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The Golden Age. Act 2: Converging Paths.


riariadne
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Kaya had winced slightly at the mention of her father, but Shylah joining them on the ground brought a small smile to her face, even with the rather grim discussion she brought along. "Commander, I'm sure you would do a better job than you think, but no matter what, we appreciate your timely arrival. We only did what was necessary to help the people here. And while it is not the main goal of our group, I believe that all of us would want to help in any way we can against Timaeus. He has certainly caused our group enough trouble at this point to warrant that, I think. So please, if we can help, let us know." Her main goal was still the emblem, but the two goals seemed to coincide more than she had perhaps thought at first, especially when these strange visions she had been having were taken into account.

Which reminded her... "Ah, and... Shylah. I know you said you weren't going to stay long, but I was hoping that I could maybe talk to you briefly. Something... unusual happened. It happened after I met your brother... I would have asked him about it, but it was too late and I'm not sure if he would have been able to help anyways and..." She trailed off, glancing at Thalia, not sure how much of her powers the Commander would have reason to know about and even less sure how much of her abilities she wanted to reveal. "And I just wanted to ask you about it. In private perhaps?"

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Velvet purred quietly as Raz gave her completely deserved headpats for doing awesome with her many battle contributions, by a specific definition of many, battle, and contributions. "You're very nice, Raz," she spoke quietly, evidently not noticing her not-so-nice tone with regards to the Dark Prophet, temporarily blinded to the flaws of any who would give her pats (her only weakness!!). Instead, she tilted her head towards Thalia as she explained the difficulties of her situation. "I think a lot of people like you, Commander! You care about what everyone really wants, not some old stuffy jerks- even when that doesn't make you popular with the Councilors, the people will support your decisions. You're the one out here helping people being attacked, not lazing around in the capital sitting on their money, so who cares what they think?" Shylah's own explanation was much creepier, but she decided not to say anything more to her as Kaya brought up something interesting instead, not wanting to potentially interrupt.

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Joviana sighed as the rest of the enemies were wiped out by unexpected reinforcements. The commander made quick work of all the enemies,  showing no discomfort in the process. Joviana watched in awe as the battle ended quickly before she could understand what was happening. 

 

Commander Thalia stood impressively before the group, thanking them for their help with Timaeus. She's the stuff of legends,  isn't she?  To think that the acting leader herself would show up here... 

 

"We appreciate your assistance, commander, and we'd gladly help you out with Timaeus. Our group has been one of his targets,  we've clashed with his forces a few times. We didn't expect the sudden attack either.  Do you know something about his motives for that,  commander? "

 

She also turned to see another person talk to the group,  talking about the commander's sword and Aaron's axe.  As she conversed with Kaya and Raz Joviana learnt about the lady some more. So we meet another of the Magi,this can't be a coincidence.  She raised an eyebrow and pulled her hood over her head as she listened to what Kaya had to say. How much did they know each other? 

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Aaron listened to Shylah's musings with a disgruntled scowl look on his face. How does she know me? By the sounds of things, the witch knew an awful lot, but very little of basic social conventions. "Charming." he murmured quietly, before turning his attention to Thalia.

"It's the genuine article, Commander. The Dione brought it back home, after all of these years." He gazed fondly upon it for a moment, before adjusting to a more stern expression. "For someone says speaks so much, she doesn't say a lot." Aaron couldn't help but feel a little exasperated at Shylah's speech. What are we even doing now? It hadn't helped much.

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Thunder Scion

"Mm, I like to maintain a realistic assessment of my weaknesses, but thanks. Being appreciated feels nice, and really, we need all the help we can get. I can't exactly be running around the continent too often. But I think Sierra will be fine at the capital for, err, a little while..." Thalia bit her lip a bit uneasily. "Strange as some of her priorities might be, they're not destructive or anything, and even the Council will listen to her. Even among all of the stuffy old geezers who don't want to listen to a word I say, nobody wants to be known as the person who thought they were too good to listen to Sierra Tairn..." She looked over towards Fia, who seemed mortified at being noticed. "That's her sister, isn't it? Poor girl has some real confidence issues. She's impressive in her own right, though. I think if she stops seeing herself as in Sierra's shadow, she has a lot of promise. Well, anyway, I guess I'm getting off-topic. I'm glad to hear that you're willing to help work with us on these. It's hard to get all the Knights together sometimes, so you'll certainly be a valuable help... I hate bureaucracy. To be honest, I'm sure the Council is thrilled to have me out of the Capital for a little while, but I can't leave for much longer than I'm planning to. Sierra is fine as a very short term fill-in, but not exactly well versed in how to run a city, and I don't really have a lot of good options."

