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 Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 1:07 pm
Elkurud's visit to his planet had been fruitful. He'd recovered the bag he needed; now, he had to hope that was enough to repair the one he had.
Honestly, his ignorance as to the inner workings of such an important piece of his gear felt...shameful, now. He sohuld have asked more questions. He sohuld have done more. He should have known more.
In his own defense, he had never expected to be the last of his species, and learning artisan methods had become secondary after the plagues broke out. But still, it felt like...an unacceptable hole in his knowledge that he should have filled when he had the chance.
At least he had an idea that those in thistle uniforms might be able to help him better.
And he spotted one of them--with long, vibrant purple hair; not Rhysi but one of her comrades, presumably; and went to wave her down.
"Excuse me," he said, polite as can be, "might I borrow a moment of your time?"
Hopefully she was as adept as Rhysi, or had the same technology. He supposed he oughtn't generalize.
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 1:12 pm
Caelyna was not expecting to be hailed by someone else--she turned to face the stranger, and blinked. This was one of those Senshi from beyond Earth; the ones who had survived the centuries, relatively unchanged, and only come here recently.
She had been lost in thought tonight, as she wandered the city. She had failed Velencya so thoroughly, since her promotion--Lyndin would never say so, would never even dream of indicating such, but she knew, deep down, that she had. She had let herself stagnate, let herself forget her purpose in a haze of renewed grief.
She could not allow that to continue. And here was a connection, present and in front of her.
"Yes?" She said, simply, tilting her head to the side. "Can I assist you with something?"
Perhaps, if he was willing, she could ask him a few questions about his survival. there had to be something keeping these worlds turning, keeping people alive on them, when so many other Senshi had died and found only dust remaining when they reincarnated.
Maybe there was an answer, here.
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 1:15 pm
"Ah," he smiled, "I'm Elkurud. I met one of your fellows--Rhysi--and she helped me identify a problem with a piece of magical equipment--this bag," he slid it off his shoulder and offered it to her.
"It's designed to carry mail and packages and keep them magically protected," he said. "But it's stopped working, and she said that the problem was that the magical crystals that run it were drained. So I acquired a second one--and I was hoping that your people, who seem quite knowledgeable about this type of thing, might be able to help me...change the batteries, as it were? It's simply not my area of expertise." Or his area of understanding. Or his area of knowledge, of any kind.
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 1:18 pm
"Caelyna," she introduced herself, "Corporal of the Velencian Vanguard." Not that she expected that to mean anything to him, but that was fine. Their people were little known, it seemed, but at least their technical expertise was recognized. "I know Rhysi, and I think I can help you with your problem."
She beckoned for him to follow her, leading him to a bench in the park where they could both sit.
"Give me both bags, and I'll get to work. And--while I do, tell me about your world, some?" She didn't mean to look a little sad and pathetic, but she sort of did anyway. "Our own is...struggling. We all hope to find answers to keep it alive."
Surely that was something he, another lost traveler, could understand.
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 1:22 pm
Elkurud followed Caelyna to the bench, and sat down next to her, passing her his old bag and the new one. As she settle din to work, he rested his elbow on his knee, and leaned his cheek against his fist, looking thoughtful.
"I imagine you're curious as to how I've survived," he said, "and I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of answers for you. My world...it was ravaged by Chaos. A cursed artifact, deployed on us by someone offended by our business practices--we'd done some espionage work for a rival of theirs." He exhaled. "It devastated the population, and then the world itself. I am the only one left."
His gaze turned distant, staring off at nothing in particular.
"I suspect I carry on because of the connection every Senshi has with their planet--it may have chosen to keep me alive so I could continue to protect it, because allowing me to die and reincarnate was too risky, given that my world was sealed off from any kind of outside contact." Might the Chaos have kept his starseed from escaping to the Cauldron?
Elkurud couldn't guess. And sort of didn't want to think about it. What a terrifying prospect.
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 1:27 pm
Caelyna's fingers worked quickly and delicately, carefully transferring the crystals from one bag to the other, running her ComTech to ensure that they were connecting properly, watching with pleased delight as the circuits connected to each other and her ComTech registered the pathing of magic.
And she was glad to have something to do with her hands and her brain as she listened, because she might have spent far too much time on horrified gasps or shock, listening to this surely-abridged tale.
To unleash Chaos over a business dispute...truly, there was a deep cruelty in the universe that she wanted no part of.
And to know that it had taken everything from the poor man sitting next to her, leaving him so thoroughly alone...
A tragedy.
But something rattled in the back of her mind. Chaos. Chaos had infected his world. Chaos had also infected Earth, to two very different ends. His world was wiped out, but Earth thrived.
What was the difference? What could it mean?
Perhaps that was something worth of study. A focus she could chase, rather than wallowing in her failures.
"Thank you for telling me your story," she said. "Here, your bag should be repaired now."
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 1:30 pm
Elkurud took his bag, giving Caelyna a smile.
"Thank you," he said. "I cannot express--this is very precious to me, and I deeply appreciate you helping me fix it. I couldn't have done it alone."
He stood, slinging his bag back over his shoulder.
"You can keep the bag, and the old crystals--I don't think they'll do anything for you, but even without its magic, they're finely crafted bags," he said. "And--I told Rhysi this as well, but if there's anything I can do to aid your Vanguard, you only need ask."
A favor for a favor. A fair exchange, in his mind.
Caelyna nodded, and he gave her a brief bow, and turned to walk home.
It would be a delight to show Amateru his repaired bag--and to start doing his damned job again.
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