[ You are in one of the smaller dining halls under Black Peak; one with a table large enough to hold all of you, but not suitable for a full banquet or anything. The meal has gone well, and you're all pleasantly full, except for maybe Ethan. ] (He's just disguistingly full.) [ You have not discussed That Unpleasant Buisness With The Alien, yet, because Xivilai didn't wish to talk about it while eating. But now that the main eating is over (Desert can be had upon request), it'll likely be down to buisness soon. ] [ Session start! ] * Ethan finishes off his third chicken. No, not piece of chicken. CHICKEN. He's managed to display remarkably good table manners while doing so, however. [ Xivilai, for her part, didn't eat very much tonight. She's currently eyeing the remnants of the quail on her plate as though she wished it would just go away. Although if she really were, it would likely vanish. ] * Ethan glances over at Xivilai and her plate, but has the good sense NOT to ask if he could pick at her leftovers. * Ada ate a considerable amount, considering. She was rather avoiding food when staying with her "mother". * Sei sits back, looking happy. He's finished off a decent serving of dinner, has access to the library again, and is thus thoroughly content. * Nebrinel has finished a much less impressive meal than Ethan, or even Ada, and is sitting back with the wine that almost certaintly was served. She doesn't seem... much of anything, other than impassive. * Fyril leans forward on the table, resting his head on his crossed arms. He didn't eat all that much, but then, he's small. * Ethan downs a flagon of water, then glances around at the others. [ Xivilai sighs, even as several servants come out and begin clearing the table. "I'm not sure where to start, really. There is so much that you ought to know before getting involved with this in any capacity." ] * Ada nods before taking another sip of wine. * Sei comes back to the present, and leans forward, drinking a little more water. Well... *clears throat* What we know is that the guy in black is some kinda ancient thingee, is collecting great weapons, doesn't use said great weapons, thankfully, is vulnerable to said great weapons... and wants our great weapons. Everything after that... * Ethan pauses. "And by 'we', I mean 'me'. The others prolly know more about this than I do." * Fyril looks a bit sulky at that, and glances around at the others. * Nebrinel continues holding her glass in her right hand, idly. "Perhaps in some minor details. Like, for instance, the person's race." * Sei nods. "Actually, I found something interesting·..." [ "Very well. I suppose I can give another... yes, Sei?" ] In the library, there was a picture of a statue, which is apparently of a Jenoine. It looks exactly like the statue in an odd cave which we visited, when we were leaving Menevia. [ Xivilai looks at Sei. "Elaborate." The ridiculously gigantic statue? * Ada looks over to Sei. * Sei nods at Ethan. "That's the one." * Nebrinel taps her left hand index finger on the table. "That is very interesting." * Sei nods. "It was raining fairly hard, so we sought shelter. Some features of the cave were obviously not natural. There was this statue, and I don't think it would have been easy for humans or elves to place it." [ "When did you find this cave?" ] Let's see, Menevia...that would have been right about a month and a half ago. * Nebrinel frowns, and states, "Or, more precisely, the day before Faydra was freed." [ Xivilai nods. "Did the statue and it's surroundings seem old or new?"] ( Let's ask ChibiArchiologistEthan! ) ( This belongs in a museum! ) ( It was biiiiiiiiig. And madea' rock! ) It was relatively old. Some hundreds of thousands of years, I would say. (And I did! Back in the session.) * Sei nods. "Which would be about right." ( Ooooh. Biiiiiiiiiiiig. *swirly eyes* ) ( Hey, why's Nebrinel coming at me with her sword out? *SLASH* ;_; ) (If you do that, Nebby, the police'll come and haul us away during the final attack scene. ;_;) (That's OK. Fyril can break us out.) ( Silly girl. You can't kill ChibiEthan. ) (I CAN make him ;_;) [ Xivilai nods. "That is fortunate, then. But, the site should nonetheless be investigated further." ] [ "If there was Jenoine 'art' there, there was likely a Jenoine stronghold or outpost, as well." ] * Sei nods. [ "At some point in time, anyway." ] ... I don't wanna see the hammer and chisel that made