Author Topic: The Legend of Hieda: Daughter Zero - Completed (Read 30803 times)

Fightest · « **Reply #240 on:** June 22, 2012, 02:29:45 PM »

We're back! And what better way to celebrate than with an intermission? Let's go!

> You are Utsuho Reiuji, beloved daughter and sister, and within you lies a power uniquely suited to the revitalization of Gensokyo.
> You are also one of the few who can withstand the conditions of your current location.
> You are deep, deep underground, far below the Palace and the Oni City.
> Here, solid rock has long given way to the liquid fire that flows around you, its unimaginable heat merely a warm embrace to you.
> Navigating only by your wits, you push ever deeper, accompanied only by a

> stray thought, they called her, as if she were nothing more than a flight of fancy, they wouldn't know inspiration if it sat on them

> It is here that you search for the Legacy of the Hieda.
> When Akyu woke up, the story she told was incredible. You were enthralled by every word, by every image she wove.
> The scope of the project she described is just about unimaginable to you, but you are certain that Orin and Satori would be immensely proud of you should you succeed.
> And maybe that Hakurei lady would not be quite so cold to you.

> fat chance, she mutters

> The concept of what you are looking for is foreign to you, but some of the others nodded knowingly when Akyu spoke. Orin and Satori firmly took you aside just after to make sure you understood the basics - you are looking for

> she snaps her fingers in front of Utsuho's face impatiently, waking the girl out of her reverie - this was no time to daydream

> A strong magma flow buffets you, stronger than anything you had felt before. You are toppled head-over-heels, dizzied, disoriented, and flung about for what feels like an hour before the flow subsides.
> You are going to have to get your bearings back, somehow.

Mr_Bob · « **Reply #241 on:** June 24, 2012, 08:41:34 AM »

Intermissions are a good time to pick up some pop-corn, get a drink or go number one.

>What is the iron content of the surrounding magma?
>Are we looking for something that would be really deep? If so, we'll have to make sure not to travel in a cooler direction.

Fightest · « **Reply #242 on:** June 25, 2012, 08:27:15 AM »

Quote from: Bob 2.3 on June 24, 2012, 08:41:34 AM

>What is the iron content of the surrounding magma?
>Are we looking for something that would be really deep? If so, we'll have to make sure not to travel in a cooler direction.

> On your way down, as the rock lost shape and form, you encountered pockets of solid matter, geodes of pure minerals adrift in the sea of magma.
> The magma felt strange just before you were buffeted away, as if it were less something real and tangible, bound by fundamental laws, but more of an idealistic representation of what fire ought be.

Mr_Bob · « **Reply #243 on:** June 27, 2012, 09:02:56 AM »

>Recall mission and breifing.
>Are we looking for the elemental plane of fire?
>Attempt to get bearing.

Fightest · « **Reply #244 on:** June 27, 2012, 05:32:15 PM »

Quote from: Bob 2.3 on June 27, 2012, 09:02:56 AM

>Recall mission and breifing.
>Are we looking for the elemental plane of fire?
>Attempt to get bearing.

> You are looking for a structure of sorts.
> Satori and Orin described it as something like the Palace of Earth Spirits, only bigger.
> The reason it is here is

> Quite ingenious, really, she admitted, grudgingly. Hiding it inside an Elemental Pole would deter all but the bravest and most foolish, and, between her and this false-sun girl, they had both in spades.

> You think you point yourself right-way-up, and try to feel the magma flows.
> It is as if there is a current coming from somewhere, a flow hotter than all others.

GuyYouMetOnline · « **Reply #245 on:** June 27, 2012, 06:05:50 PM »

>Find its source.

Fightest · « **Reply #246 on:** June 29, 2012, 03:46:39 PM »

Quote from: GuyYouMetOnline on June 27, 2012, 06:05:50 PM

>Find its source.

> It is not hard to follow the flow back upstream, save for the effort of fighting against the current.
> You feel yourself close to your destination, as no doubt that

> A strong magma flow buffets you, stronger than anything you had felt before. You are toppled head-over-heels, dizzied, disoriented, and flung about for what feels like an hour before the flow subsides.
> You are going to have to get your

> The world seems to twist and change before you, as if

> Brilliant, she thinks, diverting as much of the channeled narrative as she can away from the false-sun girl.
> Koishi admires the story-lock that they are faced with. The false-sun girl has no means to bypass something like this.
> At least, not yet.
> For the time being, however,

> You are Koishi, beautiful as the blue sky, gentle as the spring breeze, wise as a sage owl and humble as a lion.
> You are mysterious in many ways, and have no desire to reveal your secrets just yet!
> And you are quite impressed with the protective measures around the Legacy of the Hieda.
> It is fundamentally impossible to approach it, as any story that leads to it is aggressively counteracted with a powerful narrative of its own. A potent self-defense mechanism, as it were.

