Magical Lotus - Episode 1 (Complete)

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, largely to hear her."
>Gesture toward Grandmaster Sparrow

>"And this person is someone special in your world?"

>"My friends and I came here for my 18th birthday."

>She tilts her head to the side somewhat. "Birthday? As in the anniversary of the day you were born?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Yes, on both accounts."

[Oldmansour]

>"Yes, on both accounts."

>She nods in contemplation. "Then the people of this world still gather to worship and exalt other mortals. Yet I do not see her honor guard, and her altar appears free of your offerings. Is this bacchanal, then, their tribute? Or is this merely the prelude to the true sacrifice?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"It's a concert, not an act of worship. Did you not have people who gathered fame outside of religion?"

[Oldmansour]

>"It's a concert, not an act of worship. Did you not have people who gathered fame outside of religion?"

>"There is no fame in my world. And there was a time, in this world, when the famous were either venerated, or persecuted. The peoples of this world would once have gathered here, in a place like this, but the smell of blood, incense and wine would choke the air, and reason would yield to dogma and fear. But this is not the case on this night? What of other nights? If we had come here, say, a turn of the moon from this date?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Presumably such practices do not occur?
>If so: "Those kinds of things do not happen."

[Oldmansour]

>Presumably such practices do not occur?

>Not for at least five millenia, since the last of the ancient empires were consumed by time.

>If so: "Those kinds of things do not happen."

>'Marisa's' face shows astonishment for a few seconds, then she smiles, almost in relief, before turning her head to look at the crowd once again. "Then these people have come here... for the sake of a song? To gather in the presence of music and drink for the pleasure of the thing? Not to appease their Gods, not to ward off their fear, not to sacrifice to their heroes, but simply to gather? And share in each other company?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod.
>"So it has been for millenia, at least."

[Oldmansour]

>Nod.
>"So it has been for millenia, at least."

>Your companions eyes close slowly, as if she were digesting what you have said. When she opens them again, you find them filled with tears unshed. "It is good that your world has grown, that your people have changed. There is hope, at least, for one of our worlds."
>She leans back in her seat, smiling sadly. "I know I have said that I have so little time, that we shouldn't linger, that there is so much I wanted to see.... But can we stay here, for a moment? I did not expect to find what I find here."

[Hello Purvis]

>"As far as I am concerned, you are my guide. I shall follow where you lead, and when."

[Oldmansour]

>"As far as I am concerned, you are my guide. I shall follow where you lead, and when."

>She nods gratefully, then returns to her crowd watching. "It seems that I can experience hope in this place as well. At least I think this is hope. That is what you call the sensation of.... Oh, I'm not sure the words... Would you call it 'hope', if I were to say, I wish moments like this will survive the days to come?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hope may be a word for it. Desire another. Optimism. Regardless, I think there is nothing wrong with that, save that you feel something is going to prevent it."

[Oldmansour]

>"Hope may be a word for it. Desire another. Optimism. Regardless, I think there is nothing wrong with that, save that you feel something is going to prevent it."

>Her smile fades, her face sobers, and she faces you straight, clear eyes and somber. "One way or the other, your world and mine will change forever. They were sent down opposite roads long ago by my enemy, and they have clashed from time to time. But I have another enemy, and my enemies are also each other's enemies. Our worlds will cross paths again, one last time, and I do not believe my world shall survive. Even if they win, that world is doomed, and whether or not this world fades along with it, I cannot yet see. But here, at least, in this place, I can dare to hope."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Why?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Why?"

>"I beg your pardon?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Why you do feel this? What makes you think any one force could that?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Why you do feel this? What makes you think any one force could that?"

>"A single individual has changed the course of both your world and mine before. Imagine the force an entire world can bring to bear against another, especially after countless millenia of strife. They will be free; they will be destroyed. There is nothing else for them, or for our enemy. And their freedom means the end of your world."

[Hello Purvis]

>Frown.
>"If there's been millenia of strife, wouldn't that imply there isn't much force to bear? Strife is hardly productive, even in the best of times. Prolonging it would only hurt their overall strength more, I would imagine."

[Oldmansour]

>Frown.
>"If there's been millenia of strife, wouldn't that imply there isn't much force to bear? Strife is hardly productive, even in the best of times. Prolonging it would only hurt their overall strength more, I would imagine."

>She nods slowly. "A logical point. However, your world once believed that 'The weak perish, the strong flourish.' It is the same for them. Only the strongest survived the fall, and only the strongest of those have survived that world. Their numbers are far less than those of this world, but those that remain possess powers and skills unseen on your world since the age of mythology. Every one of them is empowered by centuries of tempering, forged in the crucible of a world that hates them, led by a Queen and Goddess. Their hatred has festered in the darkness since time forgotten. They will be forgotten no more."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Forged with what, though? Strife and tyranny are notoriously bad at feeding people, or creating infrastructure necessary for there to be much in the way of any kind of advancement. It's one thing, I suppose, for a fighter to crush all comers, but it's another thing to be a fighter when you can't reliably eat, or get proper nutrition, or medicine, or so on. Let alone things like education. Wouldn't you really just end up with a bunch of malnourished and sickly isolationists who couldn't trust anything, rather than any kind of thing that could be considered a unified force?"
>Ponder for a moment, while being pleased with paying attention in history class.
>"Well, I suppose that queen could do...something in regards to that. But it seems terribly inefficient to just create resources from nothing, in a number of ways, and it wouldn't cover the self-defeating nature of such a system, it would just perpetuate its death throws, one would think."
>What do we know about gods and poofing up things with magic, anyways?

