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 Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 5:16 pm
Faustite had delayed until the following evening so the pair could gather their thoughts. In the hours after it happened, Faustite found it difficult to parse his thoughts from his frenetic reactions during the time they were spirited away to that other place, and separating truth from assumption was likewise impossible. Only after food, a bath, and a few hours' shut-eye was he finally able to order his thoughts on the matter.
He'd invited Heliodor to do the same, particularly when it came to that haunting presence that seemed to live inside his head. The boy had enough shocks over the past months; one more had to have left him addled.
When he was certain he could speak coherently on the matter of the storm from the day prior, Faustite had Headache send his request for a meeting to Laurelite. Upon receipt of her acceptance, Faustite laid a hand on Heliodor and teleported the pair afore the doors to Laurelite's office. Summoning the esoteric spike to hand, he used its curious orb as a knocker and rapped it on one of the doors as his request for entry.
Faustite had never known Laurelite to be caught unawares; although he had little idea how she might know about the storm or whatever threat it may pose to Earth, he was uncertain that she'd seem surprised by what they had to tell her. In a way, it was ever humbling to someone who was one of the top officers in the Information branch.
Ready? He signed to Heliodor in the moments after he knocked.the space cauldron start for faustite and heliodor to state what they know about the special rp!
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2025 9:02 pm
The door opened before Heliodor had a chance to sign back. Standing in the doorway, Laurelite’s eyes drifted to Faustite’s hands only briefly, like she was aware she might have interrupted something. She smiled politely and let her gaze linger on the spike Faustite held in his hand. Though there was a notable intensity in her eyes, she seemed otherwise unperturbed. “Come in,” she invited, turning away. If they wanted privacy to exchange a message before they came in, she would grant it. She kept her back to the as she led them inside. “But please close the door behind you.” Two chairs had been pulled out for her guests but she did not seat herself. Laurelite carried herself with grace and elegance but her steps were slow and contemplative. Her desk was stacked neatly with what looked to be old paperwork and photographs that clearly belonged from a different decade. Only a few faded corners were visible but Laurelite seemed to have several projects going at all times. “I find myself intrigued by the urgency of this meeting. Neither of you appear to be in a particularly boastful mood so I can only assume this is not a celebratory gathering. Tell me what you’ve seen.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2025 6:36 pm
Heliodor had been appreciative of the time to sit and mull over the events of their journey together to wherever it was they had been transported to. He'd taken the time to rest, recoup and organize thoughts through pen and paper so he was best ready.
To say he was a tad nervous about the meeting would be an understatement, but the corrupt was determined to put a good foot forward considering the last time he'd last seen Laurelite. He doubted that had been much of a good impression.
Golden eyes gazed at the spike as it was summoned forth. He couldn't help a small smile as the item was utilized as a mere doorknocker, but was not at all surprised for it. Faustite was, if anything, practical.
He opened his mouth to respond when the door cracked open and he stopped. Turning to the elegant woman who stood there greeting and beckoning their entrance. Unsure what to do with himself, he glanced to Faustite as Laurelite turned away. Nervous. He signed simply before taking a deep breath to gather himself.
He slipped into the room, closing the door behind them as requested.
The two chairs were noted, but nervous energy kept him from sitting. Instead, he opted to hoover near them waiting to see if Faustite would take a seat.
Laurelite wasted no time, not that Heliodor expected her to have time to waste, with her demand for information. He glanced to the General King as his side, before bowing slightly, unsure of how to present himself properly. Better to go a tad overboard than insult out of neglect.
"Yes, my queen. I am not sure what you have heard so far, but General King Faustite and I were whisked away to a location yesterday during a violent thunderstorm in the city. As to where exactly the location was isn't clear. Not only was it us though, but also General King Jet, General Benitoite, General Chalcanthite, and General Aquamarine. Along with us were four members of order Eternal Sailor Murikabushi, Transcended Eternal Sailor Encke, Transcended Eternal Sailor Kerberos and a deep space senshi that I am familiar with but do not know the name of."