She nodded at Aaron's explanation of the Lionheart. "Ah, that would make sense. They are a very different culture than ours. As much as I dislike the politics we engage in here, I'm not sure that their constant redrawing of borders is exactly an improvement. I hear they are not so much for magic there, either, which is quite different from us having many academies for mages. Still, having met them, I think they could be good allies if this conflict with Timaeus is to continue. They are a people who stay to their principles, and people like that are needed in these times. That's why I count myself fortunate that a group of people like you exists- it seems you've helped us quite a lot."

Prophetic Musings

"Something you need speak with me about? How interesting, Kaya." Shylah paused for a moment, the markings on her hands glowing white. "Ahahaha... I sense there is a certain level of resentment towards me at some of the people here, anyway. People don't like vague answers, but simply by how my visions work, they are obfuscated. Rarely can I answer with certainty as to what may be the truth. So yes, if you'd like, we can take our conversation elsewhere. Where to, then, Kaya?" She smirked.

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Will you hurry the fuck up before I bleed out?

Kolmar didn't really care about the other conversations.  The ladies in the group were more than capable of gathering that info.  Shylah's light show didn't impress him, either.  He silently thanked Kaya for getting the weird lady out of everyone else's hair.  Maybe someone could attend to his shoulder once she was gone.

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Kaya glanced around and then gestured towards an isolated area nearby but out of hearing range of their party, including inquisitive demi-humans. "Over there should be fine? This shouldn't take long." Making her way over there, she took a few seconds to sort through her thoughts before explaining. "I've been having more visions. It's... strange. Normally they come as dreams, once a year, but I've had them during the day. I... lose track of time. I fainted one time, the other time I just blanked out for a few seconds. The first one was for sure of the future. I actually talked with your brother about it... You and both your brothers were in it. But the second one is the stranger one.

She hesitated again, her theory seeming crazy even when it made the most sense. "I... I think it was of the past. I saw Timeaus and his companions, but it seemed like it was before everything had happened. They were putting him in charge of their group... Talking about an archsage and how they needed to oust him... And how the nine of them, though there were only four there, would be the ones to save the people. It didn't make any sense."

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"I like Sierra. I think she can do just fine with keeping things okay for a few days in the city. Her kitty is so cute, too." Velvet pushed herself up from the ground, looking about cheerfully. "We're just fine with helping out, if you have any ideas after your big meeting! It's what we're doing to try and stop powerful artifacts from being misused, and Timaeus is one of the biggest, um... misusers. So what started on being something of a more isolated quest has unraveled into a part of a much bigger conspiracy. I guess I'm okay with that, even if it's more than what I signed on for."

The demicat watched curiously as Kaya was clever enough to walk away far enough she couldn't eavesdrop. Aw, would've been interesting. But meanwhile, she finally spotted how injured both Aaron and Kolmar were. "Um, Commander Thalia, if you could get people to heal some of us, that would be one request I think would be pretty helpful."

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"You know her cat?" Raz questioned, if a bit amused by the small piece of information. It seemed that Kaya had private business to speak with Shylah, though, and the two walked away from the rest of the group. Oh well, at least it kept that magi busy. "Well, we certainly want to deal with this Timaeus. He made himself a threat to all of us. If you have any leads, about his power or where he plans to attack next, that would help us tremendously." Thalia seemed busy enough as it was, however. Raz didn't hold her breath.

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Greater Good

"Well, again, I appreciate it. Though, it will be hard to make any decisive calls until after we meet. This attack caught us off-guard, so we're going to collaborate information to try and pinpoint where his location most likely is." Thalia nodded along at the tone of discussion, appearing somewhat surprised at Velvet's request. "Why didn't you say so before? Some of the people positioned around here were healers, at least, were they not?" She walked towards the castle, opening the door. "This is Commander Thalia- I need a healer not immediately busy here, as soon as possible!" It was very soon after her order that a young man- identifiable as someone who had just been out before- rushed back outside, starting with Kolmar's wounds first. "That should be satisfactory, I hope."

Future Past?

Shylah crossed her legs, sitting and pondering Kaya's story as she told it. "Oh, it most certainly was of the past. Timaeus, and his followers, are from an age long gone. And yet I know that one of your companions is aware of the Time King's story in the Lost Age- did they never tell you? Perhaps you should think over who you trust some more, Kaya, and be rather more careful... There are a number of different ambitions amongst you all. It wouldn't do for you to tear yourselves apart, would it now?"

