Legends And Lore

Legends And Lore
Date of Scene:	25 April 2013
Location:	Fluorgis - City
Synopsis:	Souji calls in some of what Archades owes him in the form of lore, imparted by the Judge of Reason. What does he want with it?
Cast of Characters:	Zargabaath, Souji Murasame

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Zargabaath has posed:
Judge Magister Zargabaath had received an odd missive from the Senate. It seems one Souji Murasame is calling upon one of his owed favors and wishes to speak to someone familiar with Ivalician lore. The Judge of Reason had accepted without a second thought and thus sent a message back to Souji detailing where they could meet to talk, then had departed immediately by Valfarre to Fluorgis.

The trade city has recovered nicely since the Darkness was expelled from its borders, trade and activity returning to normal--or what passes for normal. It is here that Judge Magister Zargabaath has decided to hold this conversation, wearing nice civilian clothing in the Archadian style, likely the alternative to the far more modern suit-and-tie. He sits at a table bordering one of the many streams passing through the city, keen eyes roaming over passerbys and surroundings alike, patiently waiting.

Souji Murasame has posed:
Fluorgis is a nice place. Reminds him of home. Part of it, anyway.

Regardless, Souji Murasame is not one to do anything for free. Even if he does not take money, he takes payment in alternative methods. Methods like information.

The most lore-wise of the Judge Magisters have given him an appointment, and he will be there punctually. Far be it for someone to say that Souji Murasame was late to a meeting.

The man in his late teens arrives, an expression far older on his face as he walks along the streamside. He's dressed in a black suit, the air swirling around him seemingly on its own and drawing the humid, cool air off of the nearby river.

He nods to the Judge at the table, and smiles. "A pleasure to see you, Judge. I am glad you were available. You come highly recommended among the sages I have consulted."

Zargabaath has posed:
Zargabaath rises from his chair and bows to Souji as the young man greets him. Recognition lifts his expression and brings a warm smile to the off-duty Judge Magister's face. "A pleasure to meet you again as well, Mr. Murasame. Zargabaath shall suffice, as I am not on-duty at this time. Please, take a seat and feel free to request a drink if you wish."

He retakes his seat shortly thereafter, his military poise not quite leaving his form even as he relaxes. Still a career military officer with his country's reputation to uphold, it seems. "You honor me too greatly. My knowledge of ancient Ivalician legend was ingrained at a young age as religious teachings, and my memory remains sharp enough to appreciate them still."

He spreads his hands outwards, palms up, in a welcoming gesture. "Where would you like me to start?"

Souji Murasame has posed:
Souji returns the bow of respect with one of his own. "Very well, Zargabaath." He sits, and then gestures to the waiter, ordering a glass of chilled wine. He then looks to the Judge and spreads his hands slightly. "Allow me to give you the context you will need to proceed."

Souji looks up, adjusting his tie slightly before he exhales. "Our world was a prosperous, living place. We were strong and had great culture and knowledge. None of that mattered before the tide of the black beings that consumed it. I know that some call them the Heartless... But others say that they are beings of Chaos, that came and destroyed our land." Souji explains. "As we work to rebuild, I wish to discover knowledge of Chaos and find out how they operate, locate them, and seal them away if I can so I can ensure this happens to no one else."

Zargabaath has posed:
Zargabaath himself orders a simple glass of water and listens closely to Souji's explanation of what had happened to his homeworld. A familiar story, one that receives a minor sympathetic grimace at mention of being consumed, but offers no words of consolation. That is not why they are here, and Souji makes clear the reason immediately.

"Chaos..." He taps his fingertips on the tabletop's surface for a moment. "I wonder..." He leans over, grabbing a messenger bag from under his chair, and pulls free an old but thin tome with far more care than it seems.

He gently sets it down between them and opens the cover. "Ivalician legend states that when the gods created the world, they also created powerful beings to rule over it under their authority. Twins, if you will, that became known interchangeably as Espers or Scions. And each pair, born under a single constellation, were split into a Scion of Light and a Scion of Darkness."

He frowns, careful in turning pages as full-page pictures begin to be shown of strange beings. "The Scions of Darkness became corrupted by the evil within their duties and sought to overthrow the gods," he raises an eyebrow, "or so it is told."

He pauses on a page, then lightly taps a picture in particular. The page reveals a horned humanoid yet bull-like figure sitting cross-legged on a winged dias, four swords around the edge at cardinal points. "This is Chaos, Walker of the Wheel. Scion of Darkness under the sign of Taurus."