"While there we were all gathered in a singular hexagon room with six hallways at first that had depictions on the walls, markings on the floor and a strange darkness that was very fog like blocking each hallway and the ceiling above. It appeared as if the depictions on the walls told some sort of story, and interactions with them brought more information and visions. It seemed as if we all experienced something different. From what we have experienced, it's very likely something may be targeting Earth in the future."
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Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2025 7:40 pm
Faustite was trained to salute, so salute he did when Laurelite greeted them. As she turned away and bid them entry, Faustite took that as an implied at ease and followed her into the sanctum.
Heliodor's sign wasn't missed, but there was likewise nothing he could do for it but reach out and squeeze the boy's arm with reassurance while they entered. Heliodor had gotten the door, so his attention shifted to the seats. He had never known Laurelite to be one to overlook anything, so he approached a seat with the assumption that they were likely heatproof. He sat with the spike still in hand, looking it over and shifting it about while he listened to Heliodor's initial report on what they encountered.
His opening was sparse, but to the point. To facilitate the telling, Faustite summoned Headache and signed for the youma to display his tablet with its images of each of the murals. This was held out to the Queen in a reverential manner unique to the youma.
For his part, Faustite's free hand closed around a star artifact that he then placed atop Laurelite's desk for examination. Next to it, he laid the spike. As he signed, Headache took up the burden of translating. By and large, he filled in where he could around Heliodor's description of the turn of events. There was the pervasive darkness, its quelling by the light beneath their feet, the difficulty in reaching into subspace, their complete inability to summon weapons or magic. He mentioned the sparks, too, and how they seemed to spring forth with any energetic activity. Their interpersonal misgivings, however, were left to the side for the moment.
"Heliodor and I were split off from the gathering early on — sent down a hall by way of lightning. Found this star —" Faustite tapped the artifact, "On a skeletonized corpse in our new room. Showed me a vision of different starscapes. Felt like there was gaps of time in between that a human shouldn't know.
"But the last starscape — that was here. Used to sail, so I know the night sky. Whatever that snake in the mural is, either it's been here before or the person holding that star tracked it here before.
"Expect we were on Earth for the whole of it. Physics weren't any different than here. Gravity felt the same. Don't know where that structure would be, though; if a more impenetrable space like here or the Rift, or if in a location that anyone can find." He doubted it would have been a Wonder, though; no knights numbered among them to have taken them.
"There's the spike, too. Went through a door that required a handprint and found it on a pedestal inside. Imagine it has to do with the ones in the mural, though the scale's wrong if we take it literally." Before becoming someone half-made of magic, he'd have scoffed that a mural like that could be anything but metaphorical. "Can't tell its make, either. And it's got some pattern of stars inside this globe. If it's an accurate reflection of space, and if starscapes are how we can track this serpent, then I wonder if we can find evidence of its movements in the ceiling of the Traveler's Tower." They'd need senshi to peer more closely into areas of space for that, though. That role was better suited to someone like Heliodor, who would know better than to throw caution to the wind and play with the damn pedestal. Albite, however —
No. It wouldn't do to think about that right now.
"There's also the matter of there being six spikes in the mural and only five points were lit on the hexagon. One hallway was a ******** of lightning — the one crowning the darkened spot. The rest were fine. Imagine the others might have been sent to rooms like ours once the first room filled with lightning. Couldn't see any bodies, didn't get a notification of a dead General-King, so I'm guessing they got out safe. Also guessing that they probably had — or saw — spikes."
Faustite drew a sigh through his nose. "If the sixth spike in the mural was just damaged, then we might've ******** everything up by taking this spike out. But seeing as we've still got a planet to stand on, I don't know for certain.