She shrugged. "Regardless, it's a tale I'm familiar with, so I will relay it to you. I'll keep it as short as I can without omitting important details. There were two Monarchs for the entire Mystic Age, Kaya, known now as the Lost Age. One of them was Archsage Jotun- yes, the man who gave his namesake to the city you were born in- and you may be appalled to find out that he revealed rather wicked tendencies upon claiming the crown. It was three years before he was overthrown by his apprentice, the only mage stronger than him- the first child born on the leylines in the city he founded would be his downfall, using time magic. Yes, Timaeus was a hero to the people of Titan long ago. Him and eight others were at the helm of the revolution, and when he disposed of the tyrant, the people were overjoyed to appoint him as the next Monarch. Of his eight comrades, two perished in the battle to topple the King, and two of them retired from duty when they felt their job was done. That leaves four, of whom you've met three- Valerie, Mercury, Camellia, and Dimitrius."

"Timaeus delved into time magic, and with it he used spells to prevent himself and the four others from aging, even dying. So he ruled for the rest of the age, the King of Time. And for most of it, he retained the support of the people. But in time, he lost sight of his initial goals and amassed much power for himself. Never was he so bad as, say, Ursula or Jotun, but he was selfish, and there was no end to his reign in sight. So the people formed a plan, seeking out all the Gifts and heading to the cliffs of Calimdour to call upon the Elder Dragons. Rhovennes answered, and he used his powers to create three mages who sealed Timaeus and his allies away. Then, Rhovennes used his magic to change history. The Mystic Age became the Lost Age, Timaeus's acts never again to be repeated."

"And yet... nothing lasts forever. As mighty as the mages were, the seal has been broken with the dawn of this new age, and Timaeus returns. Though he has lost much of his power, he has learned his lesson. He will not be defeated in the same way, and he has sought to find the Gifts himself. So what you saw was back when Timaeus had a just heart, and sought the best for the world. Time has changed him, for with his magic, he has lived for more time than anyone. He never died, so to him the throne is still his. Perhaps with no Monarch, he is right. So that is the story, as I know it."

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"Gathered the Gifts..." All of what the seer had told Kaya was worrying in a way, but the story of gathering upon the cliffs, that is what stuck out the most. "I've... I've seen that too. That was the other vision. Except, it wasn't the past time. It was the future. It had to have been. You three were there, Jovianna, me, Velvet... And at the end, there was the golden claw of what could have only been a dragon. Why are my powers doing this? They've never been like this before, what changed?"

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Kolmar regarded his now-healed shoulder, and the broken arrow that had been removed from it.  "Thanks.  Would really like a good breakfast," he grumbled.

Actually, I'd like an all-you-can-eat buffet served by a cadre of cute girls.

This wasn't the first time he'd been shot by an arrow, but it was certainly the first time he'd been shot that accurately from that far away.  It definitely wasn't a ballista bolt.  His initial plan had been to dodge the shot, and pick up the intact arrow, but that fell right through.  Still, a broken arrow was better than nothing.  Raz looked busy.  Oh well.

"Hey, Raz, ever see anythin' like this?" he asked, pointing to the arrow.  "For all her bluster, that chick with the bow was accurate."

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"Heehee! Well, I am part cat!" Velvet giggled at Raz's amusement, purring slightly. "Most animals really like being taken care of by people, they have a lot less to worry about and they get to have someone to be around all the time. I guess you wouldn't know that, but now you do. Rosie, her kitty, particularly likes Sierra since she's so nice! She's a precious little thing, so I'm glad she has an owner that cares for her." She smiled at that, and the healing coming so quickly. "Thank you, Commander! That sounds fine to me. Let us know what's decided, since we're not necessarily going to be aware right away." Pause. "Are we?"

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Hmm, I guess. Guess it made sense for cats to stick together, even if one of them was... half-human now. Velvet seemed fine with whatever would be their next course of action, anyways, and Thalia seemed to need some time to decide on things. It seemed her knowledge on Timaeus was rather limited as well. "Well, until we meet, then. The more information we gather about Timaeus, the better." That was all there was to it at that point.

Kolmar seemed to have something to add, showing one of the siege arrows to Raz. "That's a special kind... she was using some kind of longbow, imbued with some magic. That's how her arrows could be so accurate despite the distance. At least that's my best guess." She took a closer look, "Unfortunately she knew what she was doing. It's going to be annoying to get her. Hopefully it didn't hurt too bad?"