Souji Murasame has posed:
Souji leans forward slightly, listening intently as he looks at the depiction of the Esper. "Chaos, Walker of the Wheel... An odd appellation." Souji looks up at Zargabaath. "The gods had the power to create such a being? I wonder for what purpose it occurred." He looks back down at the tome, tapping it lightly. "What do you know of this being? Does this tome talk of the legends that surround it?"

Zargabaath has posed:
Zargabaath rumbles in thought. "According to legend, the gods thought to delegate oversight of Ivalice to the Espers. The Scions of Light proved their worth for the task, but the Scions of Darkness were corrupted and proved to be the plan's ultimate undoing."

His focus returns fully to the page at hand. "It is said that Chaos was originally designed as the guardian of the sacred crystals, which we call deifacted nethicite or auracite today. But when he descended to Ivalice to begin his duty, he became lost in the turmoil of the world. In fact, it is said he died and was reborn countless times, an endless walker of life's wheel, and came to rage against the gods that had abandoned him to his fate. Thus became his corruption and his title."

He rubs his chin thoughtfully. "This specific tome is an introductory primer, holding the basic information of the legends and each Scion, but not much more specific than that. I would have to find tomes specifically focusing on the stories that have survived on a given Scion."

Their drinks arrive and Zargabaath motions kindly. "Feel free to read through it if you wish. I will answer what I can if something catches your attention."

Souji Murasame has posed:
"These gods are quite impressive to be able to... manufacture such things." Souji says, nodding. "Even these beings could likely be mistake as gods by those unlearned in the ways of the world, could they not?"

Souji recieves his wine, and he takes a sip as he looks on intently. "Light and Darkness... I wonder if they were named such because they fell, or if they were made this way and their nature lent themselves to such a thing." He pauses, and shakes his head. "No matter. Those are ponderings for the philosophers."

He flips through the other pages, paging past Famfit, Adramelech, and pauses at Mateus. "I've seen this name before." He says, tapping it. "Odd that a man would bear the same name as this being." He considers for a moment, and then pages on. "There are patterns in these worlds. Patterns that can be seen that bind things together. Since I have come here I have been looking at these similarities and wonder where they might lead."

He looks back over to the Judge. "Have these entities been seen in the ensuing ages since their fall? Do they still exist somewhere?"

Zargabaath has posed:
Zargabaath nods slowly. "Indeed, 'tis quite possible that the 'gods' are not at all, as these stories have been passed down for millenia." He folds his arms on the tabletop, watching Souji's interest and falling silent in respect.

He looks down at the picture of Mateus the Corrupt when Souji pauses there for a time, then wrinkles his brow in consideration. "I have noticed similarities as well. Mirrors that do not reflect perfectly, escaping exact comparison, but there is /something/ almost nonstalgically familiar even with wildly different worlds."

He nods to Souji. "In a sense. It is said that when the Scions of Darkness rose in rebellion against their creators, the leader of the gods--Faram--defeated them and cast them into the Mist. Stripped of physical form, they wander formless in the Mist to this day." He taps a finger against his arm. "It is said that a summoner can call them forth from the Mist using their unique mark," he taps a small rectangular glyph at the upper corners of each page, "but to my knowledge, none have succeeded."

Souji Murasame has posed:
"Perhaps there is some greater hand at work. I don't know. But the truth of the matter is irrelevant, really. That's something on a grander scale than what I am trying to discover." Souji nods to Zargabaath. "You understand, of course. It is a major doctrine of tactical thought. Learn about your enemy. Learn their ways. Consider their abilities. Once you have learned all there is to know, you can then work against them."

He turns at the mark, examining it in detail. "If it was that simple, it would have been accomplished by now. Surely even Archades would not shy away from binding such great beings to their will for the good of the people." He thinks. "There is something missing here. But what?"

Zargabaath has posed:
Zargabaath rumbles softly in cautious agreement. "Indeed. You speak truly, but there is another saying: 'He who fights monsters risks becoming one himself'." He inclines his head to the side, a rueful smile crossing his face. "But perhaps I am overly cautious in matters beyond my station. Forgive me if I caused offense."

When the conversation returns to the Scions specifically, he can only shake his head. "That I cannot say. I am but a warrior, and such specifics in the ways of Mist and magick is beyond my understanding or abilities." He looks out towards the stream for a moment, thinking, then returns his gaze to Souji. "Perhaps there is some truth in requiring the will of the specific Scion to align with the summoner's? If a summoner is not worthy, it matters not how powerful the individual may be if the one being summoned rejects them."

