[ We were at the end of dinner, actually. And discussing something that, in other circumstances, might count as theology. ] [ But now we continue, even as Fyril is tackled to the ground by a vengeful biscuit. Nobody seems to notice, for some reason. ] (c.c;) (It's a Morganti biscuit.) ( No, no, no. Morganti weapons have to have edges. Biscuits have no edges. ) (c.c;;;) ( Well, they don't. ) (Dwarf bread biscuits do.) ( It's a star-shaped biscuit! With POINTS! ) (The Biscuitlike Starfish secretes a deadly poison and can survive for up to eight hours out of water, posing great danger to its prey, the Elven Banquetgoer!) [ As a refresher; in the last few lines you learned that Jenoine can only be killed by attacking their soul, which is something only the Great Weapons can do, although killing Jenoine wasn't what they were made to do. You also learned that Ethan has a morganti spork. Session start! ] (Damn. We can't joke about Fyril being attacked by more random objects.) * Ada coughs. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what were the great weapons designed for?" [ Xivilai takes a sip of her wine. "The Serioli made them to kill the gods." ] * Ada blinks. * Sei raises an eyebrow. * Nebrinel chuckles to herself. "That explains the naming schemes." ... it explains Pantryfiller? ( The Serioli planned to kill the gods by raising their cholesterol! ) * Nebrinel eyes Ethan coldly. "Pantryfiller is abnormal. Much like its wielder. Remember?" * Sei can't help but crack a smile. ... an excellent point. Of course, it could also be an insideous plot to make the gods easier to kill by fattening them up. [ "Not likely. Even a competent sorcerer can remove excess body fat with magic." ] * Ada shakes her head. "So why kill them?" * Ethan snaps his fingers, but otherwise decides to be quiet for the moment before Xivilai stops humoring him. * Nebrinel takes a sip, and mutters something. [ Xivilai shrugs. "As I mentioned earlier, the Serioli are the only indigeonous intelligent life. However, the gods have, in a very real sense, come into the position of effectively ruling the world. From one point of view, at least. I should note that most Serioli extend this attitude towards the elves, whom the gods protect." ] (If Olaf the Troll God makes an appearance at any point, Yu, please allow me to kill him.) ( Don't do it Yu. ) [ "Thus, the Serioli find themselves of being denied their homelands by creatures that are immensely powerful, although not for the first time. The gods, and the elves, aren't particularly willing to give the land back, and so if the Serioli want their home back, they need some rather unique tools with which to win them." ] And where do the humans fit into this equation? [ "The humans, it is said, settled only the lands that the Serioli did not occupy in any great number. They were also somewhat more tollerable of the differences in species and culture, although these are commonly debated points."] * Ethan nods. "Plus, mostly lacking magic, the humans probably didn't want conflict with the Serioli..." [ "Serioli legends state that the humans had ingenious devices when they came here that nearly made up for lacking magic. However, most elven scholars laugh at the mere thought of this." ] It's possible. They- we had to arrive here somehow, and if it wasn't by magic, then it had to be something equally powerful. [ "But, that is unimportant. At the end of the Jenoine occupation, the elves were the most numerous group, and also made up of the strongest individuals. They took what lands they desired, since, after all, nobody else owned them, in a certain sense." ] ( We arrived by catapault! ) ( No, but all your livestock did. ) * Nebrinel shrugs slightly. (The Serioli were Native Americans. *nod*) (Sorry. Doorknob installation. >_<) Hm. ( Yeah, except not. ) [ Xivilai smirks. "All considered, it is somewhat ironic that the Great Weapons have long been used to defend the gods from the Jenoine, instead of being put to use to slay them." ] Somewhat, but I suppose weapons usually don't end up doing what they're meant to. * Sei nods. * Nebrinel chuckles. "No, they do what they were designed to do." Do the gods go around doing stuff that necessitates slaying? [ "That depends on who you ask, Ethan. They protect the elves, although a rare few also watch over one or another human kingdom. They attempt to keep the Jenoine from reclaiming this world, although they can only do so much in that reguard." ] ... well, I can see why people with great weapons don't go around killing them. Most wielders of Great Weapons are probably elves, and if the gods protect the elves... [ Xivilai nods. "Exactly." ] * Sei nods. And I've never even met a god, much less had cause to try and run one through with Pantryfiller. [ Xivilai shrugs. "I'm not sure you would know a god to see them, unless they were consciously making their nature obvious." ] ... well that's disquieting. [ Xivilai shrugs again. ] * Nebrinel takes a sip. "Well, the gods yet live." And we're not trying to kill them, anyway. Still an interesting history lesson. Very... [ "It is a lesson worth knowing, considering what you are up against."] So how powerful are these Jenoine things, anyway? I'd imagine we wouldn't be talking about them this much if it was just a matter of poking them with Great Weapons a few times. [ "On their own, the Jenoine are immensely powerful. They are strong, fast, and highly intelligent, and command unusual powers. They are ...quite difficult to kill." ] [ "If one gains access to a source of power such as one of our Orbs, they would become powerful beyond our reconing." She has another sip of wine. ] ( Heck, that sounds like me! ... except for the highly intelligent part. ... damn, beat me to it. ) So, basically, it's both physically and magically powerful to the extreme. [ "Yes. Fortunately for us, they do not have such a source of