2011-03-15 - A Tale Of Two Cityships

<-LA GIAS->

A colossus of a warship floats effortlessly over the great Central Ocean. Its hull glows with a brilliant, inner-light that seems to shed more radiance than is provided by the 'sun' that shines over this magical land. The behemoth is massive. Its mass causes the wind currents that normally sail about across the sea to twist and bend around its hull, diverting for miles before reconvening and continuing on their way.

And this thing is about to dive into the ocean. Coastal towns across La Gias weep at the prospect.

Fortunately, the KinKyosha's captain is a little more well prepared than that. To cause such suffering unnecessarily is unbefitting of the master of the Lance of Gold. Instead, he leaves it to his, er, 'assistants.' Having a pair of practiced witches on bridge is always beneficial in situations like these.

One of the KinKyosha's central hulls has been hollowed out somewhat. Inside, a great garden grows, bathing in the strange light produced by the golden vessel's armor at all times of day. Here, it is especially intense, diverted from the living quarters to allow the growth of produce and a small selection of trees.

Two femenine figures stand amidst a ring of these trees. Tall and healthy, but spectacularly ordinary, the trees form a canopy over their ceremony. Hands joined, backs pressed together amidst the scent of sandalwood and fresh dew, the two women allow their chant to carry into the air. The shadow bleeds away as their ritual gathers power. A ring of arcane might gathers under their feet- the ship recognizes it, and moves into action.

Outside, a great, brilliant sequence of rings blaze out of the ship's hull. As if made purely of light, the rings begin sweeping across an apparantly arbitrary axis. Faster and faster they revolve, until the ship is surrounded by a whirling sphere of arcane might--

And then it dives, sinking deeper and deeper into the ocean. Water flows all too naturally about the strange bubble as they descend, further and further into the darkness, glowing like a miniature sun, until down finally becomes up, and the ship begins to rise...

<-THE ATLANTIC OCEAN->

The water breaks as the great battleship rises. Water falls away from its travelling sphere in sheets, its hull, untouched by moisture. The light of the sun glitters across its surface as its inner light dims, resting for a time.

Havelock Auros sits up from his seat and moves over to the intercomm system. He depresses a button as a three-note tone plays all across the ship. "Ladies and gentlemen," he begins, "We have arrived on the Surface. All crewmembers, prepare the ship for surface docking and cross-check. Our next port of call will be Directus in the heartland of Ustio. Until we arrive, please, enjoy your stay aboard the Golden Lance."

The button is released, and Havelock sits back in his chair with a sigh. He always hates those damn announcements. It feels so... Degrading.

Now where is that escort?

That escort was floating straight in the air, quite a ways over the water. However, somehow it looked as if it was riding the waves after all. Water styled light drops onto the blue metalic hull of the gigantic ship - which in fact seems to be even bigger KinKyousha - and there is a blue mist in the air around it that makes it seem like there was another layer of water that it was sailing over. Its forward bow is sharp, where-as the back is wider, and it carries many different colored details - greens, blues, and in betweens, along with some hesitant reds and pinks - here and there that make it look like it could hide perfectly amongst corral.

And it is this ship that Emperor and Captain - Xiang Yuan - stands at the bridge. A large beautifully ornate blue gauntlet lays around his right hand, styled in the figure of a thin water dragon. It rests on a seat that is somewhat like a majestic throne one would expect Triton to sit on. "Sir! We have a large ship on visual." His helmsman comments. Xiang just nods his head. Yu, who is standing next to him, immediately comments; "Show on the main screen." A magical water-filled half-circle at the ceiling of the bridge suddenly shows Havelock's ship.

The KinKyosha is a regal vessel. It seems to be composed entirely of gold, platinum and other precious metals. Thin crevasses can be seen streaking symmetrically across its sharp, angular hull. The entire machine seems to glow- it is a shadowless thing. The water beneath it is as well lit as the seas surrounding it for miles. At night, the land around it would, in fact, be /brighter/ for its presence.

But now is not night-time.

Havelock inclines his head at the distant vessel. The ornate bulwark strapped to his left arm clatters momentarily against the featureless control panel layed out in front of him. He places a finger against one end and the surface seems to go from a solid to a liquid, distorting as if it were made of mercury. He slides his finger in an eldritch pattern, a trail of light following the movement of his digit, until the rune is completes, and a communication line opened.

His message, to that distant ship. His words, amiable and professional, "This is the KinKyosha. Am I correct in assuming that I am speaking to the vessel of Emperor Xiang Yuan?"

The communications on the side of the SuiKyosha is a lot simpler. A large seashell like apperatus, with some buttons on it shaped like... smaller seashells... make for the voice transmission. "This is the SuiKyosha." The communication officer replies, and follows this up by acknowledging, "Home of Emperor Xiang Yuan, our captain." The captain rarely actually spoke to others when he was acting as captain. He let the talking be done by Yu or the communications officer.

