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| [Graded]Who Knows Joy? | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 18 2015, 11:08 PM (738 Views) | |
| Morti | Aug 18 2015, 11:08 PM Post #1 |
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Embodiment of Pandemonium/Aspect of Sacrifice
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Tully Village. This places was, for Zeph, the epicenter of fate. All his paths through the world always conjoined here, in this quiet little place. Whether it was for rest, or needing a place to hide, he knew that he would find a friendly face here amongst the towns people. When he had first awoken in this world, he had stumbled into the village on the verge of death. They treated him, and once he was well again, they were willing to give him a place to call home in exchange for doing work for them. This town held a special place in his heart, and always would. He would always be accepted amongst them, no matter how bad it got. Zeph sat at the bar of a little inn call The Devil's Haven. When he had first been here, he had been unable to read Fiorian, but now that he could, and learned the name of the building, it seemed quite fitting. It was almost funny to him, forcing a small smile onto his face before concealing it with the large mug that rested in his hand. He had been staying here, at the inn, for the past few days now. After everything with the Inquisition and then training with his new Master, Zeph felt that he deserved a much needed rest from the world and it's problems. A chance to sit back and pretend to be like everyone else in the Fiore country, normal and human. Though neither of these were true, he still liked to pretend a little. To be human was to give way to a simpler life, but also a blander one. Placing his mug back on the bar, Zeph let out a small breath of relief. This place had the best sweetened rum he had ever come across. He quite enjoyed just sitting there, drinking it while the humans went about their day. Drunken joy filled the air, laughter and the sounds of music. Every now and then, a small brawl would break out, but the innkeeper would quickly split it up before it got out of hand. He was an older gentleman, but lean and well built for one so late in their years. Zeph wasn't sure what his real name was, but the old man went by Big Pops. When he had first stayed in the town, the demon had asked around in an attempted to uncover the old man's real name, but it seemed like anyone that had none it was long since dead or gone. "Enjoying the drink boy?" Zeph's burnt-orange orbs moved up from the bar top to the source of the voice. Big Pops was staring at him with a huge toothy grin on his face. The man was always like that with Zeph, it had something to do with the like in his eyes, or some such nonsense. He was trying to make Zeph show something other than a complete lack of everything constantly. It never worked, but he did appreciate the old man's effort in the matter. After all, he hadn't batted an eye when Zeph told him he was a demon. So here they were now, friends. One, a joyous old man with nothing but love in his heart, and a chained down demon, who didn't understand most basic human emotions. Life was good. Edited by Morti, Aug 18 2015, 11:09 PM.
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| 栄 Balmung6 | Aug 19 2015, 12:12 AM Post #2 |
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Combat Enthusiast
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Varriden glanced up at the overcast sky briefly as he entered the outskirts of Tully Village. From the stories he'd been told, the town itself was unremarkable - not a bad thing, necessarily, just that nothing was really going on, as due to nearly every full-time citizen of this place having silver hair, the place could feel like a giant retirement home to some. The upside to that was that since the locals got to decide what the various establishments were like, including the inns, they were tailored towards their own preferences, and elderly people loved comfort, including soft beds. According to rumor, they had some of the most comfortable beds - for Inns, that is - that the average traveler could hope to sleep on within Fiore's borders. Understandably, that made it a rather popular stop for people who had long journeys ahead of them and needed to stop for the night to catch a few hours of rest, so the Inns were, of course, very full on the best of days, but thankfully, Tully Village sported an entire host of Inns with that every prospect in mind, as it earned a great deal of income for the town as a whole. As a result, Varriden ended up heading for the Inn that seemed to be the least crowded - and with a name like 'Devil's Haven', you couldn't exactly blame some people for giving it a pass on the grounds of superstition - but once he got inside, he realized his mistake. It wasn't that it was less crowded, just that on the outside, it seemed less crowded because it was a wee bit quieter than the other Inns, whose bars