"Negaverse has a track record of making weapons, though. Was wondering if you'd recognize the spike, or if you thought there's purpose enough in looking for manufacturing records." If the Negaverse had something to do with its make and they kept meticulous records, then they'd have a time period for its manufacture. And if they had that, then they could look into other Negaverse records from the same time period to see if they faced this potential threat before, and what they knew about it.kolina redacted a name mention a i realized he didn't get her name in their last rp
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Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2025 8:09 pm
Laurelite did not immediately respond. She had listened in silence, statuesque until she was presented with things to examine. At first, she took the tablet and looked over the images. When she’d finished with that, she did not return it; instead, she placed it on her desk. The star was next, and her eyes narrowed just slightly as if she found the object distasteful. Less it, and more what it represented. Still, it was a piece of the puzzle. She didn’t want to overlook something. Appearancewise, it didn’t seem particularly striking. Gold, faintly scratched, heavy in the way that guaranteed you were dealing with something valuable, but not so weighted that it would have been an inconvenience. The spike held most of her attention, and she spent a great deal of time turning it over in her hands, inspecting every little part of it. The galaxy within the orb seemed to demand a great deal of her focus. She didn’t set the spike down until she’d examined it completely. There was only so much her eyes and hands could decipher. “It’s not something produced by the Negaverse. But see what you can find in our records, regardless. The shape is unusual, I can’t imagine it would be a preferred weapon in combat. A tool, perhaps, but someone took great care to make this. There isn’t a single blemish. And this,” her fingers returned to the imprisoned stars, “resonates with me. Be careful with this, Faustite,” she insisted. “I want you to take good care of it. I’d like to know what it is, and where it came from.” She leaned back in her seat just slightly. Heliodor was still standing so she didn’t urge him to sit, but she did look from him and the chair as if to remind him that the invitation was still offered. “I have no faith in the White Moon. If they’ve obtained any of these, I’d like to know what power they have access to. And, when they inevitably mishandle a situation, I’d like to be prepared to clean up after their mess. I want to know if we can engineer our own. If we have to.” Laurelite’s passion for strange and ancient artifacts was not unknown within the Negaverse so her interest was probably not very surprising; she’d have wanted to know more about it even if there wasn’t some oncoming, world-ending threat. “A Cosmos Knight and a handprint that responds to you implies something of a human touch. If there’s some magic within these that others could make, I see no reason why we couldn’t as well.” She had unshakable faith in the Negaverse and thought highly of them. “I’m not sure how much information you might be able to yield from the Traveler’s Tower but I won’t discourage investigation as long as you take necessary precautions. The trek is dangerous, I don’t want anyone getting hurt. We may need everyone on hand in the near future. I don’t want either of you to spread yourself too thin. Do you feel there is merit in trying to follow up with the Senshi you arrived with? I’m curious to hear if you have any theories about why they ended up there with you.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2025 4:32 pm
Heliodor remained silent and still as Faustite explained his part of the story. It was incredibly interesting, even hearing it again, how different their experiences were.
As Faustite spoke, their Queen took the time to inspect, even when the tale was finished Laurelite didn’t let herself be rushed as she observed the spike that seemed to hold a larger purpose. He had latched onto the idea that perhaps the Negaverse had been involved in this, a good theory on Faustite’s part, but unfortunately that was very soundly and quickly dashed. Atleast though, there was merit for them to investigate further the possibilities of harnessing a similar, if not the same, power if it could be replicated.
He caught the shift of Laurelite’s gaze. Helio hesitated a moment, before relenting. Rounding on the chair he sat himself down but didn’t recline into the furniture’s comfort.
“To be honest, I am not sure if there was any specific reason as to why each of us were transported there. I am curious though about something, and I believe conversing with them might at least give me some information that might prove useful.”
“While Faustite appeared to be experiencing things from a perspective that wasn’t his, I had very different experiences. It seemed as if something was reaching out to me and making itself known in my mind. It came across as a heavy dark shadows or fog. It first noticed it when we were in the main room with the others. I had been inspecting one of the murals and seeing if the lighting effect was in sync with lightning we saw down one of the hallways. While doing that was when it first made contact. I could feel it creeping across my thoughts and settle there. At the same time I had an intense feeling of waking to inspect that dark barrier to the lightning hallway. Like it was…maybe calling to me in some way? It wanted me to go to it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t inspect it as that was when we had been separated from the rest of the group and the main room.” He paused to let some of that infor digest, but also to give him a moment to collect his thoughts for the next part. Licking his lips he shifted a bit in his chair to sit a bit further onto its edge.
