thequestgiver | Welcome to the Kingdom!

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Welcome to the Kingdom!

You've found a book.

Where you've found it depends. The library? At the bottom of an old wooden trunk from an estate sale? Grandma's attic? The seat beside yours on the bus?

It doesn't matter. What does matter is that something about it draws your attention. You pick it up and run a hand over its blue-dyed leather cover, trace the silver thorns embossed along the edges. The spine and cover bear no title, but it hardly matters. You take it home with you because you know it's just the kind of book you want, just what you need. And after all, you can return it later. Right?

When you finally open the book, it falls open on an illustrated page. A detailed ink drawing of a solitary figure standing before a wall of thorns. Who is this person?

A wizard in flowing robes?

A knight in gleaming armor?

A princess in a tattered gown?

Or a wicked person, glorying in the thorns' presence?

Like the book's location, it depends.

As you look closely at the illustration, your sense of balance leaves you. You stagger, look down, and are met with a white void that soon surrounds you. The book snaps shut and disappears in a shower of sparks.

You black out.

When you come around, you're warm and safe, though your surroundings are unfamiliar. The room you're in looks like a guest room in a castle; the walls are stone with a crackling fireplace and an ornately framed glassless window and the bed has an utterly impractical canopy that if you're not careful, you may just wind up getting tangled in as you sit up.

When you look around the room, you see two bells set out on a small table, both with signs in front of them. One says "Ring for attendant" the other had "Ring for King's Introduction" on it, but it was crossed out, with a handwritten "Help me, Hero WanKenobie! I'm just a dope!"

Ringing the first bell will (eventually. Hopefully) bring someone up to the room to answer your questions. The second bell has no clapper, but it covering a small round, red stone.

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Again, the pogs hands went to cover the mouth of his mask in a happy gasp. She had known his name! Just from the sign! Did that mean she really was the Dakki he knew? Even if she didn't recognize him? There's a very rapid flurry of signs as he asks, all but bouncing hopefully on the toes of his boots.

Oh, that is a lot of ideas all at once. They don't escape her, but they are a bit overwhelming, and the words of a response catch in her throat. "A-ah, I... oh..." She needs to stop a moment, and breathe, and maybe let a bit of all that enthusiasm dissipate. She doesn't want to disappoint Garren and this can only disappoint him.

"You... had a friend called Dakki? But I'm not her, I'm sorry. We've... we've only just met!" She bows her head briefly, in an effort at apology. "But... I'm glad we've met! If... if you're wondering how I can understand... that's the Echo. It's a gift I have. I can understand anyone's language." And she dips a little lower, a little closer, smiling warmly. "Even yours, it seems."

Garren debates this a moment, then nods with a small "heeee" sound, smiling behind his mask in such a way that it's expressed in his entire body before starting to swiftly sign again. Another world's Dakki! He'd met a few of those too! And she could understand his sign! His Slammer, Blade and Ryo were the only ones who understood all of his signs! There's a moment of his happy silent applause as he waved his hands back and forth.

That he's not disappointed is such a relief. She lets out a breath she'd been unconsciously holding, and lets her hands drop to her lap. "I see... I see! It's good to be understood. I see." And she understands, too. Perhaps the happiness that she can understand him outweighs any disappointment?

"I... suppose I shouldn't be surprised that another world has another me. Hydaelin has many shards... I've met people from other ones." And shouldn't there be other Warriors of Light? But this raises its own question... "Is... is this another shard of Hydaelin?"

Rapid signs give the short-short version of how his Slammer was from another world and they had met and matched so they bonded and Blade bonded with his Slammer who was also from another world and then they got to go traveling to all sorts of other worlds with their Slammers and one world he was a boy and another world he learned how to turn into a dog and lots of really amazing stuff happened!

The question does make him pause however, head tilting one way, then another. He hadn't heard that name before... so maybe not. But if it were another version of that place, it'd have another name too...

Dakki's eyes go wide, taking all this in. "There are that many other worlds? There... I mean..." She trails off uncertainly, gnawing anxiously at her lower lip. Krile would know more. Alphinaud or Alisae could ask better questions. Urianger would.... well, he wouldn't clear up a Twelve-damned thing, him and his big fancy words. She's alone here and she's going to have to think through it herself, isn't she? That's... suddenly very frightening, to the point that she feels a little twist in her gut.

"Well! That's not the most important thing, is it? What's this place? Other than 'The Kingdom'?" Let's deal with the immediate. She knows how to handle the immediate.

The little pog tilted his head one way, then the other, trying to think of a good way to explain. Putting his hands together, he formed a book, then made a sign of something going into it. Like a story book! Only people were brought in to it to be wizards and princesses and knights and pages and do heroic things! Like make medicine and motorcycles!

"Like a... story? This is a story?" It's not that she doesn't understand him, not precisely. It's that the answer seems so strange. "But... but I was already doing things like that." There's a pause. "Not... the medicine. Or the... other thing. But the... the heroic thing! I'm the Warrior of Light!"

She says it as though he'd understand what that means, and with much drama.

Garren's head tilts one way, then the other before he makes the sign of a sun in curiosity. His Slammer had been the god of the sun one world, was that what she meant?

It's a simple sign, but one loaded with a meaning that makes her eyes go wide. "Oh! No, no, not like that! I defeat gods!" The moment after she blurts those words, she realizes that she's really going to have to explain that better, but the weight of that realization and the racing of her thoughts only sets her to useless stammering that she struggles to recover from long enough that it leaves Garren plenty of time to sign more things.