that. * Nebrinel frowns. "I will point out, then, that that was not the first time I had seen such symbols, although I did not find any statue. For your further enjoyment." [ Xivilai sighs. "Where else?" ] In the human lands, many years ago. (Which is to say, neither the GM nor the player know right now.) [ Xivilai shakes her head. "Any establishments the Jenoine may have once had in the human lands is long left behind, now. The Jenoine left them some four hundered thousand years ago to move to the spot where the Sea of Chaos was later created." ] That's good to hear, I suppose. * Nebrinel mms. "I see." And takes a sip of wine. Mmm mmm wine. [ Xivilai frowns. "Well then. I suppose I should begin telling you all about these delightful creatures that are apparently trying to enslave our world again, yes?" ] That might be a good place to start. I'd ask questions, but you probably have them covered. * Sei nods. * Ethan downs a couple of donuts as he waits for Xivilai to collect her thoughts. [ Xivilai nods and begins. "Firstly, the Jenoine are beings of immense power, both physical and magical, and posessed of a brilliant but alien intellect." She looks thoughtful. "The first time they enslaved the world, it was simple for them. Only the Serioli and the Humans lived here at the time, and the primitive concepts of magic that they held at the time were nothing to the Jenoine's might." ] [ The Jenoine wanted - and still want - this world because of it's 'nearness' to a dimension ripe with amorphia and magical energies. Now they want it even more because of the Sea, which isn't just near such a dimension, but effectively is one." ] * Nebrinel hrms, and sips. * Sei nods, drinking water as well. So jenoine were the third race here, and the fourth would be elves? [ Xivilai nods. "Yes. The Serioli were here first, mind - as near as anyone knows, they are the only indiginous sentient beings." ] * Ada nods slowly. * Sei nods. [ "At any rate, they stayed here to research their science and their magic, and made numerous experiments in an effort to summon, control, and harness the forces of Amorphia." ] [ "Fortunately, one of these experiments proved to be their undoing. In their attempts to harness these energies, they engineered an elf who could effectively create amorphia. Unfortunately for them, this and several other of their 'test subjects' led a rebellion against them, which resulted in this elf creating the Great Sea of Chaos." ] [ "This act destroyed all Jenoine on this world, freed their servitors, created the first gods, and gave the Jenoine their greatest reason yet to make this world their own." ] * Fyril furrows his brow. "Wait. So they made elves? They weren't already here, or come from something else?" * Ethan scratches his head. "So this Great Sea of Chaos... big gigantic blob of pure magical energy... where is it, anyway?" * Ada rubs at her arm. "Seems humans came from somewhere else, too, Fyril. [ Xivilai eyes Fyril. "If you trully wish to have the answer, then... yes. Elves were created by the Jenoine to serve as slaves that could live and work longer, and test subjects that were of greater potential. The humans weren't the best for their needs, they thought, and so they improved them." She scowls slightly. ] * Sei raises an eyebrow, taking all of this in. [ "As for the humans, the only thing known about their arrival is the Serioli account that they came 'From small invisible lights'. The meaning of this is unclear, and you certainly won't find any humans who know of their origins." ] * Nebrinel blinks, frowning as she appears to mutter to herself. She also takes another drink in the process. * Fyril blinks. "No, wait. That sounded like they made elves from humans." ( I know where humans come from! ... you do? Yeah! When a mommy human and a dady human REALLY love each other... *GLOW* ) [ "They did. And you are now one of very few people who know this. Congratulations." Xivilai has a sip of wine, too. And pours some more. ] * Sei nods. "...thank you. This is interesting to know." * Nebrinel mutters, "I can see why very few people know, as well." * Fyril blinks a few times, paling as he does, and looks uncertainly at Ada. * Ethan remains rather quiet, taking all this in. * Sei nods. * Ada looks at Fyril. And smiles. [ "Oh, don't mind too much, Fyril. You're not alone. Something like a third of the species on this world were created by the Jenoine, or else imported. They