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 Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 10:42 am
Takes place October, 2021 soon after Look to the stars.
“The office is down this hall, to the left,” he explained to Sessrumnir and Lucasta, although the moment after he said that, he realized that both of them likely didn’t need instructions on how to make it to the most familiar parts of his Wonder. In the past, they would have both been welcome at Valhalla. Sessrumnir only paused when Valhalla instructed them on how to get to where they needed to go. He didn’t want to say he knew, both because he’d been there in this life and in the past, but he nodded to his brother as he looked worn from the trip there.
“Do you have water with you? You should drink some,” Sessrumnir said over his shoulder as he continued down the hall with the guardian cat. He knew he should have taken the time to check on his brother, but Ganymede was with him and he wasn’t injured, just tired.
He didn’t wait for them, but instead pushed open the door of Valhalla’s office--
Greeted by two men looking up at him. Serge he recognized with his auburn hair and tired, stern eyes as he sat behind the desk. The other had long dark hair, his expression brightening as he saw Sessrumnir and--
The memory was gone.
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 1:09 pm
“You’re not okay,” Ganymede said, a note of disapproval in her voice.
She would have insisted the same had she been in Valhalla’s place, but she was also a hypocrite. She knew how exhausting these sorts of things could be, and she didn’t like Valhalla making light of it. Beneficial as it might be to have a couple of extra pairs of eyes with them, Ganymede would prefer that doing so not lead to Valhalla sounding like he was winded.
With an arm around him, she supported him the best she could, but Valhalla was larger than her, and just as stubborn at times, so she doubted he would accept as much assistance as he needed. After a moment, Ganymede put her hand on his back, feeding energy into him. Then she summoned a bottle of water from subspace and forced it on him.
“Drink. You’re probably dizzy. Let it pass before you follow them.”Whatever Sessrumnir saw upon opening the office door, Lucasta wasn’t privy to it.
She recognized the fortress of Valhalla, but only because she’d been a guest here before — in the modern age, though she expected the same could be said for the past. She simply didn’t remember any of her trips here a millenia ago.
Over time, the lack of memories became somewhat less frustrating. Or, rather, Lucasta resigned herself to it and bore the indignity without complaint (most of the time).
The fluff of her tail brushed against Sessrumnir’s fur-lined boots as she made her way around him and entered the office.
“Dusty place,” Lucasta sniffed, affronted, like it was some sort of personal offense. She poked her head back out the door and called to Valhalla and Ganymede, “Don’t you ever clean the place?”
“We’ve been busy recently,” Ganymede countered. “Go dust it yourself if it bothers you so much.”
Lucasta made a sound of disapproval and ducked back inside.
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 5:02 pm
Valhalla offered Ganymede a warm smile when she countered him. He remained where he was as she kept an arm around him, feeding energy into him, and took the bottle of water from her when she forced it on him.
“I’ll be okay,” he promised. “I’ve felt worse.” Which probably wasn’t the best thing to say at that moment, but it was true. He’d definitely felt worse when he had anyone’s hand in his chest, pulling at his starseed. Thankfully it had been quite a while since anyone had gotten close enough to attempt that.
Once he took the time to drink about half of the bottle, he turned to lean close and press a kiss against Ganymede’s forehead.
“Sorry, Lucasta. Things have been a little crazy,” he said to the guardian cat, grateful that she came along, but also feeling a little bad that they didn’t have much time to prepare for this visit, not with Earth’s Velencian guests. Sessrumnir lowered his hand from the necklace at his chest, not remembering when he’d lifted it to hold onto in the first place, but quickly made his way into the office as he ignored the strange memory he just saw. Was it common to see memories on other Wonders or Worlds? He was afraid to ask. He didn’t want to have to talk about anything he’d seen. Or thought he saw.
“Ganymede, do you remember what it looked like? Whatever we’re looking for? It doesn’t look like there’s much left on the desk. Did you guys clean everything and toss it somewhere?” Because it certainly looked like they might have tried to tidy up, which meant hunting for whatever had been on Serge’s desk. If someone else hadn’t moved it already.
“Lucasta, you haven’t heard of Velencya, have you? Or Velenia?” He assumed not, but it was worth a shot.
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:11 am
Ganymede frowned at Valhalla’s reminder, but said nothing of it.
She kept a hand on him, careful about not overdoing the energy transfer. When he looked a little less pale and sounded a little more steady, she eased up and let the flow of energy trickle to a stop.
“Should’ve come ourselves,” she grumbled under her breath, guiding Valhalla down the hall when he didn’t seem likely to topple over upon moving.
They knew the place best, and could find things without assistance. Lucasta and Sessrumnir were brought along in case she or Valhalla required assistance with the technology. The memories were clearer here. Ganymede knew what they were looking for, and where it had been the last time Liesel saw it, but Liesel had no firmer grasp on the technology than she did.