Garren is briefly taken aback, posture somehow managing to get across how much he was blinking in confusion despite his mask not at all showing any expression. His head tilted again, resting there a moment. Defeat gods? (Did this have something to do with the goat-fight that Blade's Slammer was always being teased about? ... no, not likely. )

It just seems to be regular confusion, rather than alarmed confusion, which is something of a relief. "Uh..." She has to stop and bring a hand over her mouth and hold her breath for a moment, then let it out slowly, before she's quite calm enough to continue. "It's that... in my world... there are gods, yes, almost everyone worships their own gods, but... it's possible, with enough prayer and enough crystals to... to summon what's called a Primal. It's... it's the idea of a god. And it's solid, and real, and very dangerous." She stops, then, checking for more of those little head-tilts of Garren's, to see if he's thinking the matter over in any way.

There was a very puzzle head tilt, one gloved hand resting on the bottom of his mask adding to the puzzlement before he draws the shape of a card with his fingers, head tilting the other way. His Slammer had sealed creatures that were like Pogemon but more like Nevermore than like himself and Blade that he could use the energy of... was it like that?

There's a lot of proper names and concepts in those signs that Dakki doesn't quite have the context for... she frowns, thinking it over as best she can. "It's not... sealing, no. Not exactly. If you defeat a Primal you... you're dispersing it. Its body is destroyed, and can't hold together, and its aether goes back to the Lifestream. It.. it can be summoned again, of course! That's... the problem, really."

She shifts a little bit, settling into more of a sit than a kneel. "Primals are dangerous not just because they're powerful. They can warp minds. They'll mark a person, and make them love them and worship them. And it can't be undone. People like me, though, with the Echo, we can't be turned that way. We're safe. From... from that, at least." Though now that she's explained herself, her thoughts turn to that card shape and Garren's friend. "...your partner must be very strong, to be able to seal powerful things like that."

Garren's hands went to his mouth again. Like that one that had killed his Slammer's version of his first Slammer! The one who looked like Ryo's partner's cousin, but who wasn't. (Like how Ryo's partner looked like Joker but wasn't. Other worlds were confusing, sometimes...)

At her praise of his Slammer, however, he made a pleased sound, nodding happily, outlining the diamond shape on his chest and then making it larger before flexing his muscles and making a dramatic pose.

It's Dakki's turn to do a little head tilt. It's not unlike Garren's own uncertain motions. "I... see?" No, she doesn't, not exactly, but perhaps she'll understand better once she has met a few more people. Maybe even talked with Garren's partner. It sounds like there's a sad story in there, somewhere beneath the web of relationships. "Oh... are there any of those creatures around here?"

That gets a pause. A debating pause as his head tilts one way, then the other. He was pretty sure Blade's Slammer didn't count. and neither did Ryo's partner. Or the cousin either. Even though they kinda were. But it was sort of complicated...

Finally he just shrugged, signing "similar different"

That's a lot of thinking. That meant it was something complicated. But if it was complicated, then... they didn't need to be attacked on site, did they? Which she never cared to have to do, honestly... "Is.. that to do with all the different worlds? That it's tricky like that? Are they dangerous, at all?" Surely Garren can understand that much.

Different worlds! Yes! Garren nodded before giving a thumbs up and signing "friend" and "no attack!" before pausing and amending "family of friend" because he didn't really know anything about that one. But he hadn't attacked anyone, so it was fine, right?

"Alright... alright, that's good. Because I don't want to have to fight, you know!" She laughs a little, then. "I might be good at it, but..." It's a thought that she doesn't finish, and her smile grows a little awkward and strained. "...so...now that I'm here, Garren, what should I do? Look for people to help? Is... is that it?" That's how it worked when she was out doing Scion work, after all. Earning the trust of the locals was a fine way to accomplish one's goals! Presuming that there are goals to accomplish, mind.

An enthusiastic nod this time. Helping people! Being a hero! Fighting thornes!

Edited 2018-12-22 03:45 (UTC)

"Then I guess I'll go and do that." With the matter settled, at least in her own estimation, she rises to her feet and brushes out her robes. (Hmm, funny, she hadn't been wearing her robes, last she remembered...)

"Thank you for the explanation, Garren! Er... am I allowed to go anywhere that I'd like, now...?"

The small pog nodded with a pleased sound, signing again. He could show her around, if she wanted! Town wasn't very big, but he could show her where his Slammer and his Slammer's partner lived! And where everyone else was too!

"Ah! I'd love that! I'd especially love to meet your Slammer and his friends!" She has so many questions, still, and not all of them are on the subject of this new world. Helpful as Garren has been, a child is still a child. She would like to know what an adult would think.

"Lead the way, Garren!"

The small pog hopped into the air to make a dramatic, celebratory pose before he started down the hall, small booted feet making deceptively heavy thumps on the cold stone as he ran.

The tour to his Slammer's house was a fairly short one, as home that was in the process of being re-outfitted into a combination garage and clinic wasn't too far from the castle (and there really wasn't too much of interest (to Garren) along the way.

With a cheerful "Weeeei!" and wave of his arms, Garren announced their arrival, beaming happily.

Tachibana blinked up from where he was working on the very steampunk looking engine laid out on his workbench. There was a very energetic mess of sign from Garren that brought a soft, warm smile to his expression before he nodded. "Another version of Dakki, huh?" he interpreted, looking up towards her.

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