The ship moves slightly up and down, as if taken in by tides, and almost seems to 'shimmer' slightly against the light of the KinKyosha, making it look that much more beautiful. It even shows slight signs that the walls are somewhat translucent in some places. And someone with a telescope might notice there are fish swimming past these 'windows' into the ship. "Welcome back to the Mystic Moon." The Communications Officer comments.

"It's always nice to be able to fly in unfamiliar skies," Havelock chuckles. "It is, though, made even more pleasant when given such a warm welcome." The captain of the KinKyosha is a... Warm person, it seems. Although there is a certain intensity to his eyes that belies his calm veneer. There's a distinct 'hiss' in the background as the doors to the bridge slide open. His communications officers re-enter, taking their places at their stations with a pair of weary yawns.

The sisters always seem to be a bit... Synched up after large rituals like this.

"Our next destination is over Europe. Might you care to accompany us on our tour across the Earth and its neighbors, SuiKyosha?"

"You're quite welcome." The SuiKyosha's bridge transmits, whilst Xiang is busy looking at Havelock's ship. Something about a Key. "I'll be in my room. Get that captain on this ship." He suddenly stands up and just walks off, getting a rather confused look from Yu. She wasn't used to the man giving orders like this, and seems a bit worried. She looks at the communication officer, who gives her a confused nod back.

"Ah. Before we do that. It appears our captain wishes to speak with you in private, sir." The gigantic hangar doors at the top of the SuiKyosha suddenly begin to open. "He sounded quite... insistant." The young man adds to this. He trembled a bit. Not only was their own captain suddenly acting weird, he also had to transmits that man's demands to another captain - someone they'd never met before.

Demands for a... meeting? Ah. Of course. "Very well. Elle, you have the bridge," he says after a moment. One of the two girls looks up shocked. "What, really?" She labors, as their captain strides toward the door. "Just like that? You sure they won't like, try to kill you or somethin-"

The door hisses open, then shut. Mia fumes for a brief moment as Elle chuckles behind her console, tail flicking all too casually.

A few minutes later, and the captain begins his descent. A small, golden machine drops toward the SuiKyosha's open hangar on a small glowing nimbus of light. It looks... Strange. Three eyes shift along an open grate at the top of its strangely cylindrical body. Havelock's arm twitches. He's switched to a more... appropriate outfit for first contact. It appears to be nothing more than his usual uniform- until one takes notice of the sword sheathed at his left hip, and the shield firm on his arm.

Now, to move to meet this Emperor.

A few of the techs on-board just gasp at the man when he comes floating in. Their Emperor could do none of that stuff. It wasn't that they'd never seen magic before however. And there were certain things that ran on this ship past the realm of logic. If not for the water magic, it was Spiral Power. Though they certainly did not know it by that name. The sword and shield get kind of looked at... then smirks form. It doesn't look like they are afraid that this guy is any kind of match to their emperor.

"This way." A Chinese looking woman in a /beautiful/ red dress is standing amidst the hangar. As the huge hangar doors above him close entirely, a waterpattern suddenly forms on the floor, and he could look up at the sun overhead. It looks like there is a thin layer of water that forms the room however - but that's merely an illusion of sorts. The woman leads him right up a long ramp leading all the way to the highest floor, after which they transverse a long... garden!? They are suddenly walking through what looks like a gigantic watergarden. The outside walls show fist swimming within the outer walls, inside water. It's all... a bit overwhelming.

To be a knight in La Gias is to know at least /some/ magic, and Havelock has only developed that skill since he's become captain of the KinKyosha. The man steps out of his Spirit Armor as it goes limp within the SuiKyosha's hangar. He stands tall. Taller than most- taller, definitely, than many on this ship. The blade he carries is less of a longsword and more of a bastard sword- and one sized perfectly for its master.

But he's not paying attention to the looks he's getting. He's too busy watching the woman guiding him through the ship. It's odd. The ship feels similar, but different, to his own. A different spirit, a different essence. It is equal in splendor to his own vessel, but its form is significantly more miraculous, and Havelock stares for a moment as a salmon leaps out of and back into a nearby wall.

Water, is it? Hmm.

"Your home is... Interesting."

"Our home is home." They continue along the waterfields and further into the ship, until they suddenly appear next to a beautifully adorned 'house'. It has red metalic and blue metalic pieces intertwined, making it look like a royal... castle almost. Only small scale. Two Komainu stand at the front - foodogs - and almost seem to be staring at Havelock. "Step inside please."