“Now, in this hallway there were two things that caught my interest. One I didn’t get to inspect much of, but there were symbols on the walls that glowed when we were in proximity to them. I couldn’t see any relation to any language I know, which I must confess isn’t many. But I got this feeling from them. Like hope and reassurance. It’s hard to describe why I felt that way, but I think they could be of interest in helping discern maybe what the spike mean considering they were in the hallway leading to the door where we found it.
“But what really caught my attention was the dark shadows that blocked us off from the main room. This may have been influenced from that need I felt to investigate the hallway with the lightning, but I walked up to it and reached into it. It was cold. Icy cold and my hand disappeared in the darkness. It didn’t hurt, and I could still feel my hand, but it was uncomfortable. I was maybe standing there a few seconds observing the effects of the shadows with my hand when an icy wind pushed me backwards from the shadow wall with a force I never expected. I couldn’t catch a breath it was so cold and there was a heavy pressure that weighed down on me in my chest. The best way to describe it was I was vibrating from it. It stopped for a moment before I was sucked into the shadows.
“I couldn’t breathe. Thankfully it didn’t last too long, but what I saw was what I can only assume was space. There were endless stars and I swear I heard something like the roll of lightning, but I never saw any flash or indication of it. It sounded far away, almost like it was a memory or something in my mind hearing it and not my ears.
It released me suddenly and Faustite pulled me away from the darkness as I gathered myself.” Goodness he felt like he was just talking non-stop, but so much of it felt important. At the same time, he feared he was missing things.
“Right before we ran to the door that responded to Faustite’s touch I was assaulted with the feeling of hunger that I’d never felt before. It was sharp and with it my mind flooded again with those shadows and darkness and I saw Faustite’s Paldron that had been thrown down the lightning hallway earlier in our encounter. With was the sounds of things being smashed and broken and debris floating around in the darkness of space.
“I realize this is a lot of information, but I wanted to make sure I covered it all because I am thinking we may have been pulled into some place in space and weren't still on Earth. It was that last vision that makes me think this as it didn’t seem like something from the past but something of the present time." His gaze shifted form Laurelite to Faustite next to him before turning his attention fully upon their Queen again.
“There’s also the possibility that maybe I wasn’t the only one it seemed to connect to. Perhaps the other senshi also experienced something? If they did, I’d be curious to see on what level and what sort of connections they made. It could perhaps give us more of an idea of what this thing wants from us.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2025 6:19 pm
Faustite tsked for striking out on the weapon's origin. Unfortunate that they hadn't produced it; Faustite thought it would have been quite the edge if they did. He nodded to her expectation that he check their records, even if that might be more than a few days' work buried in what he could access. Laurelite was, after all, such an avid collector.
He accepted the spike in return, though his brows furrowed to hear that Laurelite resonated with it. What did that mean? And why was it possible?
Headache lit with the fruits of his sign language. "See if I can get the Mauvians looking at it. I'll check with the Mirror Prince, too — see if they can justify their continued existence by crafting perfect replicas of magical items." He didn't expect much from them, and certainly the spike wouldn't be his trial run — if he had to actually entrust the thing to Mirrorspace for a replica, then it may all be for naught — but if they could, that'd be something. Reason enough not to wholesale sacrifice the Court, meddlesome as they oft were.
Better if they could manufacture however many they might need themselves, but Faustite didn't know how pressing this issue was, or how much time they had. Perhaps, as they spoke, a space serpent was hurdling toward Earth.
Faustite nodded to her next question, signing, he explained, "One of them is my informant. He'll tell me what he's learned and what he intends to do about it, provided he wasn't disposed of by his allies for being outed as an informant." Or he wasn't dead from whatever the ******** all of that was. Hard to say; he hadn't reached out to the boy since.