[Oldmansour]

>What do we know about gods and poofing up things with magic, anyways?

>Precious little, honestly. Magic is nearly unknown to you, beyond the couple of tidbits you've gleaned from proximity to Patchouli. If you had to guess, you would say that simply conjuring things into being with any degree of permanence was very difficult, depending on the magician, of course, but you cannot be certain of even that. Gods, on the other hand, are a different matter, being, well, Gods. You are not an especially secular person, beyond your interest in the beliefs of Buddhism, but that is widely considered to be more a way of life, rather than a devoted religion. You know the four shrines of Mayoiga are devoted to the four companion spirits of the Mother of the world, and you know little of them beyond common knowledge. You suspect that 'poofing' things in and out of existance would not be a difficult task for the Mother, but you are not certain of the gains of doing so. Not has she done so, as she dwells apart from her world, letting her people live their own lives.

>"Forged with what, though? Strife and tyranny are notoriously bad at feeding people, or creating infrastructure necessary for there to be much in the way of any kind of advancement. It's one thing, I suppose, for a fighter to crush all comers, but it's another thing to be a fighter when you can't reliably eat, or get proper nutrition, or medicine, or so on. Let alone things like education. Wouldn't you really just end up with a bunch of malnourished and sickly isolationists who couldn't trust anything, rather than any kind of thing that could be considered a unified force?"
>"Well, I suppose that queen could do...something in regards to that. But it seems terribly inefficient to just create resources from nothing, in a number of ways, and it wouldn't cover the self-defeating nature of such a system, it would just perpetuate its death throws, one would think."

>"What you say makes a great deal of sense. If you were dealing with any of the mortal races dwelling on this world. These beings are beyond many of the constraints known to Humans, Oni, all the others. And their struggles have not been directed at each other as much as they have been against their world. What society they have is bound to their Goddess, for only she can control their world at all. Their hatred binds them to each other, and she holds their chains, because no one else can."
>'Marisa' opens her mouth to speak furthur, then it snaps shut again. She seems surprised at that. "I may have said too much...."

[Hello Purvis]

>"What do you mean, said too much? Who determines that?"

[Oldmansour]

>"What do you mean, said too much? Who determines that?"

>"Oh, no, no...." she frets, covering her mouth with her hand for a moment before, abrubtly, the music changes, and the crowd does with it. A darkly sinister ambiant song replaces the jubilant Walk the Edge, and a pall of black smoke begins to billow from behind Mystia's stage. Mystia herself now appears to be draped in a dull black, hooded robe, a faint sneer upon her face as she raises her clawed hands out and up. The crowd before her turns to face her altar, their faces buried in their hands, a sign of utter supplication. But among those with lowered heads are those faces that are familiar to you. Minoriko, Aya, Nitori, Reisen, Letty, Patchouli, Rin, Marissa, Reimu, Yuyuko, even Myoren and more, have turned away from the bleak gathering and are looking directly at you, defiant and proud.
>"Just invoking her title was beyond me...? Has brought us to this?" 'Marisa' nearly whispers.

[Hello Purvis]

>Observe them calmly. It's already been established this is half a dream. See if there's anything of note about them.

[Oldmansour]

>Observe them calmly. It's already been established this is half a dream. See if there's anything of note about them.

>You take in the familiar faces before you. Each of them is wearing the same expression, one of quiet defiance of the scene around them, and a strength in their eyes. Several of them are quite obviously out of place, especially your brother, but they each appear as they do in the 'real' world. This Marissa has her usual side-braid, as opposed to your companion 'Marisa's' other-side-ponytail.
>Speaking of whom, 'Marisa' turns back to face you, her expression of fear gone, replaced a kind of sad acceptance. "It seems our time here is ending. But it must end in the light." With that she stands bolt upright, her chair clattering behind her, and she flies straight up. She passes through the second floor roof as though it wasn't even there.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do the same.

[Oldmansour]

>Do the same.

>You stand and take to wing, flying up after your guide. Flying into a ceiling is certainly a new experience for you, and you don't manage it as well as your companion did. It's very difficult to put into words what the sensation is like, as you essentially swam though semi-liquid wood. For a moment, you feel almost as though you won't make it, but then you remind yourself, "It's not quite real." With that thought firmly in your mind, you pass through the ceiling. It felt like feet upon feet of movement, when it was barely a foot of material, in reality. Or whatever passes for reality in this place. Passing through the roof proves much easier, almost like moving through a doorway, into the sky beyond.
>The warm, comforting light of the pale sun envelops you again as you rise to meet 'Marisa', who hovers directly about Edgewalkers, looking to the south with a mysterious expression on her face. "She's coming for me." she says simply.

[Hello Purvis]

>"This Godqueen, or someone else?"

[Oldmansour]

>"This Godqueen, or someone else?"

>"It doesn't matter." She seems almost to fade out, for a moment, and you could see through her in places, before she becomes solid again. She turns to you, her face full of a strength that was not there before, and reaches out to grab your shoulders. "I can do nothing to change the course of the days to come, nor can I tell you who our enemies are, but I can tell you something you need to know. Something that might save you, that might even save your world, the only weapon that can truly best them. It is the answer to my final question."

[Hello Purvis]

>Consider pointing out that if they are as she described, they would sabotage themselves attempting to organize before much could be done to be a real external threat. Decide to leave it aside.
>"And that is?"