Mr_Bob · « **Reply #247 on:** July 02, 2012, 09:46:09 AM »

Uh-oh. Did Koishi hi-jack Fightest again? Just after he came back?

>Koishi: Explain ourselves. What's our current angle?

Fightest · « **Reply #248 on:** July 02, 2012, 03:10:18 PM »

Quote from: Bob 2.3 on July 02, 2012, 09:46:09 AM

Uh-oh. Did Koishi hi-jack Fightest again? Just after he came back?

>Koishi: Explain ourselves. What's our current angle?

> Koishi purses her lips at the thought of revealing too many of her mysteries. It simply does not seem like the right time to do so.
> She tosses her silky hair, putting on her best hurt expression, and reminds that one does not pry into a lady's secrets!
> She certainly does not mention her regret at Gensokyo to have reached such a sorry state. She misses it how it once was, and the lengths she'd go through to assist in its revitalization.
> And never in a thousand years would she admit to wanting to be able to match wits against the old Hiedas again!

Mr_Bob · « **Reply #249 on:** July 03, 2012, 07:54:18 AM »

>Well, make some efforts towards that revitalization goal for now.

Fightest · « **Reply #250 on:** July 03, 2012, 09:51:35 AM »

Quote from: Bob 2.3 on July 03, 2012, 07:54:18 AM

>Well, make some efforts towards that revitalization goal for now.

> Koishi agrees that, at this stage, action is the best solution.
> Koishi examines the story-lock.
> It is truly a magnificent thing, formed from the strongest aspects of each Hieda generation.
> The razor-thin precision of Aichi's swordsmanship.
> The perfect comprehension of Ani's sorcery.
> The unassailable reason of Ami's diplomacy.
> The incomprehensible obfuscation of Ayo's secrecy.
> and
> Aaah, there it is, the final proof of the excellence of the Hieda family, and a reminder of Koishi's regret that she had faced it only once
> The incredible power of Ago's Songforce.
>
> This nut will be hard to crack.

Mr_Bob · « **Reply #251 on:** July 04, 2012, 07:58:19 AM »

Interesting...

>Where do we begin?

Fightest · « **Reply #252 on:** July 04, 2012, 08:18:32 AM »

Quote from: Bob 2.3 on July 04, 2012, 07:58:19 AM

>Where do we begin?

> Koishi is wondering this herself, as well.
> This story-lock must have, naturally, a story-key.
> To unlock it, she would guess, one has to approach it with the right stories, in the right style and order.
> It really is Koishi's greatest strength turned against her. She hates telling other people's stories.

Hanzo K. · « **Reply #253 on:** July 04, 2012, 08:22:18 AM »

>Ah, but in so doing, one gets to add to their own. Doubly so if one played a part in each.

Fightest · « **Reply #254 on:** July 04, 2012, 12:37:41 PM »

Quote from: Hanzo K. on July 04, 2012, 08:22:18 AM

>Ah, but in so doing, one gets to add to their own. Doubly so if one played a part in each.

> A good point, thinks Koishi. Others would definitely forget to mention her part in all of this.
> With a graceful motion of her hand, Koishi summons five pearls, five cores of the stories of the Hieda.
> She taps each in turn, to hear what they have to say.
>

> chime
> Excise all that is unnecessary. Carve away the impurities. Cut to the deepest truth. My enemies are numerous, but they must bow to me, or all is lost. The greater good. The ends over the means. Mistakes can later be corrected, but inaction will ruin us forever.

> chime
> We each have a part to play, and none of us will live long enough to see the project [see: Gensokyo] to completion, aside from my esteemed companion and the monkey [ref. 3-6]. The sequestering, although regrettable, will be vital, see appendix for more information. My best regards to my descendants.

> chime
> With the absence of a solution, a solution must be formed. Are came to know the things at the edge of Creation, their purpose is singular and clear, and they cannot be stopped. Set aside your differences, reject your nature, stifle your passions. We must stand together.

> chime
> Clouded mind, darkened eyes, deafened ears, numbed skin. Forget, so that our memories do not make us weak. Go blind, so that we only see what we imagine. Go deaf, so we can only hear our own voice. Lose touch, so that we cannot grasp the truth.