Faustite hoped he was okay. Otherwise, it was a terrible, mournful loss of a cute boy.
The tower could wait for the moment, then. Perhaps until after they exhausted an avenue or two.
Heliodor chimed in with more of his experiences, and Faustite watched him curiously. Heliodor had seemed distracted; Faustite hadn't thought much of it at the time, but in hearing his story, it sounded like he had been extensively involved with that presence. Whatever that place was, it was quite keen on sharing feelings and subjective experiences. Perhaps Faustite would have thought it poetic if he wasn't frustrated by his lack of knowledge.
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2025 8:18 am
Laurelite listened patiently as they both spoke, and she seemed to absorb every word with graceful curiosity. At no point did she ever give any impression that she felt they were in over their head, nor did she seem to lose herself at any point during Heliodor’s recollection. When they’d both finished, she nodded again. “It seems we have a lot to look into. Thank you for that detailed account, Heliodor. I suspect we’ll need more information from the other participants. I am also curious to know what, if anything, the Senshi experienced.” She nodded to Heliodor, thinking this was a good task to prioritize. Faustite received the same polite, approving nod. “I don’t get updates from the Mirror realm as often as I used to. I think it might be a good time to touch base with them. And your informant. I’ll wish you good luck in finding him alive and healthy. And useful.” She rested her hands lightly atop her desk and though she seemed eminently calm, she radiated an aura of determination. “I’m glad to have both of you involved in this, I think you’ve got some very good ideas to pursue. Let us not waste much time, we need to figure this out as soon as possible. Please keep me updated. We’ll need to stay on top of this.”
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 9:07 pm
Helio nodded, pleased that Laurelite was in agreement with him on pursuing more information from the order senshi. He made mental note to reach out to Muri specifically considering he was likely the easiest to approach. From Muri, Helio might be able to branch out to the others who had been there.
Helio paused a moment, his mind drifting to the issues that had occurred. He chewed on his bottom lip a moment, a bit hesitant to bring it up, but at the same time felt it was necessary to report.
"If I may, you're Majesty. I want to report a bit of a, uh, contention that occurred. General Aquamarine made some very covert remarks about General King Faustite, insinuating that General King Faustite could possibly not be trustworthy. I did try to ignore him, but he was persistent and I argued with him about this." He shifted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable with this, but if he was going to be honest, Helio damn well knew his own anger had gotten the better of him. "During this, I made a remark about General Aquamarine needing to take orders from Sovereigns which included General King Faustite. At that point General King Jet stepped in and made the remark that General Aquamarine needs to take no orders from anyone else but him. It was around this point that I stepped down after some more words were tossed back and forth. Unfortunately, this was all in front of Order."
Glancing out of the corner of his eye to Faustite Helio sighed as he focused back on their Queen. "I admit I was wrong in how I reacted to this. General Aquamarine is very good at finding wounds to pick at. But, if I may ask, you're majesty, was I wrong in assuming that anyone ranked below a General Soverign should be taking orders from them?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 9:11 pm
Helio nodded, pleased that Laurelite was in agreement with him on pursuing more information from the order senshi. He made mental note to reach out to Muri specifically considering he was likely the easiest to approach. From Muri, Helio might be able to branch out to the others who had been there.
Helio paused a moment, his mind drifting to the issues that had occurred. He chewed on his bottom lip a moment, a bit hesitant to bring it up, but at the same time felt it was necessary to report.
"If I may, you're Majesty. I want to report a bit of a, uh, contention that occurred. General Aquamarine made some very covert remarks about General King Faustite, insinuating that General King Faustite could possibly not be trustworthy. I did try to ignore him, but he was persistent and I argued with him about this." He shifted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable with this, but if he was going to be honest, Helio damn well knew his own anger had gotten the better of him. "During this, I made a remark about General Aquamarine needing to take orders from Sovereigns which included General King Faustite. At that point General King Jet stepped in and made the remark that General Aquamarine needs to take no orders from anyone else but him. It was around this point that I stepped down after some more words were tossed back and forth. Unfortunately, this was all in front of Order."