She could lead them to it, but she was utterly lost when it came to completing what Serge started.
“It was some sort of metal device, with glowing stones,” she said. “The closest Earth equivalent I could compare it to would be a portable generator, but clearly Jovian in design. The last time Liesel saw it, Serge had it on the desk, but he might’ve put it somewhere for safe keeping before they—”
Died.
Ganymede couldn’t say it, so she left the comment as it was. Certainly her meaning was obvious.
“Serge liked to tinker. There’s a cabinet he used to lock up some of his more delicate or valuable projects. We’ve never been able to open it, but… I can’t say we’ve put much effort into trying either.”Lucasta wandered around the office, sniffing here and there, but finding nothing of note. She jumped up onto the desk even though she knew not to expect much. The surface of it was kept neat and tidy, if a bit dusty. She left paw prints in her wake.
“Oh, yes, I’ve heard of Velencya,” she said, voice flat, tone unimpressed. “Extraterrestrials from another world, come with a space laser to destroy Metallia. Sounds suspicious, if you ask me, but no one ever really asks me.”
She eyed Ganymede and Valhalla once they entered, lifting her head at a prideful angle.
“If you’re asking what I remember of them, the answer is nothing,” she continued, flicking her tail. “Unlike some people, I know very little about the past. Some of us aren’t privy to the secrets of the universe.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 5:43 pm
“It’s okay,” he promised Ganymede with a smile when she mumbled. “And thank you for worrying about me. I’m sorry I make you, so often,” he said as they made their way to and into the office to look around.
“The cabinet is over there,” he nodded to the built-in bookshelf and sturdy looking wooden doors and fancy lock. “There might be a key somewhere,” Valhalla suggested as he gently pulled away from Ganymede’s hold so he could start looking around as well.
“I don’t have many memories of what we’re looking for,” he said apologetically to the others, particularly to Lucasta, who was probably the most frustrated about her lack of memories. “I just know it was something Serge started researching after his brother died--”
Valhalla paused to cringe a little as he glanced at Sessrumnir. Whether Sessrumnir heard anything Valhalla said, or if he was just busy watching Lucasta make prints in the dust, or rolling his eyes at her sass, he didn’t make any indication of it. What happened in the past happened in the past, and they were there to try and secure their future.
“Do you mind?” he asked Valhalla instead, and waited for his brother to shake his head before rummaging through the desk drawers. He felt along the edges of a couple of the drawers, got down on his hands and knees to check the underside--
Until one of them revealed a false bottom. He pulled the contents from the top of the drawer and placed the papers on the dusty desk, before digging through the hidden items. Small vials of unknown liquid, unreadable papers, and thin tools that could have been used in Serge’s tinkering.
“There’s a couple drawers like this at Sessrumnir,” he explained before they questioned how he knew. “Don’t touch those,” he added, nodding to the vials. He just needed the tools so he could go over to the cabinet to see if he could pick the lock.
“If this doesn’t work, and you can’t find the key before I give up, I’m breaking the door off.”
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Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2021 5:07 pm
Though the deaths happened long ago, any mention of them still had a way of making Ganymede wince. She never knew if the sadness that swept through her was her own, or Liesel’s.
Probably some combination of the two.
“Please don’t break the door off,” Ganymede said, a bit weak at the thought. With another frown, she muttered to herself, “Serge would hate that.”
Serge hated a lot of things, but anyone interfering with his work or meddling with his things had a way of putting him into a particularly foul mood. Even Liesel, who Serge loved and trusted above all others, was only given glimpses of some of his projects. As much as they cared for one another, as honest as they tried to be with each other, Serge still kept some secrets.
Fortunately, this particular project wasn’t one of them.
“He usually kept the key with him, I think,” she said. “Which means it was probably buried with him or it was lost at some point when he fell on the field. I don’t remember if he had it at the end. It was all kind of… hectic. If he ever left it somewhere else, Liesel never saw where he put it.”Lucasta continued to sniff around as Sessrumnir removed some of the contents of the drawers. She had no clue what this device was they were supposed to be locating, but Ganymede seemed to think it might be beneficial.
All this talk of Serge and Liesel… Lucasta was aware that she should know those names, but they dredged up no memories, just a strange sense of melancholy, particularly for Liesel.
Sometimes, she wondered if it was best that she didn’t remember.
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Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2021 6:52 pm
Sure enough, a strange bitterness rose in Valhalla’s chest at the thought of the cabinet door being broken off, and he lifted his hand to rub at his chest in a way that was similar to when he’d had his starseed damaged. It was almost as if his starseed was aching now, although the pain started shortly after mention of Percy dying.