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IT HURT AS MUCH AS A SIEGE ARROW TO THE SHOULDER WOULD HURT!  Kolmar kept his less-than-polite thoughts to himself.  "Huh, magic longbow?  Y'know of any of 'em?  Might give us a clue as to what we're messin' with.  It's the first clue we've got.  Guess we're lucky it didn't turn to sand."  He'd seen his share of bows, but nothing like what Raz mentioned.  Magic was something he'd avoided at all costs, including magical weapons.

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The Past Returned

"Hmm, how very unusual indeed." That seemed to be the first thing Kaya said that Shylah was at all surprised by. "The Heroic Age has come to an end, Kaya. Who can say as to what this age entails? We don't even know what it will be called yet. It might not seem important to you, why what point in time it is could affect your powers, but the Ages are no mere marks on the calendar. They really are a sign of things to change for all of Dominus, and some things become different that you wouldn't expect to be effected at all. An age of darkness is upon us now as opposed to an age of light, but to the properly prepared, that's not necessarily a bad thing. So perhaps your powers are adapting to the times- instead of the straightforward visions you used to receive, now they are more frequent, but you have to decipher the meaning from them. If you do that... well, the frequency of them could be more useful, no?"

Arrows and Cats?

"Uhh... I'll put in a good word about the food?" Thalia didn't seem to be the most ahead on the hospitality aspect, or to understand the idea of talking with cats, but she saw the arrow. "Oh, that... it was with one of the weapons that were taken here recently, the bow of course. I believe it was called Sharanga. But they were always on decoration and seemed more ornamental than practical, so nobody thought they were of real use until they were stolen. It seems they've got a lot more to them than meets the eye. Sure, it's a longbow, but longbows don't fire from that wall all the way to here, that's absurd. I've used an enchanted one before myself- they call them bolt bows, useful anima magic, those- and it still doesn't go that far. So it is a little confusing, what we're dealing with here."

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"If it's old, an' bein' kept, it's probably worth somethin'," Kolmar grumbled, turning to Thalia.  "Were there any mentions of these weapons in the history books or somethin'?  'cause if those guys ran off with other weapons, you'll wanna know what they do BEFORE the battle.  An' if they're that powerful, surely some bard-or-other would've sang its praises."  Thalia's words had sent his mind racing - Sharanga could apparently fire from unholy distances.  The Dragon's Veins had their own nifty effects, but Kolmar wasn't sure if he wanted to think about which magical doohickey was more powerful.

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Oh, right. He'd almost forgotten  that he'd been wounded in the aftermath, surprised by their sudden visitors, but the sight of a healer came as a small relief to Aaron. "I doubt just anyone could make use of a bow like that." Aaron shrugged. "Surely, had it been known, the weapon would have still been in use today." That was the logical conclusion to reach, wasn't it? "Just... what are Timaeus and his followers, anyway?" Deluded, dangerous, enigmatic... there were plenty of words he could use to describe them, but Aaron didn't feel like he really had an answer to that question. What else are they capable of?

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"I..." Kaya paused, considering everything Shylah had said and everything she had seen. What meaning was there to be found in her visions? Why was it important that she know of the origin of Timeaus? "I'm going to have to think about all of this... Visions of the future could help guide my steps. Perhaps even avoid futures that I don't want to see come true... But visions of the past can help inform my decisions as well. Perhaps even help me understand why I'm fighting and what I'm fighting for. I'm sure that all of this is connected to the vision that started my journey in the first place. It has to be. But the connecting pieces are still missing. I just need to find them. Somehow..."

It was all so much bigger than she could have ever imagined. More than just the Fire Emblem, more than just their countries. There was so much more going on here than she could have imagined. A whole new Age in front of them, but what sort of Age would it be? One of light or darkness? Joy or sorrow? Maybe... Maybe she could help direct the course of the Age.

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"One of those? Well, that is bad news. But I think it's fair to give Commander Thalia some benefit of the doubt here with regards to the weapons from the museum not being normal weapons- after all, she uses a pretty amazing sword herself! Timaeus probably knows some sort of tricky spells to get them to work properly and not just end up being as useful as a fancy prop." Velvet looked over the arrow curiously- it didn't look that strange to her. "One each for his closest followers... if they are all equally fearsome, then we may be in for some real trouble. A spear for Camellia and an axe for Dimitrius, I would wager?"

After a moment of thought, she then spoke up again. "And, on the topic of followers, today was strange, wasn't it? The last few times we encountered his forces, they were those conjured soldiers that dissolved into sand, but the people invading here- they were all very much real. That says something about the following he has amassed other than the four we knew about already, and that could be real trouble for us. Now it's harder to say who we can trust if he set up such an attack so suddenly. It's one thing to coordinate when he's calling the shots and they're images to serve his will, but getting all these people to work together surely isn't as easy, right?"