> chime
> And so it comes to be that I am the greatest there ever was. The Chosen make their own destiny, but I shape the destiny of all around me. I am the beginning, and I am the end. I am the mother, the father, the friend and the adversary. I bring the death of this world, and the birth of a new one.

Mr_Bob · « **Reply #255 on:** July 09, 2012, 07:27:03 AM »

>Do the pearls say anything else? Where did we get them?
>Do we choose one of the stories?

Fightest · « **Reply #256 on:** July 09, 2012, 12:31:25 PM »

Quote from: Bob on July 09, 2012, 07:27:03 AM

>Do the pearls say anything else? Where did we get them?
>Do we choose one of the stories?

> Anything else is superflous, muses Koishi. The pearls hold the cores of the Hieda stories, the singular myths from which their legend grows. It is one of Koishi's deepest secrets that holding on to them gives her a guilty pleasure of enjoying a story not her own.
> The story-lock is made of five aspects, so it is five stories that must be formed into a key to unlock it, Koishi assumes.
> One has to be wary of the correct combination, she adds, and not play around with them too much, for that may dissolve their cores.
> And once the core of a story is gone, it is forever lost.

Jq1790 · « **Reply #257 on:** July 10, 2012, 03:58:30 AM »

Quote from: Fightest on July 09, 2012, 12:31:25 PM

> Anything else is superflous, muses Koishi. The pearls hold the cores of the Hieda stories, the singular myths from which their legend grows. It is one of Koishi's deepest secrets that holding on to them gives her a guilty pleasure of enjoying a story not her own.
> The story-lock is made of five aspects, so it is five stories that must be formed into a key to unlock it, Koishi assumes.
> One has to be wary of the correct combination, she adds, and not play around with them too much, for that may dissolve their cores.
> And once the core of a story is gone, it is forever lost.

>So while we must utilize these cores, we can safely manipulate them, as long as we only do a small change to them?

Fightest · « **Reply #258 on:** July 10, 2012, 08:11:24 AM »

Quote from: Jq1790 on July 10, 2012, 03:58:30 AM

>So while we must utilize these cores, we can safely manipulate them, as long as we only do a small change to them?

Fightest's clarification: there is a specific order in which these story-cores must go. This order is something you will have to figure out, and you might be able to wheedle some more information out of Koishi to help you. The eventual dissolution is there to stop you from brute-forcing the solution.

Mr_Bob · « **Reply #259 on:** July 10, 2012, 08:38:18 AM »

>Would we be right in assuming Are's pearl is the first?

Fightest · « **Reply #260 on:** July 10, 2012, 11:12:11 AM »

Quote from: Bob on July 10, 2012, 08:38:18 AM

>Would we be right in assuming Are's pearl is the first?

> Koishi furrows her pristine brow.
> Are's story is the mother-of-pearl from which the rest grow, but no so much a pearl itself.
> As such, it is the context for all of them.
> ...
> A shape appears before Koishi, that of a key, but its form is wavering and unclear.
> Still, it is a start.

Mr_Bob · « **Reply #261 on:** July 11, 2012, 08:25:41 AM »

>Whose story is it that begins "Excise all that is unnecessary."?

Currently thinking: 3 - 1 - 2 - 4 - 5

Fightest · « **Reply #262 on:** July 11, 2012, 09:08:38 AM »

Quote from: Bob on July 11, 2012, 08:25:41 AM

>Whose story is it that begins "Excise all that is unnecessary."?

> It was Aichi, Koishi recalls, who bore a terrifying intensity. Perhaps it was unintentional, but there was something about that girl that made Koishi's alabaster skin crawl before she was even aware such an expression existed.

Jq1790 · « **Reply #263 on:** July 11, 2012, 01:56:57 PM »

>How about the others? We should recall whatever details we can about each of these Hiedas, so that we may better know how to organize them to defeat the story-lock before us.

Fightest · « **Reply #264 on:** July 12, 2012, 08:45:12 AM »

Quote from: Jq1790 on July 11, 2012, 01:56:57 PM

>How about the others? We should recall whatever details we can about each of these Hiedas, so that we may better know how to organize them to defeat the story-lock before us.

