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Old Guard / IF Central Command Post / Out of Character / Only 96 Days Until RPG Maker 2!
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Emotions Legend
[quote][b]Remus (Jul 03, 2003 04:29 p.m.):[/b] Background: Xan has followed the mental undertow to the top of the strange tower structure the Mai'Roth have built. Throughout his ascent through the tower's interior, Xan has seen evidence that the tower is a very large machine of some sort. At the top is what looks like a focal point for some sort of energy generator. It is here that the as-yet-unseen voice which has guided Xan reveals itself, taking form as a female many years older than Xan. The entity speaks to Xan, but explains little. In order for Xan to understand, the entity says, he must enter the entity's mind... Scene: After being drawn into the darkness of the gulf between their consciousnesses, Xan finds himself standing in what appears to have once been the grand hall of a palace, but which is now ruined. The jagged line of the tops of the walls frames rolling grey clouds. Moss and vegetation color the crumbling stone. Ahead, large doors lead into a room beyond, hidden from view by a still-standing wall. And beside Xan stands a young girl, perhaps five years old. Xan: Jaelis? What are you doing here? Girl: I knew you'd recognize me! How do you like it? Isn't it beautiful? Xan: This? But this place is falling- Voice: <Be careful, Xan.> <You are in a construct of my mind, but your presence influences the surroundings of this place. You see desolation because you know that this palace was destroyed when the draconans came to Dorn. But what you see and what she sees are not the same. Do you want to tell her that the pristine, elegant castle she sees isn't real?> <I thought not.> <Be mindful of the distinction between reality and illusion here. I am creating this illusion because it is easier for you to see than the reality. The same applies to Jaelis. We will come to reality soon enough. For now, play along.> Xan: Are you saying that she's real? She isn't an illusion? Girl: What? Who are you talking to? I'm not an illusion, silly. Look. See, I can touch you. I'm as real as you are. Xan: Sorry. Thought I heard someone talking. Girl: You sure are acting strangely. Aren't you glad to see me? Xan: Yes. I'm very glad. I missed you a lot. Girl: I know. But it's okay now. We can be together, like before. Xan: How? You... Girl: Died? You'll get it soon enough. Come on, Xan. He's waiting to meet you. The girl begins walking toward the large doors. Hesitantly, Xan follows. Xan: Who is? Girl: My protector. He made this place for me. Bad things happened outside. He brought me here, where I'd be safe. Come on, you'll like him. I promise. At a single touch from the girl's hand, the doors swing inward noiselessly, revealing a throne room beyond. The walls seem impossibly tall, but again there is no ceiling. Tapestries lie in heaps where their places on the walls meet the floor. The throne sits on a raised dais, with many steps leading up to it like concentric circles. The throne is thrown into shadow by a stone canopy-like formation over it, but a figure can be made out sitting atop it. Voice: <Xan...> <Welcome.> <We meet in person, at last.> Xan: I thought we just met in person. Voice: <We met in the flesh.> <The distinction is important.> Xan: I met... Xan glances at the girl beside him, who is staring at things apparently not present in Xan's version of the construct. Voice: <Do not worry. I am in complete control in this place. While we talk, she will hear nothing that would upset her.> Xan: I met Jaelis in the real world, didn't I? Voice: <You saw the body, yes. I thought you might recognize it now that you've been reminded.> Xan: But you aren't Jaelis. Voice: <No. Except in the sense that I live in her body and answer to her name.> Xan nods toward the girl. Xan: And she is? Voice: <She is what remains of the entity which you would call Jaelis. Think of her as Jaelis' mind. I'm afraid her growth has been rather stunted all this time we've been together. The unpleasantness we faced was creating uncomfortable friction between our ... minds. I created this place so that she could keep occupied without getting in the way. Better for us both this way, really. She is happy here.> Xan: So what are you? Some sort of mental parasite, living inside Jaelis' body, in control while she plays in an illusionary sandbox forever? Voice: <Such harsh words. I am hardly a parasite. On my better days, I even like to think of myself as a symbiont, of a sort. I protect poor Jaelis. She could never have survived the hardships we have faced without me.> Xan: How *did* she survive? I was there. I watched her die. Voice: <Yes. You did. I watched you watch her die.> Xan: Answer my question. Why is Jaelis still alive? Whatever tricks you're pulling in here, I know that out in the real world I saw her, a real, physical body, which was missing the charred hole it had the last time I saw it. Voice: <Ah. I see it in your eyes now, Xan. You have made the realization. You still don't understand, but it is the realization that will lead to understanding. Go on. Ask the question you want to ask.> Xan: ...Why is she so much older than I am? Voice: <There.> <I knew you had it in you.> Xan: I still don't understand anything. Voice: <You have set foot on the path to understanding. That is the difficult part. Now you must simply...> The dark figure indicates a door in the wall which was not there a moment before with a sweeping gesture of the hand. Voice: <...follow.> The girl takes Xan's hand and tries to gently pull him toward the door. Girl: Come, Xan. This way. Xan studies the door, then looks back toward the dark figure. Xan: What's down there? Voice: <Understanding.> With obvious trepidation, Xan steels himself against whatever might be ahead and walks forward, opening the door and stepping through... ...into the nightmare.[/quote]
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