loved playing with life, it seems." ] ... question, if I may? [ Xivilai sighs. "Yes, you may." ] * Fyril turns a bit pink, and looks over at Xivilai. "It's not the same." * Nebrinel glances over at Fyril, then over at Ethan, frowning the whole way. * Ethan strokes his goatee nervously. "I don't claim to really understand Amorphia or some of this other stuff... s'way outta my range of knowledge. I do know a bit about fighting, though, and if that elf in black was a Jenoine... well, it really didn't seem all that powerful. Sure, it hurt Nebrinel pretty bad, but that was more a lucky shot than anything else. We beat it off pretty thoroughly." * Sei nods. If this thing is such a threat... why didn't it completely paste us the first time we fought it? [ "That's because it wasn't the Jenoine's body. It was a shell built to look like an Elf, and inhabited by a fraction of the controlling Jenoine's mind." ] So it's a construct. As a healer...their having done that disturbs me far more than anything else we've just learned. As I'd assume they did all of their experiments without the subjects' consent. I somehow doubt the concept of consent even entered their minds. [ "Of course they did. They considered us to be nothing more than unusually canny animals. Why should they worry about our approval?" ] Okay... so the shell body only has a portion of this thing's full power? [ "Yes. Mind you, there is a chance that it was once an actual person that the Jenoine decided to use. But it would hardly have the Jenoine's full attention, much less it's full power." ] * Sei nods. Well, the Jenoine fled the battle after it said that it didn't want to lose its 'vessal'... the particular body it's in might be important. [ "Of course it is. It wields political power in the Empire. You cannot gain that overnight." ] * Sei raises an eyebrow. "That's right, you mentioned a connection to the Empire..." * Ethan hrms. "So if we did enough damage to the body... real damage, the kind you couldn't hide under a shirt... it might hinder this thing's plans?" At the very least, I imagine it would have to find another construct. [ "Yes. Whoever the Jenoine is merged with and controlling, they have a sufficiently powerful position in the Empire's government that they can use Impirial funds to hire a very skilled assassin to gather Great Weapons and still keep it confidential." ] ... might be hard to do if the Jenoine suddenly showed up one day missing a leg. (We'll brand "I'M A JENOINE" on its forehead!) [ "A leg can be regrown, Ethan. Trust me." ] (And give it antlers!) * Nebrinel is still frowning, but hrms. "Indeed. You would pretty much have to destroy it, incurring all the penalties that might imply." ... I'm not surprised. A lot of people seem to be growing back limbs lately. [ "Yes. If you just up and kill him, you have to deal with the reprisals that come from killing a powerful figure in the Empire. You would likely end up on the Executioner's Star in less than a year." ] The who what's? * Ada has another sip of wine and sets her glass down. * Nebrinel snorts. "A fairly public, formal, and painful, execution place and method in the empire. Dismembered, one point of the star at a time. Very showy. Very dead." Ow. * Sei nods. ... well, if this thing comes after us, what're we supposed to do if we can't kill it? I mean, I could probably annoy it until it committed suicide, but... [ "If it comes after you and you're in any place where there would be witnesses, you flee. Until, of course, you can gather some sort of concrete evidence to prove what it really is." ] Would there be a method to cut off his control? I doubt the occupied elf would be hesitant about offering evidence in our favor. [ "Concieveably, yes. It would likely involve a great deal of involvement with the poor fool's mind, however." ] * Sei nods. * Ethan sighs. "And I suppose pointing out that the thing barely flinched when I shoved Pantryfiller through its chest wouldn't count as 'concrete evidence'." [ "No, it wouldn't, I'm afraid." ] There must be some test. Everything leaves an effect, correct? [ "There likely is. I have no idea what it would be, however." ] ... well hell. This certainly complicates things. Unless the Jenoine is nice enough to ambush us in the middle of a forest. * Sei nods. "It does..." Or unless we can convince it to ambush us in the middle of a forest. As opposed to sending any number of lackies? We present no threat