieved."
"I am happy to hear that. I assure you, the Rising Stars have a place for you, Linnet. You would be an excellent addition to the crew, I am certain."
"...is she giving you any trouble, Doctor?" A diffident expression, conveying "trying not to snitch but also understanding people are pains in the butt. My only two fields of even semi-expertise are magical history and reading people." She shrugs expressively. "Oh, no, none at all. She shows much promise, and she has a natural, inquisitive mind. I am very happy to have her here, though I am sure she would welcome having a friend on board."
"Hah. Not quite sure I can be considered that yet, but thank you. ...Doctor Cid, how long is the Seventh Dawn in port here? I'm openly fishing for a bit more time to wrangle decisions. And, most likely, to go back to our ship and gather my books."
"We depart in the morning."
"...would that be this morning? I'm sorry, I've rather lost track of time." (Linnet is starting to look a little bleary; five a.m. is a bugger for most people.) She smiles. "Not an early riser, I see. We leave at dawn tomorrow. If you will be joining us, I should like to introduce you to the crew this evening. We all try to eat together, it forges camaraderie, and I'd forget to eat if left to my own devices, I fear."
"What is it about the pursuit of fascinating knowledge that leads us to forget our own physical needs? It's endemic, I swear."
"Oh, I think the pursuit of fascinating knowledge is what shows us what is truly important."
"...Doctor, I admit, I'm having a hard time with one aspect of this conversation. I'm a healer. I'm a Red Mage, so there's a little bit of everything in what I do, but I seem to be primarily employed lately in the restoration of life, rather than the taking of it. I've never killed anyone, at least not that I know of, and the cannon is making me very nervous. What is it for?" Her voice is nearly a whisper, and her eyes are mostly fixed firmly on her mug of tea, but when she looks up, she's afraid. "Would I have to kill for you?"
"Of course not."
She smiles warmly, straightening her shoulders. "Linnet, you could be my lead researcher, here on the Seventh Dawn." "Byakko, Genbu, Suzaku, Seiryu, they have more than enough might to protect an entire ship of fools, fools who are so prone to losing themselves to their studies they forget their very selves. Imagine a world of forgotten knowledge -- well, that's simple, you live in that world. Imagine a world of remembered knowledge. How much did we lose to Alterna's hubris? How many advances were destroyed when they decided they would rather control a world? We are piecing together pieces of history from a map that has burned to ashes. With me, with my resources and my convictions, you can find that past and safeguard our future. You could uncover the secrets of magic itself. No, you would not have to fight. You could remain safe on this ship, poring over tomes the world has never even heard of. Or you could dive beneath the waves, seeking out the sunken cities that hide a past that drowned under the mistakes of a greedy empire. You could soar above the clouds, studying the stars in the sky, mapping where the fallen stars will return to when they no longer sully our mortal shores. Come with me on a ship of equals, a ship of integrity and faith, a ship of learned and applied knowledge. Know the past to guard the future." She smiles confidently. "All the stars in the sky, back in their rightful place, with all the souls in the world below in their rightful place." (current expression: Guarded Curiosity With Mug As Defense)
"...you have a plan to put them back?" Curiosity breaks through fear.
"And yes, Linnet. Twelve constellations of twelve stars, falling from the sky. Twelve constellations of twelve stars, to be returned above the horizon. I will see them off, and I will see us home. Dinner is served at six pm sharp." She extends her hand. "There is nothing I want more today than to see you at my table. Oh, and the cannon?" she says, smiling peacefully. "There are so many toppled buildings and crumbled rock, we need the ability to move past them to discover what sank beneath the surface. An excavation tool, nothing more."
"Thank you for that reassurance, Doctor. I hope you'll understand if I need a couple of hours to gather my thoughts...and my books, of course." (current expression: Shyly Hopeful If Slightly Overwhelmed)
"Of course, Linnet. Of course."
Linnet rises. "Are we somewhere near the deck? I admit I wasn't paying much attention on the way in. Too much to stare at to watch where we were going. I'm happy to find my way out, if you have one of those You Are Here maps..."
"Oh, it's so easy to get turned around, let me show you out."
"Thank you. What we really need is a personal spell version of those maps..."
Something chimes in her pocket, and she fishes out a pocket watch. "Oh, I do need to see to this... here, just go this way, turn here, and..." A few directions later, you're confident you can find your way out.
"Of course. Thank you so much for your time, Doctor." Linnet waits until the doctor's footsteps have receded, then tries for one final push at the power within the helmet. "I won't let you down," she whispers.
Then she leaves the room and proceeds to mix up several turns, conducting her best eagle-eyed recon while keeping up the image of a slightly airheaded and dazzled kid who's just left an interview with the Captain. (She's also looking for Serge and/or Cassiat, but this is a big enough ship that she's not really expecting to run into either one.)
Linnet does not find either of them on her way out.
(It was worth a shot.)
She does find something familiar, though, two rooms from the exit, sitting on a shelf by itself, geography books on the shelf above, books on the Twelve below. A certain clockwork city that used to be in someone's possession before it was left behind on the Slim Reaper.
Linnet ponders the books on the Twelve while keeping an eye out for anyone else near the room. As quietly as possible, she touches the clockwork city, waits to see if any alarms have been triggered, then lifts it an inch or two off the shelf.
Nothing appears to go wrong.
She slips the artifact into her messenger bag, rearranging the bag so any awkwardly protruding bits are poking her in the hip instead of facing out. Then she takes a deep breath and resumes her progress back toward the deck.
Linnet steps out onto an empty deck, with the ramp down to the dock unattended.
She looks around unhurriedly, trying to recall all of Isa's questions about visible armaments and ammo, lingering on the cannon. (She's not writing any of this down, of course, that would be way, way too obvious.)
With whatever information she can muster, she strolls casually down the gangplank into the (presumably still) bright morning.
And into the end of the session.