“Give me a minute to look around,” he requested as he gently pulled away from Ganymede so he could close his eyes and try to will any thoughts to be pulled forth. Outside the thick walls of the fortress, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, but inside it was comfortable, if not a little chilly. Lighting wasn’t an issue because even with the storm, the skies were brighter though the clouds than they had been upon his original visits there. And the crystals that had been placed in sconces along the walls glowed whenever he and Ganymede neared them. Sessrumnir as well, seemed to have an effect on the crystals, making them glow as he drew near them.
Memory wasn’t allowing him to locate another key, but--
“Let me try?” he asked his brother and turned to approach the cabinet, holding his hands out for the lockpick. Because even if it looked like it could be used for something else, that was exactly what it was. Sessrumnir rolled his eyes when Valhalla asked to see the lockpick, but handed it and the other tools over. He expected there was probably a better way to get in, anyway. Maybe he could remove the hinges from the frame and take it off the wall that way.
Absently, he reached out to offer his hand to Lucasta, before giving her a scratch behind her ears. He might not have as strong of a connection with her, but he could understand her desire to be around those she felt were her responsibility.
And then he heard a click, and turned as the lock was placed on the desk. Sessrumnir frowned as Valhalla grinned sheepishly. “Serge was good at picking locks, I guess. Ganymede, do you see what we’re looking for?” Valhalla turned to ask, now that the door to the cabinet had been opened. Inside there were shelves and an assortment of objects on each. Some were in pieces, and placed into small, decorative boxes to contain everything. Others looked like they were complete and just set aside to stay out of the way, or out of the hands of others.
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 9:50 am
Lucasta sniffed at Sessrumnir’s hand like she wasn’t sure where it’d been, but ultimately consented to having her head scratched. His was a tolerable presence. At least he was competent, which was more than she could say for some of the others involved in the war.Ganymede approached the cabinet as soon as it was open, gazing over the contents. Most of it was unrecognizable to her, but there was one object within easy reach that immediately stood out. Constructed from metal similar in color to the armor Valhalla wore, with inert green stones that should have given off the low, nearly indiscernible hum of magic, the device seemed to be intact, except that the stones were no longer glowing. Beside the device was a neat roll of parchment and two small, decorative bags, the contents of which were not currently visible, but seemed to be spherical in nature.
“This,” she said, and cautiously reached for Serge’s invention.
It almost seemed wrong to touch it, to disturb it from its resting place, but Serge created it with a specific goal in mind. If it could help them now, it would be a shame to leave it. Serge would want them to finish it. Ganymede believed that.
When nothing happened upon touching it — no sparks or sudden jolts of power to singe her hands and warn her off — Ganymede lifted the device from its spot on the shelf and brought it out into the open, setting it carefully onto Serge’s desk.Lucasta continued her sniffing, turning her attention to the device as soon as it was placed near her.
“I have no recollection of this,” she said.
“You wouldn’t,” Ganymede told her. “You weren’t here when Serge was working on it.”
Lucasta almost asked where she’d been, what she’d been doing, when she could have been helping with this, could have ensured that it was completed sooner, but now wasn’t the time to delve so deeply into the past. Besides, Ganymede wasn’t often as forthcoming with her as she was with Valhalla.
Instead, Lucasta asked, “What is it?”
“Serge called it The Void,” Ganymede explained. “With the forces of Chaos spreading, he was attempting to devise a way to neutralize their ability to teleport on a large scale. Inside of a fortress, or over a battlefield, things like that. He thought if he could take away their element of surprise and their most effective means of escape, Chaos would no longer have the advantage.”
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Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2021 6:38 pm
Valhalla watched as Ganymede pulled the device from the cabinet. It was as though the memory of it was there, tangible even. And yet everything was still a bit fuzzy, like the soundtrack was off just slightly, or everything was a little out of focus.
“He didn’t know how quickly everything would spread. Supply chains were cut off. He couldn’t get everything that he needed to finish it,” he said quietly as he reached out to gently run his fingertips over the device and the once glowing stones. “He might have been too heartbroken, too angry to really focus on ways around what he normally would have needed.”
While Serge wasn’t much for showing affection or even fondness, it was clear that he had cared deeply for his little brother. Percy had been younger than Serge by four years, and still ended up being killed before him. Even now, Valhalla felt his heart ache as if the memories seeped into his very soul. “So we need to get the Void up and running, and then we might be able to face the Negaverse on equal ground,” Sessrumnir summarized as he picked up the parchment to carefully unroll. Not that he could read any of the text, but there were pictures, and he could guess on a few things.
“Can you decipher any of this Lucasta? Ganymede?” he asked, holding up the paper to the both of them. He had no interest in letting himself get carried away by what happened a thousand years ago. The small orb pulsed steadily against his chest, keeping him from getting distracted by the sadness he felt creeping over him.
“What about those bags? More of the stones? Maybe we just need to get them zapped by lightning. Why not have your bird do it?” he suggested, but the expression on Valhalla’s face said that he was reluctant to possibly destroy what they just found.