power. Otherwise, they likely would have retaken this world long ago." ] * Ada mmms faintly. "I imagine it's trying to attain an Orb, then." * Sei nods. [ "It's possible, yes. It could have other plans, of course." ] Anything else we should know about this thing? [ Xivilai shakes her head. "Not that I can think of, at the moment. Questions are welcome, however, as there may be something I have overlooked." ] * Ada sighs. "Okay... what do you think we should do, then?" * Nebrinel smirks a very slight smirk. [ "Investigate the ruins, of course." ] Oh. That's easy. [ "Hopefully, yes." ] [ "It is also hoped that you will learn something useful to use against our adversary while you are there." ] * Nebrinel frowns, but adds nothing. * Sei nods. What about dealing with the fact that it is depriving us of our only weaponry against him? I still have mine. You still have yours. [ "If you need to use the weapons, then do so. It cannot see everywhere at once." ] * Nebrinel shakes her head, and leans forward slightly. "You miss my point. If the threat is... primal, than having only pieces of weapons can only hurt us in the end." [ "All the more reason to strike first, then. Seeing as we probably lack the luxury of time, you cannot afford to go venturing out once more to find the rest of your weapons." She looks thoughtful for a moment. "In all likelihood, they might just find their way to you." ] * Sei raises an eyebrow. [ Xivilai raises one back. "Would *you* wish to miss out on an opportunity to fullfil the imperative that drives your existence, Sei?" ] * Sei shakes his head. "Of course not." [ "Neither would any other sentient being. Which is, I will remind you, a category that includes the Great Weapons." ] (...wait. Which one does she mean? Because if Xivilai just hit on Sei...c_c;) Then I guess we have a plan of sorts. Check out the ruins, stay away from populated areas so we'd be free to act if the Jenoine-in-an-elf-body attacks us... ( I believe she was asking in an abstract sense, Sei. ) * Sei nods. * Ada drums her fingers on the table. "At least that's something to do." * Ethan blinks at Xivilai. "Are you saying the weapon pieces will find their way to us because the Great Weapons *want* to be completed?" * Sei nods. "It sounds like it..." * Nebrinel shakes her head, and smiles thinly. "Not completed. Fufilling their purposes as god-killers. Or being-killers, as the case may be." [ "No, I'm saying they will attempt to find their way to you because they want to do what they were made for, and slaying Jenoine will be as close as they've come to it in a quarter-million years." ] (If I'd known all it would take to complete a great weapon is a cosmic threat, I'd have invited one over years ago.) ( You and what pantheon of deities? ) (Ssh. You'll ruin the joke.) * Ethan eyes Pantryfiller. ( Plaguebringer's not evil! It's just lonely and frustrated! ) (And misunderstood?) * Nebrinel frowns and leans back. ( And stupid. ) * Ada sighs. "That works. And you know where these ruins are, right?" [ Xivilai raises an eyebrow. "I? No. You do." ] * Nebrinel chuckles to herself. ... as archaeology isn't my forte, I'm going to be of limited use for this. Unless something needs to be hit. * Ada furrows her brow, then facepalms. "Oh, right." [ "You never know if something may be living in there, Ethan. And who knows, you may manage to learn something." ] * Ethan smirks. "Stranger things have happened. Not many, but some." Yes. Some. Of course. [ "Yes, well. Unless there are any more questions, I believe I shall retire for the evening." ] ( "Where are you going?" "Florida. I said I was retiring." ) (Ha ha.) * Nebrinel stretches slightly. "There are none from me." * Sei bows politely. "Thank you very much for the information, milady." * Ada nods. "Good night." [ Xivilai nods in response to Sei's bow. ] ( Sei... would you care to retire with me? To my bed? For sex? ... ... did I say that aloud? ... ) ( ...yes. ) (Sei wouldn't turn down a lady of Xivilai's stature.) ( GIGA SLAVE! ) * Ethan nods at Xivi's exit, but adds nothing to the talk. [ Xivilai has left the hall. ] * Nebrinel takes her last sip of wine. Aww. * Sei sighs, and sips some more water. "This is a lot to digest." ( Sure is. *burp* ) Is it not always? s'not so much. Big evil guy wants to rule the world, and probably kill us along the way. We get to try'n stop it. * Sei nods. "The devil is in the details." * Ada looks down at her hands. "We have a place to start, at least. Excuse me." She gets up and walks out, also. * Nebrinel eyes Ada as she goes, and shrugs. "The devil is always in something, so to speak." * Sei nods. * Ethan blinks at the retreating Ada, then collects himself. "Details, schmeetails. In the end, all it is is another thing we have to hit until it falls down." If it were only that easy. I like to think of it as being that easy. Keeps me from running around, screaming at the top of my lungs, huddling in a corner, or otherwise going insane. * Nebrinel taps her finger on the table, and frowns. "I suppose that is one way of dealing with it." * Sei nods. "Certainly." I'm just a human grunt. A few months ago, I didn't even believe magic existed. The idea of something with enough power to worry Xivilai scares the everloving crap outta me. Helps to think of it as just another thing that, no matter how powerful it is, can be conquered if you beat on it enough with the right weapons. An interesting way to think about it. * Nebrinel smiles wryly. "Hopefully it won't come back to haunt you." * Ethan shrugs. "How do you think I kept from cowering in fear from Faydra? Well as I managed to hold up against her defense-wise, I couldn't even touch her. Going in- I knew she was out of my league, and actually fighting her just confirmed it. But when you got right down to it, she was just an elf. A ridiculously skilled and powerful elf, but an elf." [ End session. z.z ]