to him. Why would he risk it? * Ethan strokes his goatee. "Well, if we beat him up last time, why would any lackies be any more effective?" * Fyril looks up at the ceiling. "What if it told us how to tell whether it was one or not?" [ "How many hours of sleep do you normally get, Ethan?" ] * Nebrinel smirks slightly, and then goes back to neutral face. Yay neutral face. ("That's not enough. Here, you'd better have some more. *THWOCK*") I mean, if we can't provide evidence that it is, how could it tell if someone else it met was one? [ "There is, of course, one simple way to tell. If you hack it to bits and it's still alive, it's either a Jenoine, a demon, or a god. Which, I suppose, brings me to the next item you should probably be familiar with, if there are no more questions on this point." ] ... none, since I would need to sleep at some point. * Sei nods. * Nebrinel is silent. Go figure. *sip* * Ada raises an eyebrow. "Go on." [ "The Jenoine share one noteable trait with gods and demons. Does anyone care to guess what it is?" ] * Nebrinel says dryly, "Manipulative tendencies." [ Xivilai smirks. "Besides that. And besides being powerful." ] I do hope it isn't invulnerability. A great ability to underestimate things that aren't them? * Ada chuckles. The annoying ability to keep coming no matter how much you hack away at them physically. [ Xivilai shakes her head. "No. Although Sei's answer is half right; they are invulnerable, in a certain sense. But this is only a side effect of the main point." ] [ "All three share the ability to exist in multiple layers of existence simultaneously. This is why you can't kill them with force alone; when you hit them, you're only really hitting a part of them." ] Lovely. So you need to attack them in all of these layers? [ "Yes. And it's not as easy as it sounds. However, it is possible, and one tool that can accomplish it is a Great Weapon." ] I see... (Who'd think an unquenchable thirst for power could save your life too?) [ "The reason for this is that multiple manifestations of a single entity all share the same spirit. If you strike the spirit of one manifestation, you harm them all." ] * Sei nods. [ "In a certain sense, this is what the Great Weapons were created to do. Although use against the Jenoine was the last thing on the minds of their creators." ] ... so we gotta eat its soul? [ "If you wish to kill it, yes." ] * Nebrinel chuckles slightly. "Well, take out the intense danger and fact that it is most likely hiding its position, and that makes it easy, as we are a veritable surplus store of Great Weaponry." * Ethan frowns. "... well, my mom always said I should be open to new tastes." ("Hey! Crazy Nebby! Where'd you get all those Morgantis?") And Pantryfiller can definately do the soul sucking thing, even though I don't think it likes to. (Who knows! Bring in your old Morganti, in any shape or condition, an dI'll trade you a new one! I'm caraaaazy!) ("I liked it so much, I took over the company." *cleans blood off sword*) ( "At Crazy Nebby's, our prices are... IIIIIIIIIINSANE!" ) (And so are the help. *thumbs towards Ethan*) ( ... ) ( I miss Crazy Eddie. ) I wonder what mine would do, although I hesitate to find out. ... that reminds me. *turns to Xivilai* Sei did some research on Pantryfiller, and figured out that it's an odd Great Weapon, in that it's never really *complete*... more can always be added to it. So, as ridiculous as this is gonna sound... do you have any Morganti cookware laying around? [ Xivilai shrugs. "It would do what all great weapons do in such instances. It would attempt to sate itself." ] (Whicha almost answers Ethan's question. Apparently, it's hungry for stuffage.) ( I need a machine gun! Give me a machine gun! And a feather duster. I don't like being dusty.) ( That was actually to Sei's question. ) ( It's hungry? I'M HUNGRY! ) ( No, I Hungary. ... ) [ "...Morganti cookware. I doubt it, but we shall see." ] * Sei thinks. "I wonder...what about the healing side? It broke the demon's control of Ethan, or so it seemed." [ Xivilai shakes her head. "I couldn't rightly say." ] * Sei nods thoughtfully, and sits back, thinking. * Ethan nods, having the courtasy to at least look embarassed. "Any efforts would be greatly appreciated. The previous piece I found was a Morganti spork..." *hefts glaive, and points to the spork-like hook above the blade* [ Hell with it. TO BE CONTINUED... *dramatic drumroll* ]