were packed at this time of night. Granted, this one was too, but not nearly to the degree of the others - Varriden had poked his head into one and gotten the impression of sardines packed into a can. Varriden walked over to the bar next to some youth that was already there with a drink in hand, merely asking for a water - alcohol wasn't a good option for mages in general, and particularly for him. Last thing you wanted was a guy with an entire roster of spells from other mages in his grasp to start getting tipsy. Varriden glanced up when he heard the barkeep ask about the drink, then realized he wasn't the one being spoken to, though some had thought him younger than he was due to his appearance. Varriden looked down at the other youth, more just to see who the barkeep - who was unusually strong-looking for a man whose job was to clean dishes and serve drinks - was talking to, but the sight of the boy's eyes, the colors of dying embers, gave him pause, as he felt like he'd seen them before, somewhere. After a moment, it came to him. "I didn't expect to see a familiar face in a random Inn," Varriden said, loud enough for the youth to hear him. "Though given the sheer amount of people I've met, I guess that's becoming statistically less likely by the day." |
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| Morti | Aug 19 2015, 11:46 PM Post #3 |
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Embodiment of Pandemonium/Aspect of Sacrifice
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Alcohol had no real effect on Zeph anymore. Partly due to his body adjusting to it, but also thanks to the demonic particles that resided within the human form. Over time they had slowly, but surely, started to alter his physical make-up. Fortunately not to a point of noticeable alteration, but enough to allow him to go a little longer without the need for things like food and water. As a neat little side-effect, alcoholic beverages were little more than flavored watered as far as his body was concerned, at least until he drank a good amount of them, then things got interesting. Nothing was quite like a drunken demon stumbling about. Zeph had chosen to ignore Big Pops, but did turn his head when he heard one voice call over the rest. His eyes met with a young man who appeared to be addressing him directly. At first it didn't click. The boy seemed to know of him, but he could not recall him at all. After a few moments, it finally came to him. During one of his treks through Fiore, he had been draw to a city. There he had briefly encountered this man. Compelled, he had passed on a message that had come to him. A warning about the path of knowledge and the dangers it held. Zeph was glad to see that he had not yet strayed into the darkness quite, at least, he did not seem to have. Taking another drink, Zeph addressed the man, "Familiar faces do tend to pop up in the most unexpected places, it would seem. It is good to see you are still alive, child. I assumed you had gotten yourself killed by now, but it is good to be wrong from time to time." Glancing over, he noticed Big Pops chuckling to himself. He already knew what he was going to say, and it was already mildly aggravating. "So, you made ya'self a friend did ya? That is great to see, I'm happy that you've developed social skills," He let out a barking laugh before he walked away to assist another patron. The man's heart was in the right place, but Zeph's demon blood sometimes demanded his life. |
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| 栄 Balmung6 | Aug 20 2015, 12:00 AM Post #4 |
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Combat Enthusiast
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"Well, I have gotten myself into a fair share of interesting scenarios," Varriden said as Big Pops topped off his water, Varriden nodding when it was full enough. "But I managed to make it through without incident, thankfully, including the minor scrap that was going on in Hydrangea when I first ran into you." Varriden paused, taking a sip of the water. "I do recall your message, though it's not exactly new advice - you wouldn't be the first to be concerned that a desire to gather power would lead to corruption, but while I haven't felt any sort of darker influence or ambition, I've staved it off thus far, and have plans should I feel that I'm beginning to waiver. For the moment, however, I'm fine." The barkeep seemed to be pleased that Zeph was making friends, and let out a bellowing laugh as he went to go serve one of the other patrons, and probably break up two of the customers who were arguing in an increasingly louder volume as the minutes passed. "Friend of yours, I'm guessing?" Varriden said, sparing Big Pops a glance. "From what I can tell, he's not human, that much is clear, but not alot of details beyond that. I'd be more concerned if he wasn't serving drinks to humans, given that most of the residents here are almost retirement-home age." "The name's Varriden, by the way," he said, extending a hand for Zeph to shake. "Varriden Stone. I was actually in Hydrangea to help with the mission of another mage, but it got lost in the translation somewhat - long story. As for now, I'm just passing through here because I'm on my way elsewhere, and rumor has it that Tully Village has the most comfortable Inns in all of Fiore, given the comforts required by the elder population here." |
