kaisou | [Open] Got Ourselves Another Lost One

Entry tags:

[Open] Got Ourselves Another Lost One

WHO: Gwayne and everyone!
WHERE: Gwayne's Labyrinth and other places in Kaisou
WHEN: December 4th
WHAT: There's a new and lost arrival from Eorzea.
WARNINGS: May be Endwalker spoilers, but they'll be marked if they come up!

A: Rumor Has It

[Going from the bustling city of Radz-at-Han to somewhere else entirely makes for a highly jarring experience, especially when it's somewhere so empty. Gwayne looks around, immediately tense and wary of any hostile threats within the vicinity. After a few seconds, hand on the hilt of his sword, he determines there's nothing immediate and begins to walk. As he does, he takes a closer look at the place he's ended up, and feels his body grow ice cold in realization.

He's... home. But it's wrong. The small, desert town is completely empty of people, and it's twisted and warped itself into a maze. Certain buildings repeat and create dead ends where there shouldn't be. As Gwayne gets deeper into the maze, whispers from no discernable source hit his ears. Whispers that simultaneously make him feel hot with shame and cold with dread.

"No better than his father, that one." "The years truly haven't changed him, have they?"

"Poor Svetozar and Vairemont. They must be heartbroken over what their son has become."

"What did any of us expect? 'E came from bad stock, ain't nothin' can change that."

Gwayne tries his best to ignore them, no matter how hard of a slap to the face some of them are. Though, all thoughts leave his mind when he sees a very familiar house. His house. He can't help himself from running over to the door, hesitating before trying to open it.

Locked. Or, at the very least, it simply won't budge. He bites his lip as a myriad of emotions well up in his heart, and takes a few steadying breaths. Gwayne squares his shoulders, putting his worry and homesickness away for the time being. He needs to find a way out of this accursed place. Preferably before something else finds him.]

B: Out in the Cold

[After getting out of the Labyrinth and spending probably too much time figuring out this new technology the book calls a "phone," Gwayne gets to exploring. He's an adventurer for a reason, and his curiosity is insatiable. Even if he doesn't know where in the hell he is, that doesn't mean he can't go poking around a new city or world.

One place he finds is the Last Stand, which is extremely weird to suddenly find a piece of Sharlayan here. Gwayne is looking at it in abject bafflement, hilariously juxtaposed by how very out-of-place he looks in his outfit. At least it's warm for the weather. This city isn't anywhere near as cold as Ishgard, but it's still cold.

Gwayne can be found almost anywhere in Kaisou, poking his nose into anything interesting, but he'll avoid the sketchier areas for now. The last thing he needs right now is to get mugged or hurt someone.]

{OOC: I'll match prose or brackets!}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This star does not only take people from their homes, but also places. The Gold Saucer and Moghome are here too.

[She points them out, easy to spot even at a distance.]

...tell me, Gwayne, if I were to say "let eon become instant", would that mean anything to you at all?

[There's almost an audible record scratch on hearing that Moghome is also here.]

Excuse me? By the Twelve, next you'll tell me that the Hildibrands are here.

[Gwayne is not ready to deal with that brand of madness so far from home!!!! Though, when she says that familiar incantation, he goes still and quiet for a moment, staring at her. Finally, he says:]

It does. An old friend comes to mind immediately. [He pauses, thinking, before he asks his own question.] Does "Elpis" mean anything to you?

[Oh gods, Rhel only knows the Hildibrands by reputation and she would sooner go running through the snow in her underthings.

But then Gwyane says "Elpis" and Rhel's eyes go wide. She nods.]

Aye, it does. [A sigh.] Six. That is six of us here now.

[His eyebrows furrow in confusion.]

Six? [Wait.] You mean, six Warriors of Light? Here?

[What the actual fuck is going on in this bar, Hydaelyn????]

Unless I miscounted, yes.

[Give her a sec. Amal, herself, Rose, Takame, Scintilla, now Gwayne...]

Yes, six. And not a one of us the same, though now that I'm thinking about it is odd how three of us are Miqo'te women...

[But that's something for another day.]

[Well. He's going to guess that Rose is one of them, considering....]

But the events that occur are the same, clearly.

[Gwayne has so many questions. Yet there's one that's niggling at him. There's one event in his life that's always stuck with him, and he's curious if it's a universal experience between them, too.]

Do you remember the Warriors of Light? The ones at Carteneau, I mean.

No, I don't. I wasn't there, Dalamud fell before my brother and I could make it out. You?

[... This isn't the answer he expects, and it gives him a prickle of dread. Gwayne hesitates, which means he can't lie out of this one with Rhel.]