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Five Relics

"We're very sure that to most people, the weapons aren't terribly useful. And no, there's no stories of them, because they were discovered very shortly after the Lost Age," Thalia explained with a sigh. "So, of course, there are no stories that we know of to be told. We speculate that it's probably Timaeus's time magic allowing them to be so powerful, seeing as it is a pretty logical conclusion... mostly because we don't really understand how time magic functions overall. Slowing and speeding up time is obvious, but can he really use it to restore power to ancient artifacts? Well, that is what we suspect right now, so ideally he won't acquire any more of them. A lot of the weapons of the legends here in Titan are in good hands, at least." She gestured to her own blade and Aaron's axe. "The Mazzarins are in possession of the dagger Nightfall, locked away to prevent misuse, and the lance Iraxen- currently granted to Maximus, who's proven very capable himself. Lady Elizabeth in Jotun has, err, somewhat less careful with Windrunner in the past. I hope she didn't ignore the letter I sent her about how dangerous showing off is in times like these."

Golden Age

"As ever, the truth lies somewhere in the middle, Kaya." Shylah smiled, circling around her slowly. "Of course, that's up to you to decide what really matters, and what's better left off to the land of dreams. But, it certainly is true. I wouldn't say the initial quest for the Emblem is exactly a modest one, seeing as it is the most powerful artifact in all existence, but I'm sure you didn't expect to become tangled in webs woven centuries ago involving the very dragons that you have spent much of your life as a disciple of- and here you are, two Gifts amongst your friends, and also... hmm." She placed her hands on the side of her head, glowing intensely with energy. "By my guess, even in your journey, you've been very close to two more without even knowing it. Valerie held onto one of them for her king, the Lazarus Gem. Who's to say what the other was, and where you may have encountered it?" The dark prophet shrugged. "Well, I can't say. Perhaps your visions may yet guide you to another."

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"Discovered. . ." Kolmar mused.  "So that implies that they existed during the Lost Age."  He wasn't sure how much survived the Lost Age, but he'd be surprised if zero books made the transition.  Instead of sulking around in bars, he'd be best served poking around in libraries - something that he COULD do, but wasn't looking forward to.  Still, it was more of a lead than anything else they had.

"Say, where's the library with the oldest books around here?"

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"The Gifts do seem to be reappearing, yes. Perhaps even congregating... We would need all of them to summon the dragon, no? So perhaps that should be a new goal..." Thinking back on her vision, she blinked, remembering something. "Hmm... Well, either way. I know of the location of one other gift. Or at least, generally where it is and have a companion who knows even better. The Horn. At some point we may need to go ask if the wielder of that will join with our group temporarily at least. Or lend us the Horn..." Tapping her chin, she muttered, "I'm going to need to start writing all this down... Too many connections, too many threads..."

She shook her head with a sigh. "Still, that's all I wanted to talk to you about. I'm glad for your thoughts and the stories you shared. I'll need to consider how to move forward from here, but I have more information now than I did before, so it is a start. It's probably best to get back to the others for now though."

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"Old books, Kolmar? I think the library isn't too far from here, but I'm not really sure what you'll find... not a lot from the Lost Age. That's why it's lost, right? There are almost no useful documents, and of course by now no memories about it... maybe you'll luck out and it's in a dusty tome that people haven't read carefully enough, but I wouldn't get my hopes up, personally." Velvet shrugged, then lit up a bit after a pause. "Unless you think something from before then might clue you in? That could be useful, since it's not like the people from before stopped being around during the different ages. Or something slightly after, which would be even luckier, since that's easier to track. I could lead you there if you want to check things out?"

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"At this point, anythin' would be helpful, even if it's a kid's book o' fairy tales," Kolmar replied back gruffly.  "We know that they've got weapons, and we only know the effects of one of 'em.  We'll most likely meet those bastards again, and I wanna be prepared for whatever nonsense they'll throw at us."  He hadn't been much for reading to his siblings - Merian had taken over that job from mom once Kolmar was old enough to talk back.  Though they didn't get along when Kolmar had left home, he had fond memories of her reading his favorite bedtime stories.  His mind momentarily drifted to a faraway land, where a sassy young girl joined up with a mercenary band to find her long-lost brother.  According to Merian, such stories had roots in the Lost Age. . .but that couldn't be true.  Could it?

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