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| Morti | Aug 20 2015, 01:03 AM Post #5 |
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Embodiment of Pandemonium/Aspect of Sacrifice
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Zeph was glad to hear that Varriden had a contingency plan in case, by some chance, he was tempted by the darkness. Well, he wasn't glad, but about as close as he was going to get to the human emotion. Although, taking such steps could, in the long run, play against him if he were to want to take those steps into the dark in order to achieve something even greater. Planning too far ahead could cause other problems as well, but from what little he had seen of the man, he was probably quite capable. His eyes followed Varriden as he began to comment on Big Pops. "You could call him that," Zeph responded before listening to the rest of what was had to be said. Zeph had not realized that the man that had taken care of him was not, in fact, human. Of course this was understandable, as he was not human himself. Looking at him now, Zeph could see it. Big Pops was far too in shape for a man of his age, and this made him wonder what he could possibly be. He was good at keeping that hidden, that was for sure. Mentally shrugging to himself, Zeph decided to disregard this revelation and continue his interaction with Varriden, whom, to the demon's surprise, reach out to him in a form of greeting. This had happened before, and at first, he had not understood what they were trying to d, but now he understood perfectly fine. Reaching out, Zeph took his hand firmly before releasing it again. "Tully Village is a good place. If you are kind to them, they will care for you, no questions asked," Zeph replied as he turned his attention back to his drink, tilting it against his lips once again. After taking a deep drink, he looked back to Varriden and spoke, "This form is call Zeph Erez. You may call me what you wish-" Before he could even fully finish his final word, Big Pops hollered out to them, "We all know him as Kill Joy! Ain't that right boys!?" His question was met with a great uproar from those patrons that had been around when Zeph had been working in this very inn. This caused Zeph to sigh deeply, though he had to admit the name was aptly given, as back then he had no understanding of human nature at all. "I work here for some time before I fully understood this place." By this place, he was referring to the world, but he didn't think there was a need to elaborate. Edited by Morti, Aug 20 2015, 01:03 AM.
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| 栄 Balmung6 | Aug 20 2015, 02:05 AM Post #6 |
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Combat Enthusiast
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Zeph seemed to think that 'friend' wasn't quite the correct word to describe his relationship to 'Big Pops', but at the same time, he didn't seem to have an issue with the title, so it was possible that Zeph himself didn't exactly know how to describe how the two of them got along. When he mentioned that Big Pops probably wasn't human, Zeph seemed mildly surprised, but his reaction to finding out that someone who could be considered a friend wasn't actually human seemed a bit tame, all things considered. Most people, assuming their reaction was of a positive note, would have reacted a bit more strongly to that particular tidbit of information. Nevertheless, Zeph introduced himself by his full name, 'Zeph Erez', though he oddly referred to himself as 'this form'. The locals, however, or at least the tavern-goers, referring to him as 'Kill-Joy', earning hoots from the crowd of drunks and a sigh from Zeph. Zeph didn't seem the depressing type, more just mellow, but given the level of energy the rest of the guys in the bar seemed to possess, Varriden did see how they could reach that conclusion, however inaccurate it might be. "Agreed - some time needs to be spent anywhere or on anything if one hopes to gain a level of understanding about it, whether it's the world as a whole or even just this rather rowdy group at the bar," Varriden said, gesturing towards the lively drunks with his glass before taking another sip of water. "If you don't mind me asking, though, why refer to yourself as 'this form'?" Varriden asked. He paused a moment, then laughed. "Oh, I see, you're not human either, are you? Should have suspected from the 'this form' thing. Maybe from the eyes, too, but if I thought everyone with slightly unusual eyes wasn't human, that'd be alot of incorrect guesswork on my part, not to mention making me a hypocrite in the process." "So, what brings you to Tully Village? Though the way you phrased it, you've got a bit of history with this place that goes beyond your connection to 'Big Pops' over there," Varriden said, gesturing with a thumb at Big Pops, who was busy pulling two fighting drunks apart. |