> Koishi fondly remembers her encounters with the Hieda progeny.
> Ani was what that world called a sorceror, and she achieved with a complex and dangerous ritual what Koishi no doubt could with a simple wave of her hand - she sacrificed her ignorance. She then knew everything there is to know about everything, to such a degree that legends told of her accurately predicting the future. Perhaps that was why Koishi saw so little of her.
> Ami was fascinating to behold, as her words seemed be completely unimpeachable, and she could tell a Garda to swim like a fish. Koishi knew even then, of course, that this was a mighty curse that would lead the girl to ruin.
> Ayo was an enigma. She was the only one whom Koishi simply could not weave a narrative around - any detail or twist ran off her like water off a lotus leaf. Koishi did not know what Ayo did to herself, or what she achieved during her lifetime, but she suspects that she must have crafted truly a great secret.
> Koishi shudders from a strange oily sensation.
> Ago was a withering hurricane. Her first and only encounter with Koishi was an overwhelming victory, and Koishi strived afterwards to avoid Ago from then on. It is Koishi's pride to know that even such force carries with it a narrative bitter-sweetness, as even all of Ago's power was not enough to save Creation. It was instead used to
> To
> There is that oily feeling again, thinks Koishi with disgust. It must be Ayo's work.

Mr_Bob · « **Reply #265 on:** July 12, 2012, 09:50:42 AM »

Based on some events from Akyu Quest, there seemed to be a great cataclysm that brought about a downfall of Gensokyo of old (the current one being a fragment [wait, does that mean in Are's time Gensokyo hasn't been created yet? {There seemed to be chime related to it's creation} This timeline business is confusing]).
Ayo's pearl is especially hard to place.

>What is Gensokyo's purpose?
>What role did Ayo play in it's planning?

Fightest · « **Reply #266 on:** July 12, 2012, 12:18:20 PM »

Quote from: Bob on July 12, 2012, 09:50:42 AM

>What is Gensokyo's purpose?
>What role did Ayo play in it's planning?

> This little bubble of existence called Gensokyo, slowly withering away with its inhabitants none the wiser - until Akyu came along - cannot just be a last testament of a once-great Age, thinks Koishi.
> Certainly, it was mostly her fault, but she didn't really want it turning out this way, not when she got so attached to it.
> There must have been something that the Hiedas did. There was always something up their sleeves. This Legacy must be something...
> Something...
> oily.
> Koishi silently curses Ayo, and snaps her fingers next to the false-sun girl's ear.

> The strangest of feelings comes over you, as if the spotlight had been on someone else entirely for a very long time.
> Akyu completely lost you when she started talking about "sequestration" and a "project" that needed to - but you understood this last bit no problem - be tempered in primordial fire, which Gensokyo managed to keep a fraction of.

> Koishi smirks. She had her tricks, too, and outsmarting Ayo was certainly worthy of a pat on the metaphorical back.
> Koishi believes that the period just after Ago's magnum opus and before Akyu's debut is...
> oily.
> Her grin spreading wide, Koishi understands that Ayo's secret hides a time and a place.
> Without abilities like Koishi's, it would be impossible to even realise that something was hidden. She bows to the round of applause she receives.

Mr_Bob · « **Reply #267 on:** July 13, 2012, 07:33:13 AM »

>Did Ami know anything of Aichi's "deepest truth"?
>Or was it Aichi who used that truth to find Ami's "solution"?

Fightest · « **Reply #268 on:** July 13, 2012, 09:09:49 AM »

I've just remembered I'm going on vacation next week and that internet may be choppy at best. Time to wrap this up!

Quote from: Bob on July 13, 2012, 07:33:13 AM

>Did Ami know anything of Aichi's "deepest truth"?
>Or was it Aichi who used that truth to find Ami's "solution"?

> Koishi wonders if this is the right direction to think in.
> What was it that Akyu said, again?
> snap

> There was a proverb that Akyu mentioned, somewhere in her story. It seems suddenly very important now:
> "A Secret is meaningless if it hides no Power. Power dissipates without the Precision to focus it. Precision is wasted without the Comprehension to guide it. Comprehension cannot be achieved without the Reason to form it. And it is Context that gives them all life."
> But what can you do with a proverb?

Hanzo K. · « **Reply #269 on:** July 13, 2012, 02:59:23 PM »

Okay, I think I got this to a point.
Each part refers to the 'gimmick' each of them have.

Are, being the first, is the 'Context'. Koishi herself said as such.
Ago, being the only one to completely overwhelm Koishi, is clearly the 'Power'.
Ayo is obviously 'Secret'.

Ami is likely Reason or Precision.
Ani is most likely Comprehension, as she rid herself of Ignorance, which would imply she gained Comprehension of All Things.
It's possible that Aichi is Reason.

So thus, the order of the last two is Ago-Ayo
But what of the other three? Well friends, I've done what I can, it's up to you!