Souji Murasame has posed:
Souji shakes his head. "None taken, Zargabaath. You speak wisely in this, which explains why you are called the Judge of Reason. Caution is warranted in this."

He folds his hands, leaning back. "One cannot meddle with such powers without being at risk. Fools rush forward and are consumed."

He gestures to Zargabaath once more as he brings up a salient point. "I will have to investigate this issue in more detail... But you did mention something else. You spoke of auracite. I have heard of this term before. What is auracite and how does it relate to the Espers? You mentioned that Chaos was intended to guard one of the crystals, but is that all? Also, I have heard a great deal about Mist. I know that Mist is a medium for magical power, but it is dangerous when not harnessed properly. How is it concentrated and put to proper use? How is it collected? Where does Mist come from?"

Zargabaath has posed:
Zargabaath chuckles softly and holds up a hand. "One question at a time, Mr. Murasame. Knowledgeable I may be, but I still have human limits. I fear I may miss something of import should inquiries be too quick."

He taps the table once. "First, Auracite. Also known as deifacted nethicite, its properties are still under the process of being evaluated. There was an incident, two years ago..." His voice trails off as his expression darkens. "A test was run with a shard of Auracite in the land of Nabudis, now lost to Darkness. The city was destroyed utterly in an explosion with no survivors, and the entire land surrounding it was plunged into thick Mist." His gaze slides to the side. "I lost a good friend of mine, a fellow Judge Magister, that day."

He shakes his head, hiding that dark expression behind a natural mask of impassiveness, and taps the table twice. "This leads me to Mist. On Ivalice, Mist is a phenomenon as natural as air, and little is truly logically understood of it. It seems strongest in areas known for magicite or auracite, as you witnessed for yourself on that floating isle. Beyond that, I do not know."

He leans back in his chair himself, pausing for a moment to take a sip of water. "You must understand, the idea of logically evaluating such things held in religious regard is a fairly recent occurrance, only within the past generation or so. There is, admittedly, much we still have yet to learn ourselves, much less be able to explain to anyone not originally of Ivalice."

Souji Murasame has posed:
Souji nods, quietly listening to the explanations from the Judge. "I see... I am sorry for your loss." Souji, however, does appear intent at the information given by Zargabaath. "And the crystal that your people have acquired... Is that a piece of Auracite? I understand it is not... quite normal for people here to ask these kinds of questions. In my own world, there was... a similar kind of conflict." He says. "But we had more time to resolve it, than your people likely have."

Zargabaath has posed:
Zargabaath simply inclines his head in acceptance of the condolences, but says nothing further on the matter. The topic returns to the Eclipse Shard specifically, and to this Zargabaath lifts his hands in a faint shrug. "I believe there were indeed marked similarities to Auracite. But it seemed... different. After all, we were not destroyed in an explosion when it shattered in His Honor Gabranth's hands." He shakes his head. "There was not much left to study, from the size of it, and whatever information that has been gleaned is above my station to know."

He inhales deeply. "It was not an outright battle between religion and science, but more akin to the birth of science out of curiousity to explain the unexplainable. The Light of Kilita--Ivalice's religion--was a neutral-minded religion that did not involve itself in matters of state or science, and the devout similarly were not threatened by the pursuit of science or technology in itself."

His eyes light up suddenly. "This reminds me. Mt. Bur-Omistace is located on the Northern Continent as part of the mountain range, I believe close to the western side. That mountain houses the Light of Kilita's main temple, and they would hold the most information about legends passed down from times long forgotten. Perhaps you should pay a visit there for more information, should you not mind a more religious mindset."

Souji Murasame has posed:
Souji shakes his head. "Such things are elusive and dangerous, it seems. I wonder what could have happened to the power that was within the Shard. I do hope Judge Gabranth himself is all right... The experience was very unsettling for many of us."

He shrugs at the rest of it. "I am glad that there is a more open-minded religion here. Our own religion... That of Cosma, was not always so... tolerant, as you might say. Many different sects arose, some more militant than others."

The suggestion, however, causes Souji to lean forward. "That could be very useful. I will have to go there for additional information. I am sure I can filter through the religion."

Souji gestures. "I should not continue to use up your valuable time on supposition and theory, Zargabaath. I thank you for your time."

Zargabaath has posed:
Zargabaath smiles warmly. "I do not mind at all. It is good to exercise the mind as well as the body, and I have had too much of the latter as of late. This discussion was refreshing as well as enlightening, and I do hope I have been of aid."

He rises out of his seat and bows deeply to Souji. "May we meet again under amicable circumstances, Mr. Murasame. Until then, I wish you well."