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| Morti | Aug 20 2015, 04:27 AM Post #7 |
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Embodiment of Pandemonium/Aspect of Sacrifice
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It seemed that Varriden picked up correct information from a different section of his statement. Referring to his human state as his current form was a bad habit to break, as it was not his true body. This form was known by that name, while his previous one had been known by another, and if he had another form after this one, he would take up a new name. It made him wonder if he would take a new form, a new life. The thought of living even longer than he already had, did not appeal to him very much at all, however, that was not a train of thought that would be useful now. The man was beginning to question him, though slightly scattered, his answers would actually all draw together. Releasing his mug, Zeph turned his entire body on his stool, in order to better face Varriden. "I referred to myself as 'this form' because this is my second body. In this body, I took on the name Zeph Erez, and attempt to blend into human society. I am not human, though I appear to be. I am a demon from a different world, where I was known by the name Zephyrius, Son of Zeref. I was pulled here, took this body and stumbled into this village. As far as they are aware, I am a young man that lost his memory and needed a place to stay until he could regain something of himself." Zeph was very pleased with himself. It use to take a very long time for him to explain what he was and what had happened, but he had finally gotten a short version down. "Big Pops was the man who found me, dying of dehydration, starvation and exposure. I had no knowledge of mortality. Without him, my new life would have ended very abruptly. He gave me food and shelter, once I was strong enough he offered me a job in exchange for a home. I lived here for about six months before I finally had the confidence to leave," As he finished, he picked up his mug and took another drink, finally emptying it. |
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| 栄 Balmung6 | Aug 20 2015, 04:43 AM Post #8 |
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Combat Enthusiast
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Zeph explained - Varriden was correct in his assumption that Zeph was, indeed, not human, as evidenced by his statement of 'this form' and his indifference to the realization that 'Big Pops' wasn't human either, but there was more to the story than Varriden had initially guessed. Apparently it wasn't so much that Zeph wasn't human in terms of spirit or ability, but more than he was 'now' human in the traditional sense, though most humans didn't get a do-over when their first life came to a close. Not that any human currently alive was aware of, anyway, but that subject was way too philosophical and controversial to get into. He explained that he was a demon who'd been pulled into this plane, taken a body, and been saved by 'Big Pops' when he was on the verge of perishing from lack of food and water years ago, and gave him a roof over his head until he was ready to set out on his own. Small wonder he calls him 'big pops', Varriden thought. A father figure would probably be something a demon isn't accustomed to having. "Well, that's a longer tale than I expected, and certainly possessing more depth than I initially would have suspected," Varriden said, setting down his water on the counter. "Though I will say that if you're trying to blend into human society, try to say 'I'm' instead of 'this form' - speaking of yourself in third person raises questions for most people." Varriden noted with a slight chuckle. "So, that does beg a few questions, though - if this is your second form, what happened to the first form? And if you did indeed acquire a body, what happened to the original owner of that body? And if you were pulled here, exactly what did pull you here? Because if you were pulled into this plane against your will, it's entirely possible you're not the only non-human now residing on a foreign plane of existence," Varriden said, his gaze flitting to Big Pops briefly. |
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| Morti | Aug 20 2015, 05:52 PM Post #9 |
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Embodiment of Pandemonium/Aspect of Sacrifice