As soon as Havelock would step inside, he'd find himself in a room that looks rather... empty. A small fire in the middle, over which a tea is brewing, and the strange emperor in his blue silken Tang Suit is kneeling on the floor in front of this pot, pouring the tea from it. "Sit." He offers, pointing at a small ground-pillow at the opposite side of him. His right arm is covered in that magnificent gauntlet of his. "We..." His eyes suddenly shoot up towards Havelock, and he's given a penetrating stare. "... need to talk."

'Home is home,' eh? Havelock chuckles at that. It's a sentiment he understands well. The ship is his home, now. It has been since /that/ day, and he wouldn't give it up for the world. Such is the life of the wandering captain. Havelock regards the foo-dogs for a brief moment before he slips inside the small 'castle.' He's a bit surprised at the size of it. And the... emptiness.

This man clearly favors simplicity.

Havelock's eyes take a brief moment to adjust to the relative darkness, but it doesn't take long for him to offer a bow to the waiting emperor before taking the seat offered to him. His eyes linger on the gauntlet strapped to the man's arm. His own armored limb twitches before he finally agrees, "...I believe that we do, o' emperor."

"SuiKyosha doesn't say much." A lie. It talks too much, and has given the man quite a bit to think about. "But she has told me enough to know that she is not the only one of her kind." He states, staring at Havelock's sword, then the shield. "Though I merely have intuition to rely on at this point. When you mentioned a... key..." He raises the gauntlet, with the back facing Havelock. "I assume you meant this."

The 'eyes' of the dragon almost seem to glint, even within this relative darkness. The gauntlet moves back to an empty cup, then he begins to pour the kettle's tea into the cup, then offers it to Havelock. He doesn't force any traditional methods of 'preparing' before drinking the tea, other than saying; "A wise man once said... careful... it's hot."

"Is that what the ship gave to you?" Havelock nods once, recieving his cup with his unbound arm. The shield is... Slightly unfriendly as far as careful manipulation goes. He waits to drink, instead opting to inhale the fragrant vapours wafting off the tea's surface. He takes a quick sip before setting the drink down to cool for a while.

The shielded arm rests against his lap, its surface seeming to give off its own, subtle light. "The KinKyosha has... communed with me as well. I didn't expect to meet one of its brethren so soon, but here we are." A moment, he takes another sip of the tea, "The Lance of Gold was... Unaware of a great many things, is it similar in your case?"

"She is aware of whatever she feels like being aware of." Xiang replies mysteriously. "But she remembers things from her past - if that is what you are asking. Though little; she tends to be secretive about what she wants to admit. She mostly just... guides us." And tells him every little detail about what's going on, on board the ship. There's nothing SuiKyosha likes more than to try and embarass Xiang, without anyone knowing what he is being embarassed about.

"And I had not expected to meet one of her brethern either. Though, faith has a funny way of going about things, does it not?" Especially in the Zaibach Empire, but that was a completely different topic. Silly people... controlling fate. "But yes. This is what the ship gave me, after many years."

"Mm," Havelock murmurs neutrally. Guile is not his forte- Havelock has always been more of a knight than a politician. To live and die by one's sword and board, and the brothers standing at your back, that is the oath of the knight. "Yes. The KinKyosha is... Largely blind to its past as well. It is all too gung-ho about flying now, though." A shrug. Perhaps the great ship doesn't actually /care/ about its past?

When you're a machine, you have strange priorities.

"I wonder," he says after a moment. "If there are others besides these two, out there. Perhaps they simply haven't woken up yet?" A shrug, "Maybe it would be prudent to begin looking for them. Unless the world decides to bring them to us first, that is."

The Emperor raises his head... as if listening to something, then lowers it again. "There are three others, she says." He speaks, and then proceeds to take a sip from the drink. "That's all she wants to say. She insists I am not ready to know more." Apparently, there was a big difference between Havelock and Xiang's ship when it came to how much they remembered, or wished to share.

Another sip is taken from his own tea. "But she too is quite gung-ho about flying, and getting to learn as much about people as possible -- knowing the world, and exposing us to the chaos that is the Mystic Moon."

"I suppose," Havelock smiles, "That when you remember nothing, and you are returned to the world with wings that can soar the skies, it is difficult to remain grounded in one place. The urge to learn is overpowering, even for ships like these."

A moment is spent contemplating the strange habits of apparantly sentient warships and the surface of the tea he's drinking before Havelock speaks again, "Three more ships, is it? Well. I suppose if they're all as large as these, they would not be difficult to spot, once they emerge."

"Indeed." Xiang replies to Havelock's statement about wings, nodding sagely, whilst observing the other man. He wondered what the other ship was truly like. Light and gold - he'd noticed that much at first. "And indeed they may like to learn. Though SuiKyosha also enjoys to teach." Or to force what it learned on its citizens. "So..." Skipping over the 'three more ships' topic, he asks, "Where did you find your ship? Where are you from?"