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Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2021 10:56 am
Lucasta glanced over the parchment once it was unrolled. The image drawn upon it seemed to be a match for the device, likely some sort of diagram, with notes and instructions filling the free spaces around it. She thought the handwriting should look familiar, but it pulled nothing from her subconscious.
“The language is no more familiar to me than the device itself,” she admitted, “but with some careful study and a bit of luck, we may be able to decipher it. The diagram is detailed enough to offer us significant aid.”
Unless Ganymede knew which pieces were missing and how the device might be completed, they would have to rely on their own ingenuity.Ganymede shook her head.
“Serge allowed Liesel to see the device, and he told him what it was for, but if he ever explained how he meant to construct it, Liesel wasn’t technologically savvy enough to understand the finer details.”
Which meant her memories were useless in that regard. She knew what it could do, but not how to accomplish it. Most of what she remembered of that period of Liesel’s life was sadness and longing, with a healthy dose of fear and uncertainty. Sessrumnir was dead. Liesel was in exile. Chaos was spreading rapidly. Serge was grim, more so than usual, angry and desperate. They were running out of time.
Ganymede glanced over the diagram but, like Lucasta, could not read any of the notes despite the painful familiarity of the handwriting.
“This is Serge’s handwriting,” she said. “I remember what it looked like. I remember watching him jot down notes, but… the memories don’t give me the ability to read it.”
She stared at it, touched the parchment so gently it was as if she thought it might crumble. Her heart clenched painfully and bitter emotion clogged her throat. Ganymede shook her thoughts away again and turned back to the cabinet, to the small bags and their spherical contents.
“Serge was using these to help power the device,” she explained, taking them in hand. “They suppress magic. Teleportation, summoning weapons, all of it, but over a much smaller area and for a very short time. A minute at most. Serge wanted to hone in on the teleportation aspect and expand it. These are so old… there’s no telling if they’ll still work.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2021 7:40 pm
It might have been Serge’s handwriting, but Valhalla couldn’t read any of it. Not because it wasn’t neat, but the language was beyond his understanding. Even Ganymede was having trouble, so at least he didn’t feel completely useless.
“No telling if they’ll still work-- or where to find more if they do work. Those things aren’t something you Mauvians can replicate, are they?” he glanced over to Lucasta as she inspected the device and parchment. “If we did test it, we would really need to make sure it worked. Which means…” he paused, and glanced from Ganymede to Sessrumnir with a frown.
There was no secret that Valhalla was horrible when it came to fighting, and he certainly didn’t want Ganymede risking herself by going up against someone to test it out. “I don’t mind testing it out,” Sessrumnir confirmed as he reached out to take one of the small decorative bags from Ganymede. He opened it up to peer inside at the small round object. There was some kind of magic there, but if it really would work, it meant putting themselves at risk.
“I have just the General in mind, actually,” he said with a sneer. “Little blond brat who can’t fight worth s**t but knows how to use teleportation to his advantage,” he shared, still annoyed by his previous encounter with the rapier wielding General.
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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2021 9:57 am
Lucasta shrugged — as well as a cat could, anyway.
“With enough effort and the proper materials, I’m sure it could be replicated,” she said.
The problem was having access to the proper materials. Earth only provided so much, and all the worlds beyond Earth were… decidedly lacking as they were now. Much of the technology that existed from long ago had likely been lost to time.
As far as testing them…
“They’re in relatively good condition. If one works, the other should, too, in theory. We can’t afford to waste both of them, so make the most of it. Test it thoroughly.”
Not that Sessrumnir needed the advice. Of the three of her companions, Lucasta thought Sessrumnir must surely be most suited for the task.Ganymede kept the second bag. If all went well with the first, they could use it with the device — assuming they were able to figure out how to complete it. With Lucasta, Sessumrnir, and Valhalla working on it, surely they’d be able to rig up something.
She didn’t exactly have high hopes, but… Ganymede thought she could be cautiously optimistic about it, at least until they knew for sure whether or not it would lead anywhere.
“Don’t go out of your way to target a specific General,” she cautioned Sessrumnir. Not that she didn’t understand the desire to make it satisfying. “If you find him, good. If you don’t…” Ganymede paused to release a sigh. “We probably shouldn’t expect to have this completed anytime soon, so you have time. With any luck, we might not even need it.”
There was still the possibility that the weapon the Velencians brought with them would work, however slim that chance seemed. (Trust remained a difficult thing for Ganymede to offer them.)
With a sad frown, Ganymede turned back to the desk. She touched the device again, ran her fingers over the metal, let her memories rise — enough that she could almost see Serge behind his desk, tinkering away with small bits and pieces. He looked up at her, and though he did not offer a smile, determination burned within his eyes.
It lit a fire inside her, one that spanned centuries.
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