Glancing out of the corner of his eye to Faustite Helio sighed as he focused back on their Queen. "I admit I was wrong in how I reacted to this. General Aquamarine is very good at finding wounds to pick at. But, if I may ask, you're majesty, was I wrong in assuming that anyone ranked below a General Soverign should be taking orders from them?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 12:11 am
Helio nodded, pleased that Laurelite was in agreement with him on pursuing more information from the order senshi. He made mental note to reach out to Muri specifically considering he was likely the easiest to approach. From Muri, Helio might be able to branch out to the others who had been there.
Helio paused a moment, his mind drifting to the issues that had occurred. He chewed on his bottom lip a moment, a bit hesitant to bring it up, but at the same time felt it was necessary to report.
"If I may, you're Majesty. I want to report a bit of a, uh, contention that occurred. General Aquamarine made some very covert remarks about General King Faustite, insinuating that General King Faustite could possibly not be trustworthy. I did try to ignore him, but he was persistent and I argued with him about this." He shifted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable with this, but if he was going to be honest, Helio damn well knew his own anger had gotten the better of him. "During this, I made a remark about General Aquamarine needing to take orders from Sovereigns which included General King Faustite. At that point General King Jet stepped in and made the remark that General Aquamarine needs to take no orders from anyone else but him. It was around this point that I stepped down after some more words were tossed back and forth. Unfortunately, this was all in front of Order."
Glancing out of the corner of his eye to Faustite Helio sighed as he focused back on their Queen. "I admit I was wrong in how I reacted to this. General Aquamarine is very good at finding wounds to pick at. But, if I may ask, you're majesty, was I wrong in assuming that anyone ranked below a General Soverign should be taking orders from them?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2025 3:26 pm
Useful was one of the more difficult states to wrangle out of Murikabushi, but if they could corral his mind to the task, maybe they could prise more needed information from him. And while Faustite might come along to a meeting like that, it was better if he let Heliodor drive that conversation. As far as he knew, the boy didn't have feelings of a particular sort about his de facto savior; he wouldn't necessarily lose track of the conversation in favor of staring longingly at the boy.
And he would have more to say and understand about presences being foisted into his head, too, of course.
Faustite made to rise, but Heliodor's interjection had him pause with his hand clutched around the arm of the chair. He wasn't certain if he was ratting himself out or Aquamarine, then decided on the former when Benitoite's preemptive disobedience was not brought to the conversation. It was a strange thing to do, however; Faustite wasn't certain how he felt about it. Should he be impressed? Annoyed that Heliodor went over his head if he was looking for punishment? What was his purpose?
Heliodor continued, and thus was the crux of the issue clarified. Faustite had been under a similar impression himself; over his career, he followed orders of anyone who succeeded him in rank. If ever there was a conflict between officers of equal rank, he followed whoever headed the operation if his own CO wasn't present. It never occurred to him to see if such a thing had changed.
Or maybe it hadn't changed — it simply never was. A cruel thought.
His attention shifted from Heliodor to Laurelite. He set his teeth in anticipation.
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2025 9:18 pm
Laurelite watched the two and, though her expression never changed, something shifted behind her eyes. She too seemed to think that they were preparing to leave, but as Heliodor expressed his concerns, she remained in her seat. For him to bring this up now, in the wake of everything else, she understood it must be important. So, she leaned back in her chair to better observe both of them. “I’m afraid I don’t have full context to understand the situation or how things came to be as such. You'll forgive me if I make an inquiry before answering your question. I don't feel like this situation is so black and white. Perhaps you can help clarify this ‘contention’ a bit more for me. General King Faustite, why was General Aquamarine insinuating you were not trustworthy? Heliodor, why did this exchange spark such emotion from you? And tell me, what exactly did our ‘Order’ audience witness occur between all of you?”
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