"Hm?" Havelock blinks for a moment or two at the sudden change in topic. "Where am I from? Ah, well, there's a small kingdom amidst the region known as La Gias known as Angrim-Fal." Of course, it doesn't exist /now/, but that's something Havelock aims to fix. "I lived there for most of my life. It was a... Good life. Of course, it's in the past now." A beat, "And you?"

Xiang listens to Havelock, and then nods at him. He didn't know it, he didn't think. Perhaps Yu would, he'd have to ask her. "I am from Byston Well." He replies, lying as to guard his true identity from the villagers on board. It was a delicate matter. "I trained under a master for many years, before I came to the Spiral King's Wastelands, found this ship by accident, and was suddenly heralded as the new Emperor to this underground city I found."

Havelock contemplates his tea as he listens. After Xiang finishes, the captain inclines his head slightly, "Byston Well, is it?" He takes a sip from his tea, "I've been there once or twice. You've a strange name for someone from that region. And it's quite lucky that you were crowned emperor like that." There's a suspicious gleam in his eye, but he lets it pass. "I suppose your parents were immigrants then? I do quite a bit of that. Moving people."

"Something like that." Xiang replies. "But really - what is in a name? My master took me in and gave me that name, actually. I did not have a name before then." This is the truth. Xiang Yuan did not used to be Xiang Yuan. The villagers actually also knew him by another name, but he's beyond recognition to them now. "So. Let me ask you another thing. Now that there are two of these... elemental ships. Together. What are your plans? Do you wish to own them, for them to be under one flag, what are your plans?"

"True," Havelock says after a moment. "A name is but a name, it is by measure of a name that we get our first impressions of a man," or so they say, in Angrim-Fal. "As for my plans, though? Well, I think it prudent to simply do as I am doing. To become lord and master over all these machines is a path of vainglory, and not one that men of Angrim-Fal are raised to pursue. For now, I fly freely and keep my eyes to the horizon for more of these machines."

Another sip, "And you?"

"True and wise words." Xiang reflects. "As for what you are doing what you are doing - that is good. I do not believe that SuiKyosha wishes to fight her brethern." Or that they even /would/. Who knows though, they are mysterious things. "As for what I will do? I will do similarly. I recently joined the Trailer Dissuasion Fleet, to protect earth - and grant me a mostly unbiased look upon life. There are many things I must learn for the big battle to come." What big battle to come. He stiffens his lips. He doesn't want Havelock to notice, but he realizes he just said too much.

"Battle?" Havelock is no simpleton, despite his blunt attitude. "What battle? Has the ship told you of... Anything?" He seems wary. As if he, too, has heard something along these lines before, but in a dream, not concrete. "...If it is something to do with the ships," he says after a moment, "Then it may be a good thing for me to know."

Xiang gives Havelock a hesitant look. He didn't know this man, and he himself was a rather reserved person. But, Auros' words strike true, and he nods. "It speaks of a battle that must be fought. All ships combined will open the barrier into a realm that is at constant war - and will place us in the midst, to finally become victorious... or be destroyed." Something like that, he remembered it to be. "She doesn't like speaking of it, but seems to think it's rather important. And since I kind of owe her my life, and that of the crew... --"

"I see," Havelock narrows his eyes, brows knit in thought. If the KinKyosha was destined to fight in a war, and if they were desperate to reunite with their brethren, that this battle may be decided, then... "We aught to... Try and learn more, somehow. If not from our machines, then perhaps the others that /do/ remember."

A moment. Havelock blinks, "Wait. You said that you owe the ship your life? And your crew as well?"

"Something like that. It's more my honor that is bound, than that of the crew." Xiang admits. "We are not forced to stay on board, she doesn't threaten us or any such thing. I merely feel it is my responsibility to see things through with her." He nods sagely. Perhaps there was more behind it. After all, in this discussion, Havelock had caught him on a lie already. But Xiang takes some tea to his lips again to stop himself from talking further.

"I see," Havelock says after a moment. "Well," he admits, "We all have our stories to tell, and a right time to tell them. For now, I believe that we will get along quite well together, Emperor Xiang." A few droplets of tea spill from the lip of the cup as Havelock raises it to his counterpart, "To a long and prosperous relationship, then?"

"To the future." Emperor Xiang replies, tapping his tea against Havelock's, but failing to spill any of the green liquid from his own. After all, it wasn't full enough for that. He then takes a small swig, before pouring some more into his now empty cup. "To a long of prosperous relationship indeed." The man continued to note afterwards, nodding.