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Zeph understood who he was referring to when he made the comment about other possible non-human creatures falling through. While he agreed that Big Pops was not human, he knew that the man had not come from his personal world. Incendian blood called to Zeph, he could feel it's presence whenever one came close. Big Pops did not have a drop within him, so either he was natural to this world, or he managed to come from another. Varriden posed good questions, but one of them did cause some concern. Varriden inquired about the previous owner of Zeph's body. This was not something he had ever given some thought about. Acquisition of this body had actually occurred around a decade before. Which meant this body was a child when Zeph's essence had taken control. Was it possible that he had simply destroyed the boy's spirit at that moment. It was also possible that the human still existed somewhere within his mind, dormant, or suppressed by Zeph's own mind. The last possibility was that they had melded together, making a new individual all together. This last one seemed possible, as Zeph had changed a good deal since his time in Incendia. "A gate was torn open between this world and my own. When it opened, I was pulled through, but the sheer magical power from it tore my body apart, leaving only my consciousness intact, but without a form. As a result, I went into my parallel body, which was this one," As he talked, he slowly pushed the mug away from him so that Big Pops, or anyone else that worked at the inn, could see he was done with it. "This happened about a decade ago, and the trauma from the event left me in some kind of stasis as the body matured. I then awoke a year ago to this new world." Zeph rubbed the back of his neck, the hairs and raised. Someone was watching the two of them talk, but Zeph didn't want to risk looking around to try and find who it was. It was unsettling, because he knew that there were people that were after him, and the last thing he wanted to do was pull another person into conflict with him. "There are, indeed, others like me that have come there the Gate to this world. I have met only a few, but it does not seem like it is easy to survive the transfer from one world to another." |
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| 栄 Balmung6 | Aug 20 2015, 06:40 PM Post #10 |
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Zeph explained that his involuntary migration to Earthland had occurred when a large gate had rend the fabric of reality between Earthland and his own home realm, though he didn't actually give his realm, his home, a name, though it was entirely possible he omitted the name because it wouldn't have any meaning to Varriden with only Earthland's knowledge at his disposal. Or if I did, it's possible that one of the authors of the texts in Empyrea or Lamia Scale was from that same realm, as otherwise they wouldn't have known the name of the place either, Varriden thought with sudden realization. I might have to check in on that with the Dean and the Guildmaster, see if we have any confirmed non-humans in the ranks - though I'll have to be very clear that I'm only asking from an academic point of view, not a prejudiced one, otherwise they make take it the wrong way. The passage from Zeph's home realm had been rather violent, apparently, as his body - his 'first form' - had broken down entirely as he passed through the barrier between one realm and into the next, leaving only his spirit behind, so from a technical point of view, the journey had actually killed him off, depending on how you looked at it, as the soul and body parting company was usually the last symptom of death as a whole. His spirit had apparently bonded to a form existing already in this plane, but he didn't awaken for almost a decade due to the trauma of the journey. He also seemed rather sure that others had come to Earthland in the same manner, but left the impression that the journey was a rocky one, given the small number of fellow non-humans from his own realm that he had met and confirmed as one of his brethren. "A perilous journey indeed, which would account for the small number of your own kind here," Varriden said, pushing the water away much in the same way Zeph had with his own drink, "But you're lucky the event occurred as it did. I suspect your body breaking down was actually a good thing, as given the transition between worlds, and assuming the two both exist somewhere and the gate just closed the distance, your body would have been ripped apart by the journey, but your soul would have suffered the same fate. I'm guessing the journey was violent enough that your body couldn't properly reassemble after you were through the gate, and was scattered instead." Varriden said, breaking down his analysis of what he'd been told. "As for you being in 'stasis', I assume that souls are drawn to life forms that have no souls of their own, or very new souls, less mature and prone to pushing your own soul back out. I'm guessing your soul and that of the child you inhabited melded over that 10 years, your soul slowly bleeding into his until there was just 1 soul instead of 2. You were probably forced into that stasis because the child's young body wasn't mature enough for your own soul to control it just then." |
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