I was there. On the battlefield, I mean. Defending Eorzea.

[He's hoping against hope that she doesn't ask if he remembers the Warrior of Light. At least like this he can plausibly deny it until later.]

Were you? Then--wait a moment.

[He recognizes the incantation, as well as Elpis. Rhel frowns. That means he's a Warrior of Light.

And he was at Carteneau.

Hm. Hm!]

I don't suppose I need to ask if you remember the Warrior of Light...?

[FUCK. Sometimes, fortune does NOT favor the bold.

He rubs the back of his head.]

I do, as it happens. They are... Well. Me. I've got a mark to prove it, and a mess of other things.

It'd be rather concerning if you didn't remember yourself, yes.

[Hm.]

Well, today is certainly interesting. [UNDERSTATEMENT which means Rhel's mind is reeling.] Shall we go inside somewhere? I've spent most of my adult life in Ul'dah and this is very, very cold.

[Gwayne sighs in dramatic relief.]

Thank the Twelve, someone who has sense. I was born and raised in Thanalan.

[The cold is the devil.]

I'm happy to speak more in The Last Stand, but I certainly will understand if you would like to keep this private.

[Rhel just sort of giggles at that.]

Snow is lovely, but there is a reason I keep turning Aymeric down when he offers to find me a place in Ishgard. The Last Stand will do, no one will pay us any mind.

[Inside! To the heat!]

...also I'm afraid Raha has rubbed off on me and I am extremely partial to their burgers.

[Gwayne can't help laughing at that.]

I must confess, if he had asked me, my response may not be entirely appropriate. Even then, I would have greatly missed not being freezing to the bone whenever I walked outside.

[He'll open the door for her. His fathers raised him to be a gentleman to any gender and it's a hard habit to break.]

Ahhh, you shan't receive any criticisms from me. I can certainly understand, though it's not the most graceful way to eat.

Oh, you are not alone in that, I assure you.

[JUST SAYING they know far too many attractive people. Rhel absolutely made the comment at least once.]

They're as close to miqo'bobs as I can get here, and without onion.

The man has charm and I, admittedly, am weak.

[They really do know many attractive people. It's almost upsetting.]

Fair enough.

[Gwayne will follow Rhel to any seat she likes, and will politely wait for her to get food. He'll sip at his coffee, though, since it's absolutely disgusting when it's cold.]

[It is absolutely a burger.]

There, warm and with food. Gods, you were really at Carteneau?

[Gwayne looks down at his coffee.]

Aye, right in the thick of it. Got pretty injured for a bit in the beginning skirmish, but a friend patched me up good and proper before sending me back out. I wasn't part of the Great Goobue Wall, but it was certainly a memorable sight!

[He's trying to make it a little light-hearted before they really get into the topic.]

Anyroad... I was also there when Bahamut began to break free.

[Rhel has to bite back a giggle at the mention of The Wall. She wasn't in the city for it by that point, but she's heard stories.]

I won't ask for the details, as I imagine it was as terrible as they said. I'm glad you survived, however.

[Gwayne shakes his head.]

Full credit must go to Hydaelyn. Had She not intervened, I would not be here. Unfortunately, it came at a certain price, considering who was pulling the strings behind the Calamity.

....Gwayne, were you the one Louisoix...?

[He nods.]

The last I saw was hellfire raining down, and then the next thing I knew, I was in a field.

[Gwayne has a somewhat ironic smile on his face.]

Imagine my shock when I came to find out that not only had five years past, but everyone had forgotten who I was. Even... Even Minfilia. They remembered, eventually, after Operation Archon. Hydaelyn had used it in order to conceal my presence from the Ascians. I mean, 'tis a fair bit easier to work unhindered if they thought I'd perished at Carteneau.

I imagine so. We remember the Warriors of Light existing, of course, in my Eorzea, but it wasn't me. I was stuck in Limsa.

[Fascinating.]

I wonder now what else is different between our existences, the six of us. We've never talked about it before, I think for somewhat obvious reasons.

[Gwayne nods at that.]

Something to be expected, given what we've all been through. On the other hand, perhaps it is a conversation we should have, if only to better understand each other.

[He hesitates.]

That being said, I... do not know how any of you will feel about me. Even if it was not me, personally, the fact remains that the burden came from some version of myself unwittingly placing it upon your shoulders.

Well, I can hardly speak for the others but I personally would never blame you. It isn't as if you asked for all of that...everything that happened to happen to you or any of us, is it? It happened, and that's that.

no subject

Got some Endwalker spoilers already dang

SORRY

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject