Multiple Settings The Mysterious Play: Hierophant of Skies (Accepting votes!)

[BestrJestr]

Man... I wanna learn how to use a fucking Crossbow. I like the idea of staying at a distance, but still comtributing to my own defence. Also as a cool little side note, I can kneecap that sassy assassin bitch the next time she shows up.

 

[Minako]

Rosalina Chandra

Vorpal Chandelier Felis BestrJestr ​

Interesting that the royalty is worried about seeming cold hearted or selfish in throwing a wedding celebration in dark times when usually the tradition in media is that they would throw a celebration to give the people a much needed break and distraction from the horrors of real life. Personally I can't decide if that makes them more noble or more asshole, but I guess it doesn't really matter one way or another since it's not my business.

I feel like at some point I should confront Elias about his attitude. He's clearly written to be the sweet heart of sweet hearts, and that's great, but if these characters are at all effected by real world rules now that I'm here I feel like it's unhealthy that he just bottles and stifles his true emotions. Sure, he's gotten used to it, sure he wants them to be happy, but he also wants what he wants and seems to be unable and not allowed to vent. Maybe we'll do some screaming exercises once we get on the road. Hell, maybe if they're doing guard training now in town anyway, I can convince the Empress and/or Elemiel to write us a note giving us permission to do some training with the guards for a few days before leaving. sure, time might be of the essence, but a couple days training is better than being totally unprepared, and it would let us blow off some steam. Might help me with that feeling of pressure as well as help Elias by giving him an emotional outlet, and hopefully help him get past his pacifist streak by training against dummies first. besides, Even if he is just a character in a book He's clearly my love interest, why not make an excuse to spend more time together? It's not like it's motivated by selfishness, it's just an added perk to being more helpful.

Not sure what that dream meant by the way, but until i have more visions or Elemiel does something that is actually shady (besides being a low key creep toward royal guests such as myself), i think ill leave that alone.

As for Elias caring for me only because I'm his hierophant... even if it's not romantic it can't be just that. Not based on everything we've observed about him so far. Unless he's some kind of fake type person who acts one way and is secretly another, it's clear that he cares about people in general, so he obviously cares about me genuinely to some extent. Following up on that, it's still very possible he has a slight crush on me after all, so maybe I shouldn't trash myself too much. All the things that make me dorky and goofy in the real world wouldn't apply here, because the culture is way different. It's entirely possible that I'd be seen as interesting and exotic instead. People do like exotic girls. More importantly though, if he's been pouring himself into his hierophant duties since he was a child, knowing all the wile he'd never get to be with the empress, who he loves, I'm sure he's romanticized at the idea of serving the hierophant. From what he told me, apparently in this story's culture women are allowed to be heroes just as much as men. Or maybe not as much as men, but female heroes still exist. would it be unreasonable to assume that he's romanticized the idea of his hierophant rescuing him from his heartbreak? and if he has, me showing up looking exactly like the girl he was in love with, only more exotic and down to earth, couldn't it be that he has feelings for me? I think that's perfectly reasonable. I'm not really sure how to feel about that though. That still seems somehow less preferable or less genuine than getting to know and falling in love with someone over the course of an adventure.

Oh well, so far except for the horrific dream, this still all feels like a fairy tale at least in some ways. Maybe the story is like... an artistic representation of fairy tale tropes along side serious themes? Like a parody in some ways. stuck fast to unrealistic behaviors and traditions while all the while real life torments the people, with no real solutions due to a lack of ability to see outside their pre-determined responses? that would be interesting. Either way I'm sure I can effect the story more than just doing my job. Maybe I can start pointing out when things don't make sense instead of just going along for the ride. Maybe it wouldn't be seen as an insult, and maybe, just maybe, that's part of how I am supposed to save this world. Maybe I'm a bearer of insight and knowledge as well. So buckle up buttercup, where's going to start punishing bandits and training heroes! -er, that is if i can muster the confidence to tell them their way of doing things is ridiculous... Maybe I should see how important the hierophant is considered first. If this is like a high priest situation where i can tell them what to do bluntly without getting beheaded that could be fine. Otherwise it might not be worth the risk off of the assumption that things are kid friendly. After all, a bandit did try to murder me yesterday.

Also fuck this book for throwing a baby at me right after I heard that the empress was pregnant. For a minute there I thought it was Hellies already! Also Cora should probably work on her approach. Rapping on my door and shouting the way she did, especially after the spooky dreams last night, to me felt like we were in danger somehow.

All of that being said, I wouldn't be too surprised if her statement just now was some sort of exposition, and if her cousin did end up being the hot-headed fire sage, but It's probably just a misdirect or a coincidence. Worth checking out, but I shouldn't get my hopes up.

You have a gigantic tidal wave of thoughts flow through your head as Cora (at her insistence) brushes and untangles your hair as she helps you get dressed in regular attire, then pack all the heavy winter dresses (you'll probably not reach the village today, but be really close to it and reach it early afternoon tomorrow according to Cora) and you try to sort everything out and slow your rolls.

You definitely do want to spend more time with Elias (more than anything you've ever wanted, actually) but you remember that, according to the map, The Levi plains are pretty far from here (and definitely much, much further away than Tarrin Village is), and while you know it is where the guards and soldiers train (since Cora just told you when telling you where her husband was), you're not gonna sidetrack something as important as the world ending for a few work-out days with Elias, needing it or not... Much as you kinda want to. IF the guards WERE training in Auran, however, you would definitely want to stay at least a few hours, because you don't want to be completely useless.

You decide just in case IF your journey takes you near enough to the plains (and probably has a crest bearer hidden there somewhere) to ask Elmiel and Hellie for a formal letter or something requesting permission to train there... But you figure as much as you think Elias most likely DOES need to blow off some steam he would probably get more stressed that people were potentially dying of disease and famine while he was just doing push-ups on training grounds...

Not only that... but... Remembering Calliope...

Remembering Hellie's words... and the situation...

Something in your heart tells you that you have no time to waste...! Not even a day! Yesterday was probably all the time you could afford to waste, if that! You don't know the other crest bearers situations, and sure, six out of how many people are pretty good chances they can't all be effected by plague and famine, but you're also pretty sure if they are affected and end up too DEAD to help by the time you get to them Celosia won't come and you'll never save this place OR go home. Sure, Celosia may not have been cruel enough to kill you automatically arriving here by sending Elias your way in front of Calliope, and you WOULD think keeping their crest bearers to save their followers is top priority, but you're not a gambling woman and until all seven of them are safely and healthily in front of you... You are NOT willing to bet they'll be peachy keen until you get to them.

Heck, you already can fathom it will be difficult just by the second one, let alone the rest: They'll refuse to leave at BEST when you find them, if you can even find them in all the snow and mines...

Besides, Elias is already travelling away from Hellie and Elmiel, he'll be fiiiiiiine, nothing could possibly blow up in your face from him not having a day or two of releasing steam...

Compromising with conflicting thoughts, however, you don't want to weigh Elias down, and it probably would be best to have a teacher on the go, so your original want to have a guard with you seems to perfectly fit your needs and you resolve whole-heartedly to insist on a guard to help protect you and teach you how to fight!

Wait... you mean... if Elias is air-headed, then the crest bearer with fire powers is hot-headed? That sounds too easy to be true, but there's no harm in taking a closer look at Cora's cousin once we get to Tarrin village.

Actually, I'm a little worried about that dream... I hope it's just because of all the stress from being transported to a different world. As long as ominous dreams don't repeat themselves, though, they usually don't mean all that much, right?

Also, Elias... Aww... I kind of wish I could do more for him. Let's support each other the best we can, at least!

While in your heart of hearts you beg and plead and pray to Celosia it will be that easy, something tells you it assuredly WON'T be that simple... If only for the plain fact you almost over-looked (and would have if it wasn't an Elias interaction): He told you the previous Emperor, Hellie's father, was considered LUCKY to have found him, right?

And, again, six out of only Celosia knows how many people residing on this isle? If it was so easy to find the crest bearers, they probably would have been gathered and waiting for you by now...

A feeling of gloom and anxiety shower over you as you think about how difficult it will be to find the others, probably even with the compass... You hope they're alright... for everyone's sake!

You blush a little and smile to yourself shyly as you internally nod and resolve to support the boy who swept you off your figurative (and kinda literal feet when carrying you) feet!

"S-so, Sc-scias, huh?" You ask, wanting to know more about your first and only suspect (so far) to be the fire-bearer.

"Yeah..." Cora sighs as she begins, "I promise he's not too bad a guy once you get to know him! Just ask his beloved! She's the chef there!"

"Beloved..?" You ask inquisitively, raising your eyebrows high on your face and almost pursing your lips in curiosity.

If Scias isn't single... Then your first thought of the crest-bearers being your harem is null and void!

YES! THIS IS GREAT!

Really, truly, the only crest-bearer you want to have feelings for you is Elias, and just like his feelings for you (boldly assuming he has any, but hope in your heart with some reason helps keep that assumption alive) only stem from his feelings for Hellie (which hurts you to think about, but lets not deny the truth here) the other crest-bearers potentially being attracted to you would probably only be because you're exotically from another world and stuff, and not you as a person at all! Not that you want them repulsed by you, either, but good friends is where you want to be at with all of them, with the obvious exception, naturally!

"Yes! Oh, Chlo is such a sweet, talented woman! Really supportive and always helping my hasty little cousin in his time of need! We write letters to each other often and I wouldn't be half as good a cook I am now if not for her help!" Cora smiles and praises Scias' love, pleased he found someone so amiable.

"She sounds wonderful!" You cheer.

"Mmhm!" Cora responds, now moving onto brushing your hair and styling it in cute little pig-tails adorned with ribbons, adding when she was done, "Looks like you're all ready! Do you remember where the banquet hall is? I can walk you there if you don't, you'll just have to wait a moment while I send someone to send this bag of yours to stables to load it up on the horse!"

"A-ah! It's fine, I remember, you don't have to trouble yourself!" You blurt, trying not to look at the bouncing red-haired baby on the bed.

"Well... Alright..." Cora looks away and sighs, almost disappointed in your choice, but she doesn't really argue more with you.

"Thank you so much for everything, Cora!" You chirp, expressing your gratitude with a hug as well.

"It's no problem, I'll try to see you in a bit during breakfast, if possible! If not, give my regards to Scias and Chlo when you get to the village! I'll definitely catch you when you get back!!" Cora cheers, hugging you back and letting you go as you grab your bag and make your way towards the banquet hall, turning back to the beautiful red-headed woman to wave and beaming at her when she and her baby (albeit with his mother's hands helping) were waving back to you.

"'Kay!" You heartily reply as you dash off.

Man... I wanna learn how to use a fucking Crossbow. I like the idea of staying at a distance, but still comtributing to my own defence. Also as a cool little side note, I can kneecap that sassy assassin bitch the next time she shows up.

Oooh! Maybe!

You're not sure if you have the affinity for magic, so potentially asking for a mage soldier would be wasteful in terms of a teacher on the go, so maybe an archer of some kind would be best...????

Plus, you just think crossbows are really freaking cool! And, yeah, they would totally be super useful against Cal---

Hmm... Wait a minute...

Now that you recall the map... Don't you have to go through her forest to get to the village? Isn't it covering the entire side of the base of the mountain you're climbing to get to it?!

You stop your practical run to the dining hall to ponder the ever-increasing possibility you might just run into Calliope on your way to Tarrin village!

Yes, absolutely will you take another solider and you're so glad the thought occurred to you yesterday!

"Rosie!" You hear a familiar voice call you.

You quickly turn around and smile ear to ear to come face to face with the golden haired boy of your dreams!

"Morning, Elias!" You wave to him as he approaches you.

"Morning! Is everything ok? I was gonna surprise you by catching up to you on your way to breakfast when you suddenly stopped!" He almost questions.

"O-oh...W-well..." You hesitantly respond, "I-it's just... I-I was thinking... We're gonna have to go through those woods to get to the mountain, right?"

"Yes?" He answers you confusedly, for some reason not getting your concern.

"The woods... Where Calliope supposedly lives? You know... The bandit girl who is probably super salty at me for what I did to her yesterday? Maybe holding a grudge? Th-... THAT forest?" You somewhat slowly ask to make sure Elias comprehends everything and why you're just a teeeeensy bit scared to go through that area.

"Oh, Rosie..." Elias begins, "I'd say she's more pepper-y, right? Isn't that what you said that yummy-sounding spray was called in your world? Don't worry, if anything, Calliope holds more a grudge against me more and if she even tries to come near us I'll knock the WIND right out of her sails this time!"

It was in this moment that you realized two things: One being that Elias gets a sadistic pleasure from raising your ever-rising blood pressure and the other being that love is sometimes accepting your significant others faults through thick or thin... even if that thick is their thick freaking skull.

...ER, not that Elias i-is your significant other or anything! H-he only likes you because he likes your twin! Gah! Stupid weird crazy thoughts you d-don't even wanna have!!!

"R...right..." You barely manage to reply, wondering if you write your last will and testament on a scratch piece of parchment paper if that would still count?

If you make big enough puppy-dog eyes pleadingly enough maybe Elmiel will give you that crossbow?


The two of you make it to the banquet hall just in time for all the servants to be leaving after setting everything down on the table, and Elmiel and Helena are already there and seemingly waiting for you and Elias!

"Good morning, Rosie! Brother!" Elmiel smiles and greets you both heartily, clearly still happy with you from your talk last night... and reminding you you're still a little uneasy about Elmiel from your dream last night...

"How did you sleep?" Hellie asks you with a smile (Huh, you wonder if that's how your smile looks like?)

"Hellishly at first, then ok later," You internally ponder saying while actually responding with, "Oh, good! The bed was so comfy! I-I woke up mid-night because I had a lot on my mind but I found Elias and we talked and I slept better!"

"Yeah!" Elias backed you up happily.

"I see!" Hellie gasped, shocked, but possibly pleased.

"That is to be expected, hopefully you will get a bit more used to it the more days you spend here," Elmiel nodded collectedly, chiming in almost matter-of-factly, but with more benevolence in his tone.

You... aren't sure if you want to get used to being here...

You adore El-- Er, being with Elias, but... You miss your best friend... and your mother...

When you two sit down you're almost a bit shocked to discover the menu has drastically changed from last night! Porridge, small slices of fruit, and bread for breakfast instead of a chicken or pig, like last night. That prophecy is no joke, there really is a famine!

Your bowl and the Empress' (for obvious reasons) are a bit large, for sure, but... Elias and Elmiel's bowls look hardly bigger than saucers! They're full to the brim, for sure, but you haven't seen such a comically small sized serving bowl since you were in pre-school!

You sort of understand now why Elias has a sort of lanky-ish physique, but how the heck does ELMIEL STAY SO MUSCULAR!? There aren't medieval protein shakes or gyms or something, are there?!​

"Uh-uhm..." You begin to say, barely speaking and opening your mouth when Elmiel chuckles and raises a hand to stop you before you really begin.

"I know, I know," He explained, smiling, "Heh, if you thought the steady famine was something long impending, especially after last night, I'm afraid you're mistaken: It's quite crippling and had I not set aside some grains and other storable provisions during earlier and more abundant harvests we'd probably be in a lot of trouble! It's a bit troublesome... But eating this small, yet carefully rationed, amount of food keeps more food on others plates just a bit longer, and thanks to you we won't have to be doing this for much longer!"

Elmiel's strategic mind saves the day again!?!?!?

This man is good!​

...You figure Elmiel would have had to think fast not only to keep the people alive, but Hellie and other pregnant women on Cion Isle as well! They're eating for two!

"So, Rosie!" Hellie surprised you by beginning a conversation with you, "We've talked all about ourselves, and our plight, but I'm ashamed to say we haven't asked you a SINGLE THING about yourself! What are your likes? Your dislikes? What is your world like? Do you have any family? Friends? What are THEY like?"​

"Now now, my sweet darling, don't overwhelm her..." Elmiel teases as he sneaks some porridge from his saucer to her bowl, you're guessing since he's being a worry wart about Hellie not eating enough in this famine... he barely even HAD A BOWL!

...You're not gonna lie, deep down you wish someone cared enough about you to do that to you, too... To give to you even when they had very little of their own, but you were such a priority to them anyway it didn't matter...

They must really be in love...!


O-oh, right! Hellie's questions!

"E-er, well, I-I like drawing and reading and swimming... U-uhm I don't like dark places...or actually being outside in cold places... UHM! Not that I mind going to Tarrin Village! I'm sure we'll be inside by warm fires mostly gr-granted who we're looking for!" You sort of just blurt out, "My world i-is... M-my friend a-and mom and big brother are... uhm... Gosh, I-It's all kind of hard to describe, really... B-but maybe before this is all over I'll paint a picture of them and my world for you!"​

"Oh, that would be wonderful! I'm sure you're a great artist!" Hellie's face lights up as you tell her of your (highly rough and not even well enough to be considered mediocre) talent.

"E-er, sure, j-just don't expect too much!" You chortle back, sipping a bit more porridge from your spoon and hoping Hellie doesn't notice your flustered face.

"I'll bet it will be lovely!" Hellie beamed, smiling.

"Heh, quite a modest woman for coming here from another world and becoming our savior Hierophant, aren't you?" Elmiel smiles at you, making you feel a little floaty, adding, "Hellie also dabbles in painting, rather likes swimming, and basically has to be pried away from the library once we start reading!"

"NO!" You gasp. Could it be!?

"And," Elmiel continues, almost pursing his lips, leaning in as if to tell you a secret or spread gossip, "She isn't one for the dark or cold, either~!"

"It's all shamefully, shamefully true, I'm afraid!" Hellie bashfully admits, almost hiding her face and HER blush!



So it's not just your face and bodies that are similar... Your souls also seem to be kindred as well so far!

Considering how you feel about Elias and how Elias feels about Hellie, you... Y-you don't know how that really makes you feel...

You're... You're not really sure what this all means, exactly...

You take a look at Elias and his face says it all, simultaneously breaking your heart and sending butterflies in your stomach.​

You quickly look away and back to your porridge, slurping it up to get this meal over with, unsure how much you want to continue finding out just how much in common you and Hellie have, when your heart stops and you check in with the more perceptive of the Desmond brothers, quickly giving the future Emperor a look.

Thank goodness, he seems to be distracted by Helena and not really paying attention.

“Heh... Good thing I have shorter hair and these nerdy glasses, r-right?” You nervously ask, trying to joke your way out of the awkward.

“Actually, I’ve been thinking! I like your short hair so much that I may wish to cut mine like it as well!” The Empress teases you.

“Ha! Oh heavens, no! If you do that, and Rosie loses her glasses, I’d NEVER be able to tell you two apart!” Elmiel chortles jokingly, adding, “I’d have to marry both of you to be sure!”

“N-noooo, don't be greedy and accept just little ol me, my love!” Hellie protested while laughing with Elmiel, the moment only getting a chuckle out of you.

...Now that you think about it...

You wonder... If Elmiel had been the one to save you from Calliope back then... If Elmiel had been your first friend here instead of Elias... Would you have fallen in love with him instead?

If he was single and kissed you would you have been with him and brother-zoned Elias like Hellie is?

And, inversely... If Elmiel had gotten to Hellie second and Elias woo'ed her first... Would the two of them be engaged right now instead of Hellie and Elmiel? Would Hellie feel the way you do about Elias if Elmiel came in second place? Would this mean Hellie in fact does or did have the potential to see Elias as more than a brother?

You... You don't want answers to these questions... You think...

You aren't sure what it all means, but the thought is sickening you, almost literally, and you'll be darned if you're going to waste a drop of this food that took so much effort to even get in your bowl!

You notice that there seems to be a little more porridge in your bowl than when you last looked at it, but you're unsure of how it got there. Ultimately, you decide to push it to the back of your mind for the moment, as you probably dropped some back in the bowl because you're a sloppy eater, anyway.


When breakfast was over, and the preparations complete, everyone headed out to the castle entrance where a strong, huge stallion with a full saddle of supplies was waiting!

"W-wow! H-he's beautiful!" You nearly whistle looking upon him.

"He's one of our finest," Elmiel almost bragged, brimming with pride.


You've heard of horses like this (and of course seen them in pictures and videos on the internet) in your world, too...

You have also heard about them from stories your elder brother and his girlfriend told when they rode a carriage dragged by said horses during prom, but... Well...

Granted how boys in your world see you and treat you, you figured you wouldn't have a date for it anyway, and gathered Corny would definitely have a date by then that you wouldn't want to 3rd wheel... In fact, if it wasn't for her brash nature and hanging out with a dork like you, you'd imagine Cornelia would probably already have a boyfriend by now... You sadly imagine Corny's nature only turned out brash because she's spent your entire lives standing up for you against bullies... If she'd never met you she wouldn't be known how she is because she never would have had to be like that to defend you...

...Maybe not going back would be better for her... You'd stop holding her back...

Better for your family, too... Your mother would have one less mouth to feed...

At least here... Here you're needed... Here you are somebody... Eventhis worlds version of YOU is an Empress! An Empress!!! An Empress with not one, but two insanely handsome men madly in love with her!!!

Only in this world would men like Elias and Elmiel look upon you and smile (and maybe even... feel something...) and not... Not laugh. Not be disgusted. Or repulsed.

Your mother aside, you don't think anyone has ever really had expectations of you before... Maybe your teachers to do well on a test, or draw something decent... Maybe your brother to support your mother and contribute...

Nothing like what Elias expects... And just one look in his eyes and you KNOW he thinks you're fully capable of doing this. One look in his eyes and... and you feel like, for the first time in... well, ever... you feel capable of doing something. You feel like you're somebody. More importantly, you're somebody who didn't have to step on "nobodies" to be somebody... In fact, you're saving a whole world of "nobodies"...

...He genuinely, truly thinks you can do this...

Let's not prove him wrong!

Look out, Scias! If you're the fire-bearer of Tarrin Village then you've as good as joined this endeavor! Somehow, someway... You WILL enlist him to join your plight and you're GONNA SAVE THIS WORLD AND HELLIE!

YOU ARE THE FREAKING HIEROPHANT OF THE SKIES!!

Oh well, so far except for the horrific dream, this still all feels like a fairy tale at least in some ways. Maybe the story is like... an artistic representation of fairy tale tropes along side serious themes? Like a parody in some ways. stuck fast to unrealistic behaviors and traditions while all the while real life torments the people, with no real solutions due to a lack of ability to see outside their pre-determined responses? that would be interesting. Either way I'm sure I can effect the story more than just doing my job. Maybe I can start pointing out when things don't make sense instead of just going along for the ride. Maybe it wouldn't be seen as an insult, and maybe, just maybe, that's part of how I am supposed to save this world. Maybe I'm a bearer of insight and knowledge as well. So buckle up buttercup, where's going to start punishing bandits and training heroes! -er, that is if i can muster the confidence to tell them their way of doing things is ridiculous... Maybe I should see how important the hierophant is considered first. If this is like a high priest situation where i can tell them what to do bluntly without getting beheaded that could be fine. Otherwise it might not be worth the risk off of the assumption that things are kid friendly. After all, a bandit did try to murder me yesterday.

Right!

Speaking of who you are in this world, first things first: Gotta pick the brain of the master strategist for how to go about this mission! While you may have a lead, you're not naive enough to think you should still head to the village without a strategy in hand.

"Uh-uhm, Elmiel..." You begin asking, sort of looking sheepish, but deciding to stay firm, "S-so two things: One, I-I'd like to ask about this role I took on... I-I realize I probably should have asked this sooner, but n-now that I have my bearings in order, just what exactly IS the Hierophant to the people of Auran? To Cion Isle? When I go to Tarrin village, should I reveal I am the Hierophant of the Skies? Would that make it easier to find the fire-bearer, do you think?"

Oh no... He's got that look on his face...​

"Rosie..." Elmiel begins, "While the people in AURAN here certainly think that the Hierophant is the heroine who will save us all, because our Emperor believed so and our first Emperor was a direct descendant of Celosia... others... Well..."

His face is going from bad to worse...

"Others can see them and the crest-bearers as omens of said catastrophe... Some can think of their very existence, or in the Hierophant's case their arrival, as the very reason why this is all happening to start..." Hellie, as if on Elmiel's same wavelength, continued his speech.

Elmiel's face is getting grimmer and grimmer... He looks just like he did last night when telling you of his mothers death and his future wife's possible impending death...

...And, for just a few moments, you catch him giving Elias a look... not staring at him uncomfortable, but...

Is it possible that... Elmiel... Elmiel lied to Elias about their fathers death to spare him from blaming himself for BOTH their parents death??

No... That would mean that their father wasn't killed by land-dwellers but people who believed his crest was an omen of their apocalypse...

"What... But... But that's not fair!!! The crest-bearers aren't the ones withering crops o-or causing disease to spread! Th-they can't be! They just CAN'T BE!!" You protest, mortified at how much even just Elias has been through most likely due to his crest, let alone what the other bearers must have gone through and could still be going through!

Your stomach lurches at the thought that it's not impossible a crest-bearer was causing all this if they're all as strong as Elias... Especially if they're being treated like bad omens...

What if, aside Elias and the fire-bearer, the others...

Would... would Celosia really bestow such gifts unto people like that...?

But... Elias is so...

If they're anything... Anything at all like Elias... They just wouldn't do awful things like this!

"Fear, anger, and hurt can often cause one to lose all sense of rationality. It surprises me not in these trying times people search for a scapegoat or way to channel all those negative emotions unto others who do what they cannot so that their suffering is more bearable. It is merely human nature. Pitiable, but also possible. Fair has no part of this and never has," Elmiel almost coldly chimes in, his demeanor nearly convinces you your theory has some weight behind it right then and there, but you don't want to jump to conclusions just yet.

Your heart sinks and you try not to think about this anymore.

"Oh.... I see...Thank you, both. H-how would you suggest I go about this, Elmiel?" You ask, hoping Auran's master tactician can help you out.

"Hm. That is a... Good question," Elmiel starts to answer, pondering a bit, though his smile seems flattered and pleased that you asked, "My suggestion is to NOT reveal yourself until you get a good grasp on exactly what Tarrin village believes of the Hierophant of the Skies and her crest bearers. If you get a negative reception to these inquiries then I suggest you and my baby brother look for the fire-bearer in private, naturally, but... if you happen to get a more warmer opinion..."

Elmiel, almost shifting gears as quickly as Elias does, now has a sly and coy look upon his face.

"Y-yes?" You ask, begging Elmiel with your eyes to go on.

"If you happen to get a more warmer opinion... Then why not ask the entirety of the village to help you in your search for them?" He asks while winking at you.

"OH!" You gasp, the thought never occurring to you.

It makes sense Elmiel and Helena might not have a good sense of what Tarrin Village believes since they don't visit cold places often and you can't imagine they'd start now in Helena's condition...

But you think you and Elmiel are on the same page: The village has been kept warm by the fire-bearer, right? They surely must believe only the good in the Crest-bearers due to that, right??? If so, maybe.. Maybe once you find and teach them how to use coal to keep warm without them... Maybe they'll point you to him automatically if it isn't Scias...!

You... You may just come out of this in good time and smelling like a(n admittedly very cold) rose after all!

You definitely need this extra soldier and potential teacher! You see that now! The more eyes looking for the fire bearer, the better!

"And what was the other thing you wished to discuss?" Elmiel asks you, segueing so perfectly into your request that you almost fear this male model may be reading your mind like a book!

"Uhm... I-I..." You begin shyly, hoping you aren't nagging him or bothering him, "I-I really would like another soldier with me... I-I know it will be a bit more supplies to carry and if we do have to fight against the crest-bearers they might not be too much help, but... I-I'd like not only for their help, but to learn from them! Learn the skills that they know! Please! I-I know I-I can't master those skills, wh-which might make learning them even more irrelevant, but... I... I don't want to hinder or depend on Elias too much. I want to be able to contribute more than just looking at a compass! I want to be of use! I need to do this! I at least have to try! Please! I beg of you, as The Hierophant of Skies!"

Helena, moved by your speech and joining in your strife, moves by you and gives Elmiel her best puppy-dog eyes, just like you are! Looks like the Empress is on your side about this now, too!

"Oh, can your eyes GET any bigger?" Elmiel sighs while shaking his head and looking away, succumbing to your wishes, "There is no way on Cion Isle I will or even can deny you or my beloved Empress, and I especially won't deny you both... Of course, especially if it means that much to you, you may have a soldier from our ranks join you to Tarrin Village, and even gathering the rest of the crest-bearers if you so desire. Besides, you may need all the help you can get in the village."

Looks like he was on that page, too! Yes!

"Thank you both so much!" You cheer.

"I wish you the best of luck, Rosie! I have absolute faith in you!" Helena hugs you and winks.

"Oooh! Someone else is coming as well?" Elias asks, finally joining everyone back at Cion Isle from seemingly spacing out earlier... Not something you're a stranger to, for sure!

"Indeed," Elmiel nods to his brother, "I hope you were paying attention, Elias, because what I told Rosie about not revealing she is the Hierophant of the Skies goes double for you about revealing your wind crest, do you understand, little brother?"

"Aaaaaawww! But I like using my wind powers!" Elias playfully pouted and seemingly whined like a child for a moment, but right after he nodded sternly like he had every intention of following his brothers orders.

"Anyway," Elmiel sighs and rolls his eyes with an exasperated look on his face as Hellie giggles and the elder Desmond brother turns his attention towards you again, "Rosie, you may choose between:

• One of our best knights, who can teach you the basics of melee fighting and fighting with a sword or lance and a shield.
• One of our best archers, who can teach you to use a regular bow, crossbow, and long bow.
• One of our best mages, who can teach you to conjure and control basic spells... Have you the affinity for it, of course."

Oh wow! You didn't know you had options!

Oh boy, looks like you better weigh your options carefully!

Looks like you just might get that crossbow after all!

...But perhaps a sword and shield might be better, especially if you run into Calliope again? You definitely want SOMETHING BIG AND METALLY between you and her twin blades!!!

Though... Arrows might keep her far enough away to keep that from being a problem? No... You'd have to learn to use those competently which you won't when you see her again, possibly...

What about magic?! A mage user could definitely help... Though it would be a moot point to enlist them if they can't actually teach you anything... You might remain useless if you have no affinity for it (and something tells you if Hellie doesn't have magic, you don't either...) but at the very least two mages helping you is better than one, so you're not ruling them yet...

Augh! Which should you choose?!

>>UNLOCKED: CASTLE SOLDIER ALLY

UNLOCKED: BRANCHING PATH

CHOOSE WISELY<<​

code by @Satanic Nightjar​

 

[Caligena]

You know, a will of sorts might not be such a bad idea, with the craziness that goes on in this world lol.
Man, Cora does so much and gets so little in return, still being grateful and loyal. Before we go, I think making sure she's taking care of herself and not wearing herself to the bone might be wise. After all, she has such a nice, adorable family, it'd be terrible if she worked herself to death!

You know, almost everyone I've met in the story so far has either been absolutely critical plotwise, or is flatout a crest-bearer... would that make Calliope...? Nah, she couldn't possibly... right?? How would we know? Maybe we could insist on having a civil conversation with her next time we see her. In the same vein, how are people in Tarrin going to believe me if I do end up revealing myself? Do I have a mark of my own or something, or are we just going to have to use Elias as our proof??

As much as it's going to be a little awkward for them being a sort of third wheel between me and Elias, in regards to which guard we should take along for the journey, I definitely think we should go for the good old sword and board combo. A shield is great since we likely aren't going to be wearing much armor, if at all, and a sword is one of the best reliable, yet versatile sidearm that doesn't need ammunition and needs very little upkeep aside from rust protection and sharpening as long as it's made well.
Perhaps if we can manage to have any that provide certain enchantments, it would be even more of an advantage. Something like keeping it's edge or being simply damage-proof, or even something as extravagant as an elemental enchantment! Shield-wise, you can't go wrong with unbreakability. We should ask more about if that's even at all possible, but overall, I think this is my best option.

 

[Felis]

You know, a will of sorts might not be such a bad idea, with the craziness that goes on in this world lol.
Man, Cora does so much and gets so little in return, still being grateful and loyal. Before we go, I think making sure she's taking care of herself and not wearing herself to the bone might be wise. After all, she has such a nice, adorable family, it'd be terrible if she worked herself to death!

Good idea!

All in all, I think taking the melee expert with us is the most helpful option. Even though I'm not sure how suited to close combat I am, me getting a shield can only be good, right? With a ranged weapon, I'd still be defenseless in an ambush or in any situation where I can't put some distance between me and the attacker, if I don't have a sidearm I know how to use as well. As for choosing the mage, I'm inclined to believe the hunch that if Hellie has no magic, I don't either.

I'm leaning more towards learning lance/spear fighting, though, the range advantage over swords is something I shouldn't ignore as a complete beginner who is trying not to get cut in half. Also, I think I remember hearing that it's easier to learn how to use a spear properly than a sword, which would be good since I don't exactly have time for very extensive lessons.

 

[Idea]

Hey guys! New buddy hopping in!

I'll be going with the mage optian for my part. I don't think we can guarantee optimization one way or the other, and exploring the properties of the magical side of fantasy worlds and its magic systems is both often quite useful and one of the most intriguing parts of stories like this in my opinion.

So, that's what I'm going with. Magic all the way!

 

[DreamBeat]

If I wanted immediate results, it would probably be best to train in with a weapon like a sword, spear, or bow. Honestly, the thought of close combat really, really scares me. I definitely do not want to die. I'm leaning more towards a bow and arrow now. I mean, yeah, the basics might be a bit harder to master than a sword or a spear, but it puts distance between me and the enemy. That's all I want. It might be better to use a crossbow since it would be easier to use, probably. I could leave the close combat to Elias...

But still, the thought of learning about magic was so tempting. I can't help but think back to the words I read before I was transported here.

Herein contains the legend of a young lady and her quest to gather the seven bearers of Celosia's crests together.
And if you, the esteemed reader, should read to the story's end, the spell contained within this book shall bestow upon you the powers of the heroine, and grant you your wish.
For indeed the moment the page is turned, the story will become a reality.

Powers of the heroine. Did that mean magic? Even if Hellie has no magic, that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm the same right? We have different roles - Hellie as the empress and me as the Hierophant. If I was transported to this world to find and unite the crest-bearers, shouldn't I at least have some kind of help? Like, say, magic? I'm really hoping that "powers of the heroine" actually means something. Otherwise, I'll only be deadweight to the magician and Elias.

 

[Minako]

**Thank you, everyone! I really appreciate the new voters! I hope you all like and enjoy the story thus far, and don't worry, they won't all be this long!**​

Rosalina Chandra

Caligena Felis Idea DreamBeat ​

You know, a will of sorts might not be such a bad idea, with the craziness that goes on in this world lol.
Man, Cora does so much and gets so little in return, still being grateful and loyal. Before we go, I think making sure she's taking care of herself and not wearing herself to the bone might be wise. After all, she has such a nice, adorable family, it'd be terrible if she worked herself to death!

You know, almost everyone I've met in the story so far has either been absolutely critical plotwise, or is flatout a crest-bearer... would that make Calliope...? Nah, she couldn't possibly... right?? How would we know? Maybe we could insist on having a civil conversation with her next time we see her. In the same vein, how are people in Tarrin going to believe me if I do end up revealing myself? Do I have a mark of my own or something, or are we just going to have to use Elias as our proof??

As much as it's going to be a little awkward for them being a sort of third wheel between me and Elias, in regards to which guard we should take along for the journey, I definitely think we should go for the good old sword and board combo. A shield is great since we likely aren't going to be wearing much armor, if at all, and a sword is one of the best reliable, yet versatile sidearm that doesn't need ammunition and needs very little upkeep aside from rust protection and sharpening as long as it's made well.
Perhaps if we can manage to have any that provide certain enchantments, it would be even more of an advantage. Something like keeping it's edge or being simply damage-proof, or even something as extravagant as an elemental enchantment! Shield-wise, you can't go wrong with unbreakability. We should ask more about if that's even at all possible, but overall, I think this is my best option.

Good idea!

All in all, I think taking the melee expert with us is the most helpful option. Even though I'm not sure how suited to close combat I am, me getting a shield can only be good, right? With a ranged weapon, I'd still be defenseless in an ambush or in any situation where I can't put some distance between me and the attacker, if I don't have a sidearm I know how to use as well. As for choosing the mage, I'm inclined to believe the hunch that if Hellie has no magic, I don't either.

I'm leaning more towards learning lance/spear fighting, though, the range advantage over swords is something I shouldn't ignore as a complete beginner who is trying not to get cut in half. Also, I think I remember hearing that it's easier to learn how to use a spear properly than a sword, which would be good since I don't exactly have time for very extensive lessons.

+2 Sword & Shield/ Lance & Shield Hero!​

Hey guys! New buddy hopping in!

I'll be going with the mage optian for my part. I don't think we can guarantee optimization one way or the other, and exploring the properties of the magical side of fantasy worlds and its magic systems is both often quite useful and one of the most intriguing parts of stories like this in my opinion.

So, that's what I'm going with. Magic all the way!

+ 1 Mage Hero!​

If I wanted immediate results, it would probably be best to train in with a weapon like a sword, spear, or bow. Honestly, the thought of close combat really, really scares me. I definitely do not want to die. I'm leaning more towards a bow and arrow now. I mean, yeah, the basics might be a bit harder to master than a sword or a spear, but it puts distance between me and the enemy. That's all I want. It might be better to use a crossbow since it would be easier to use, probably. I could leave the close combat to Elias...

But still, the thought of learning about magic was so tempting. I can't help but think back to the words I read before I was transported here.


Powers of the heroine. Did that mean magic? Even if Hellie has no magic, that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm the same right? We have different roles - Hellie as the empress and me as the Hierophant. If I was transported to this world to find and unite the crest-bearers, shouldn't I at least have some kind of help? Like, say, magic? I'm really hoping that "powers of the heroine" actually means something. Otherwise, I'll only be deadweight to the magician and Elias.

+ 1 Archer Hero!

MAJORITY VOTE! 2 to 1 to 1! Sword/Lance and shield hero wins by one vote! Sword/Lance and shield hero will join your party!

"...Rosie?" You hear Elmiel ask after a bit, snapping back to reality to realize Elias and Helena waving their hands in front of you while you were completely lost in thought those previous moments.​

"A-ah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was just thinking about and weighing my options is all!" You cry, jumbled and startled out of your thoughts.

"Heh, it is quite alright. I often get lost in thought as well, and this is not a decision to be taken lightly, after all," Elmiel smiles at you while comforting you with his words.

"R-right, I'm sorry I ditz-ed out! Th-thank you for understanding, Elmiel!" You hastily reply back, fighting the float-y feeling his perfect smile gives you while trying to go over your decision, making sure this is 100% what you want.​

"So, have you decided who is coming with us?" Elias asks you happily.

"Mmm! Yes!" You respond with gusto, your resolve finally letting your convictions settle on which soldier you want.

"I would like your best knight to accompany us and teach me how to fight and use a sword (and/or lance!) and shield, please!" You proudly proclaim your request.​

"Very well," Elmiel nods and accepts your choice, turning to a nearby servant and saying, "Please go forth and fetch the Captain of the Imperial guards, the Heirophant has chosen them to accompany her and Elias to Tarrin Village. Inform him he will be needing his horse as well. While you are there, please tell Cora to go bring more supplies and provisions for another man on their journey and to meet us in front of the Castle as quickly as possible."

"Right away, sir!" They respond, rushing off.

"C-c-c-c-captain of the I-i-imperial guards!? I-is it alright for me to take such a person with me?! Won't the guards need him?!" You asked, shocked at knowing more about who you chose.

"Haha, don't worry, Rosie!" Hellie reassures you rather swiftly, surprisingly, "He's amazing! Aside our General and some soldiers in the plains training, Our Captain is among of the best on Cion Isle! All the soldiers here under his tutelage excel, and I'm sure he'll leave amazing instructions for his vice captain to carry out in his stead! We're still in capable hands! I know them both personally, and I trust them both with my life!"

"It is true, while all our soldiers are exceptional, the captain really is the best choice. I feel most comfortable knowing you depart with him beside you," Elmiel confirms, nodding his head.

"Yeah! Captain Xander is coming with us! Awesome!" Elias cheered, looking like your choice made everyone happy...

Now you can't help but wonder who would be joining if you had picked their best archer? Their best mage?


Cora and some servants (one of the younger ladies in the small group of servants accompanying her is holding Synne as the gorgeous red-haired mother carries a large saddle) arrive with supplies and, you're assuming, the Captains horse before anyone else does. While the original stallion beside your party is a warm, milk chocolate brown color with a bit of white speckles sort of gradient-ing near its rear end, the new stallion is pure black, not a speck of other colors on him.

"Oh wow!" You gawk, both impressed and terrified of the huge, strong creatures before you.

"They're quite a site, right?" Cora chuckles while hauling the large saddle onto the black stallion with moderate ease... She's practically a superwoman!

"Captain Xander should be arriving soon, Sire," A humble servant boy who was with Cora's group bows to Elmiel respectfully as he informs the future Emperor.

"Excellent," Elmiel replies calmly and coolly, though he didn't really expect anything less from such a revered Soldier.

You try to pay attention to everything, but you're honestly blown away by how hard-working and efficient Cora is! Once she got started loading the supplies onto the large stallion's saddle she just has a flow that was like an unstoppable river (not that her co-workers were anything to sneeze at either, as they vastly contributed to keeping the rhythm going)! Her strong sense of duty and loyalty to Auran and its royalty is admirable, and she still finds time to be with and care for her infant!

"Done and done, your majesty's!" Cora haughtily announces once everything is loaded into this new large, ebony horse, the red-headed woman looking simultaneously rather proud of her work and like it was nothing.

"Thank you so much, Corey! Wonderful job!" Hellie hugs her while showing her gratitude, cooing and then nuzzling baby Synne with her cheek.

"As always," Elmiel nodded, approving of the amazing mother.


"Heh, so, do you want to hear something funny, Ma- Er, Helena?" Cora begins to ask Helena now that her work was done, but, and you're not sure if this was a good or bad thing, seemed to also be looking at (and possibly also addressing) you.

"Oooooh? What, what, what? Tell me~?" Hellie asks, looking between the two of you, seemingly dying of curiosity.

"Rosie reacted to my Synne almost exactly the same way you did when you first saw him!" Cora blurted, sending you right into shock and Hellie gasping like she was trying to inhale winds like Elias could (and Elias is gaping so much you fear his mouth may become a tunnel) while Elmiel just has a surprised expression on his face with eyebrows raised very high!

"NO!" The three of them gasp, looking between Cora, Synne, and then you so fast their heads were almost spinning.

You just realized you're too stunned to move.

"It's true! Right down to a silly joke while giving him back to me quickly! It wasn't exactly what you said, your excellency, but I'm sure it was because she was automatically so fond of him she was scared she couldn't give him back if she held on any longer!" Cora giggled heartily, looking at you and beaming, "Right, Rosie?"

"Y-yeah, th-that's exactly what I mea..." You begin, trailing of and completely losing the end of that sentence.

"Amazing, more and more like my Helena..." Elmiel mutters to himself out loud, still wide-eyed, almost sounding like he's seriously considering marrying the both of you after all!

"I-I don't mind it!" Elias chirps innocently and happily, again simultaneously breaking your heart and making it soar.

"Hee hee! It makes me so happy to have so much in common with you! It's like I already know you!" Hellie cheers, then almost shifting in her mood, sorta looks away sadly adding, "Th-that way I won't feel like I missed out getting to know you, our long awaited Hierophant, while you're off all over Cion Isle... Gathering the rest of the Crest-bearers and then leaving when your mission is done..."

"H-hellie..." You weakly try to say, almost breathlessly.

It was true, out of everyone here, Elias, this Captain about to appear, and the rest of the crest-bearers (minus the last one or two, even, since as soon as you get them and return to the palace you'll summon Celosia!) are the only people you'll get to know while you're here... Getting to really know Cora, Hellie, or Elmiel is pretty much out the question as you don't really have the time to... Still, you had no idea Hellie felt this way!

You know, a will of sorts might not be such a bad idea, with the craziness that goes on in this world lol.
Man, Cora does so much and gets so little in return, still being grateful and loyal. Before we go, I think making sure she's taking care of herself and not wearing herself to the bone might be wise. After all, she has such a nice, adorable family, it'd be terrible if she worked herself to death!

"I promise I'll try to spend some time with you, Elmiel, and Cora when I get back with the crest-bearers, ok? It may only be a night or so, but...I'll try! You're all so wonderful, I'd be really missing out not getting to know you all!" You vow to the Empress while placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiling at her warmly, wanting to spend time with everyone, too.

"Ah! I'd adore that!" She was shocked at first, but then pleased as she chirps and smiles at you happily.

"Count me in as well!" Cora chirped happily.

"Of course!" You giggle back at her, "It wouldn't do without you! You do so much for everyone, I want to just relax with you so you can focus on taking care of yourself! I don't think this Palace would run as smoothly if you weren't here!"

"I'm really happy you feel that way! I'll be sure to keep taking care of myself in mind!" Cora agrees, "I can't wait to get to know more about you! I'll hold you to this!"​

"M-me too, I know aside Elias and this Captain, I-I won't get to spend time with anyone else, s-so it's something I definitely want to do to, even if I'm only able to dedicate only a little bit of time..." You smile back, realizing something, and then adding, "Speaking of getting to know the Captain, what is he like?"

"Well, why not ask him yourself?" Elmiel coyly almost teases you while turning behind him, then moving aside to no longer obstruct your view of the palace entrance.

He moves aside and you see--

Your big brother.​

At first, you can't believe it, but... No, you aren't mistaken! Standing tall at 6'4, much darker skinned than you, well-built, wears a bandana to protect and cover his bald head... It's him! It's really him!

Your elder brother took the fatherly and mentor role in your life when your mother left your father, so you are immensely relieved to have him here with you! He has never steered you wrong before!

B-but how did he get here!?


"Brother?! Big Brother!? Is it true?! C-can it really be YOU?!" You shout, running past everyone gasping and practically throwing yourself onto your elder brother, continuing the best you can while in tears and fighting the sobs lumping in your throat making it more difficult to speak, "Brother... I was so scared coming here.... I thought... I thought I might not see you again for a long time... I-if... If I ever did!"

"Oh big Brother....! I missed you so much! H-how did you get here?!"​

"U-Uhm... But... I'm not your brother...?" Came his familiar voice that sounded like they weren't familiar with you at all, piercing your soul to hear your big brothers voice speak to you like you were a stranger to them.

"I take it you are the Hierophant of Skies...? You must be, being the Empresses twin... Heh... They warned me that you two looked alike, but they didn't warn me about this reaction!" The Captain of the Imperial guards very, very confusedly states while subtly and gently pulling you off of him.​

"Believe me, this is new for us as well," Elmiel tells Captain Xander, equally as shocked.

"Rosie..." Elias mutters, looking at you with worry in his eyes.

"Cap... Captain Xander must look like your big brother back in your world..." Hellie confirms to herself more than anyone, connecting the dots pretty quickly.


"O-oh... I'm... I'm so sorry... That was stupid of me..." You barely are able to apologize, embarrassed beyond belief and quickly trying to regain your composure as you are slowly letting go of the Captain, "Y-you just... Look so much like him I-I... I..."

It is taking every ounce of your strength not to break down bawling right now. You didn't realize how much you missed your family until you mistook the poor, confused Captain of the Guard as your elder brother.

Before you can sob another sob you suddenly are pulled into a tight hug by Elias! You want to ask "in front of Hellie?" when, to your surprise, Helena, Elmiel, and Cora all also join in the embrace!!!

Heh... You're thankful for all of them...​

"I suppose it makes sense," The Captain finally speaks, remaining stoic and silent due to still being somewhat confused, but seemingly getting over it with each passing moment when he adds, "I mean, I've always seen her highness as a little sister to be protected! Should have gathered the Hierophant I'm supposed to help protect and teach to defend for herself sees me as a big brother! It's just inevitable, I'd say!"

"Hah! Doesn't mean your job is any easier due to this!" Cora nags him, clearly giving him a hard time in a friendly manner.

"I know, I know! I couldn't look my family in the eyes if I let anything happen to the Hierophant who is also our Empresses twin!" Xander merrily chuckled, going up to Hellie and just rubbing the top of her head that her diadem perfectly encircles.

The Empress is very close to and cares deeply for all of her subjects... You really cannot fail this mission... All these people are important to her and she is important to them!

"H-hey! D-don't do that! I am NOT a child anymore, Xand-- Oooooooh, that feels goodie~!" The Empress at first sounds displeased and ready to protest this when she suddenly stops to sound completely relaxed and like she was getting a massage!

"Hahah!" You wipe your tears and laugh, "You can say that but it looks like Captain Xan--- Oooooooh that does feel niceu!"

"Haha! Looks like they have the same weaknesses as well as likes, brother!" Elias snickers while excitedly pointing this out to his brother.

"Just keep your hands to yourself, Elias, and everything should be fine," Elmiel duly notes while nodding in agreement, seemingly more concerned with Elias potentially doing this to either of you than the Captain.​

"Well! Everything is ready to go! Soon as you three get on the horses you can take off!" Cora claps and announces loudly, trying to bring everyone back to reality.

"Right!" You agree while shooing away Xander's hand from your head.

Xander chuckles and nods while making his way towards the black stallion and Elias whooshes onto the brown and white horse with his magic (causing the horse to flinch in surprise at feeling his sudden weight, but they didn't really react aside that... they must be used to Elias!), extending his hand to you to help you on and using wind magic to lift you onto the horse and seated right in front of him as well! While he holds the reigns it's almost like he's hugging you and your face gets uncomfortably hot...


"Alright, Elias, you better be able to help her down WITHOUT USING YOUR MAGIC because here is the last time you may use it freely until you return! And Rosie, do remember to keep your hood up in public!" Elmiel frantically and frowning reminds his brother who nods vehemently in response.

As soon as Elmiel says this you feel Elias shuffling his arms and then pulling your hood over your head!

"I-I won't say 'good-bye', only 'until we meet again' soon!" The Empresses almost chokes and tears up during her farewell.

"Come back safely and bring back the fire-bearer soon! Say hi to Scias and Chlo for me! Stay warm and safe, please!" Cora requests as she waves you all happily off with her other arm comfortingly around the Empresses shoulder!

"Don't worry, everyone! I'll be there to watch over them, make sure Elias doesn't get in trouble, and that he protects the Hierophant well!" Xander reassures the future Emperor, causing Elmiel to breathe a sigh of relief in return, then the Captain turns to his glorious pitch black stallion and commands, "Let's ride, Xerxes! HIIYAAH!"

What a cool name!

As the Captain jerked the reins with verve, Xerxes let out a loud neigh, standing on two legs and paddling his front legs and hooves in mid-air (like in the movies!) for a second, then slamming them back on the ground and galloping off from the entrance at full speed!

"Let's catch up with them, Cocoa! Go, go!" Elias also commands his horse, whipping the reigns lightly and signaling the horse to begin galloping off as well.

What an ordinary name for a horse!​

The three of you race away from the castle and through the streets of the Auran Empire, hurriedly trying to reach the forest (and ideally part of the way through it) before the day ends.

You look between Elias and the Captain (the horses are practically neck to neck) and ponder if maybe you should talk to them or ask them questions.... You've got a lot of questions, even now, though you don't know where to start...

You have a lot of time, after all, since you're expected to be riding practically all day and even a little into the night if you haven't at least reached the forest entrance by then...

Your stomach churns a little at the thought of just going through the forest, let alone camp in it... You're petrified at the possibility of meeting Calliope again, if you're honest with yourself. Even if Elias was correct, and she harbored more ill will against him than you, true or not, you don't want Calliope to hurt him, either! Maybe taking turns sleeping would be best?

You wonder if maybe when you all stop for food or to make camp (you are under the impression you'll be riding through the day for time purposes) you can have your first lesson from your big bro-- ...From the Captain. You're not the most physically fit person, in fact, you're really quite fragile, but you need to do this.

Honestly, magic would have ideal for you, as it may strain one physically a little... But not as much a toll as close quarters combat and swordplay...

However, You're not unhappy with your choice overall, as at least little by little you're sure Xander will competently teach you at least how to defend yourself and you won't waste Xanders time like you could potentially have the mages... Still...

Powers of the heroine. Did that mean magic? Even if Hellie has no magic, that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm the same right? We have different roles - Hellie as the empress and me as the Hierophant. If I was transported to this world to find and unite the crest-bearers, shouldn't I at least have some kind of help? Like, say, magic? I'm really hoping that "powers of the heroine" actually means something. Otherwise, I'll only be deadweight to the magician and Elias.

So, that's what I'm going with. Magic all the way!

You take these long hours on horseback to carefully think about your previous thoughts more in depth and plan your next courses of action more thoroughly: Should you try to get to know the Captain right now? Ask him for your first lesson as soon as you get off Cocoa? Should you stay up the night with Xander training while Elias rests?

Now that you think about it, while you have no affinity for magic so far, what DID the book mean when it said it would bestow you the heroines powers? Where are these promised powers? More and more evidence points to you getting them only AFTER you have all seven crest-bearers.... But nothing at all is hinting as to WHAT those powers will be...? Will you need the mage later on when said powers are more apparent...?

So many questions...

Either way, at least you'll have that giant metal slab between you and Calliopes twin blades once you stop in or near the forest....

You may be over-thinking it, and in your heart of hearts, you pray if you do bump into Calliope again you can have a civil discussion again... But you don't want to risk Calliope unwilling to do so...

>>INPUT COMMAND<<​

code by @Satanic Nightjar​

 

[Caligena]

I don't see why we can't get to know each other while we're riding! I can't wait to see just how like my older bro he really is! This is all terribly exciting.

Staying up late to train may not be the best idea on our very first night out in foreign, possibly hostile territory. Being tired does absolutely no good to anyone. We can train in the morning before we break down camp. Maybe some light muscle conditioning tonight might be good.

 

[Idea]

I guess I'll vote maybe we visit some historical sites? Or a library of some kind? We have been told we have the powers of the heroine, and seemingly to some extent this universe is almost "designed" for our presence, with the guy who looks like our brother and things like that. So, learning about the heroine might be a critical step in understanding our role in this whole mess.

Though, there is just such a sheer amount of possibilites, it's hard to say any given one, because we're riding through the kingdom, not in a specific location. There are too many things that one is able to do! And in case of doubt, obtaining more knowledge is generally a good answer.

 

[DreamBeat]

Maybe it would be better to do some intense basic training at night? My body would get some rest during the night, and then I could do light exercise in the morning. I want to meet Calliope again, but as I am right now, I'd rather not...

 

[Felis]

I think it would be best to ask Xander whether to start training right away or later - he is the expert in that regard, after all. But for now, while we're still riding, we can get to know each other better. As for those "powers of the heroine" - maybe Xander or Elias know any legends we haven't heard so far that offer some insights?

 

[Minako]

**I MADE AN OOC FOR THIS QUEST RP! HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY!**​

Rosalina Chandra

Caligena Idea DreamBeat Felis ​

I don't see why we can't get to know each other while we're riding! I can't wait to see just how like my older bro he really is! This is all terribly exciting.

Staying up late to train may not be the best idea on our very first night out in foreign, possibly hostile territory. Being tired does absolutely no good to anyone. We can train in the morning before we break down camp. Maybe some light muscle conditioning tonight might be good.

You ARE very excited and curious to see just HOW much like Ceaser, your brother, Xander really is like! If Helena's similarity to you is any indication (and Xander kind of already is like your big brother in a way) they'll practically be impossible to tell apart!

"So, Xander..." You begin to ask him, your curiosity too much to wait another moment to see if your hunch is right, "Can you tell me a little about yourself?"

"Heh, I suppose the more you know about me the more you can trust me to protect you, so..." Xander nodded to himself while happily agreeing to open up, calculating and analyzing everything exactly like your big brother would and taught you to, "Well, I like to relax and be with my family, my wife and children mean the world to me."

Wow! This worlds version of your brother is already a husband and father?! You wonder if his wife is this worlds version of your brothers girlfriend...??

"I see!" You cheer, smiling at him.

"Anything like what your brother does? Or what he would do in this world, I guess would be more accurate to say?" Xander asks, dangerously perceptive of your other intentions in asking him about himself as well.

"A-ah!" You gasp back, surprised at how quick the Captain caught on, "Y-yeah I think so, actually!"

"Makes sense!" The dark-skinned Captain chuckled.

It did, now that you think about it.

Already he's a lot like your brother in more than just looks...

You feel a bit calmer and less anxious now thinking about Xander and your brother... Your brother has never steered you wrong before and it looks like Xander won't either, and the thought of having essentially your big brother beside you in this scary new world is comforting...

Not that Elias doesn't provide you a great deal of comfort either, and you very much lo- er, care about him, but you've been with your big brother all your life and you just met Elias yesterday!

I guess I'll vote maybe we visit some historical sites? Or a library of some kind? We have been told we have the powers of the heroine, and seemingly to some extent this universe is almost "designed" for our presence, with the guy who looks like our brother and things like that. So, learning about the heroine might be a critical step in understanding our role in this whole mess.

Though, there is just such a sheer amount of possibilites, it's hard to say any given one, because we're riding through the kingdom, not in a specific location. There are too many things that one is able to do! And in case of doubt, obtaining more knowledge is generally a good answer.

Ooooh! Splendid idea! Speaking of Elias:

"Oh! Hey, Elias! I have some things I'd like to read about and get to know a little bit more about this world and my role as Hieropahnt!" You begin to ask politely, "Would it be alright if we're able to stop by a library or something so I can read more about this world and such?"

"Sure, Rosie!" Elias smiles and nods, "That works out great as there's a tavern right next to it we can stop by for food! Our horses can rest as well, so we'll be able to delve a little deeper into the forest before calling it a night!"

"Aha... That's wonderful..." You barely are able to let out, trying not to let on your stomach lurching at the thought of SLEEPING in the forest that is home to the bandit girl who hates your guts and would probably not hesitate to kill you in your sleep.

"But, you know Rosie, Xander and I know a lot about this world, too! You can ask us anything!" Elias chirps, oblivious to your woes.

"Haha, oh yeah?" You chuckle, his nice arms and cute laugh sorta melting your troubles.

"Mmmhm!" He nods and confirms, "What would you like to know about first?"

Maybe it would be better to do some intense basic training at night? My body would get some rest during the night, and then I could do light exercise in the morning. I want to meet Calliope again, but as I am right now, I'd rather not...

I think it would be best to ask Xander whether to start training right away or later - he is the expert in that regard, after all. But for now, while we're still riding, we can get to know each other better. As for those "powers of the heroine" - maybe Xander or Elias know any legends we haven't heard so far that offer some insights?

"Well..." You ask a bit unsure where to begin for now, then gasping as you get a good idea, "Oh! Uhm, are there any other legends or prophecies I should know about? I know about the Hierophant, sorta being them and all, but I'm still unsure about a few things regarding that even... If there's anything else I'd need to know about this world and what it believes in, I'd like to know about it now, please!"

Elias nods and smiles while beginning to tell you, "Hee hee! Well aside the prophecy of the Hierophant that was passed down upon us from the first Emperor, direct descendant of Celosia, there is one more legend spread about in which some people believe..."

For some odd reason you're picking up a... mischievous tone from Elias...???

You're a bit too distracted wondering why this is too 100% pay attention to what he's saying, but you're doing your best to despite it!

"Elias... Don't..." You hear Captain Xander exasperatingly sigh to your crest-bearer as he begins to tell you about this legend.

"Awww, come on, it's great! And she really should know about it, just in case!" Elias says pleadingly to Xander.

"Elias, I know which one you want to tell her and I also know that it's just a dumb legend literally no one over the age of ten or so believes... And even then they barely do by that age!" Xander rolls his eyes a bit annoyed with Elias wanting to tell you things he deems unnecessary.

You sort of admit to yourself that your curiosity is piqued at a legend spread about something no one else believes in past childhood... Is it something like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, or...?

"I-it's alright, big-- Er, Xander! I-I wanna know, anyway! It sounds interesting!" You pipe up, sort of defending Elias.

"Well, alright, but if you get spooked because of him clowning around don't blame me, ok?" Xander shakes his head while rolling his eyes, not seeming to protest Elias any further.

"W-well, Elias... What is this legend no one past ten or so believes...?" You ask, curious.

"The winged beast," Elias begins, clearly trying to sound scary but he is actually too adorable for you to ever really be scared of him.​

"The winged... beast?" You ask, confused and trying not to disappoint Elias too much by being charmed and not sounding too scared at all.

"Mmmhmm... It's a terrifying, giant flying creature that is always lurking juuuuuust beneath the clouds... No one can really say what it looks like because those who have seen it are never seen again..." Elias spook-ily informs you about this supposed beast, "Once you reach the edge of Cion Isle and fall the beast gobbles you up for lunch! Roar!"

"O-oh my!" You desperately try not to giggle, as Elias is really trying to be scary while telling you this children's ghost story.

"It's just a stupid tall tale you tell children in Auran and any villages around the edge of Cion Isle so they don't go wandering and falling off of here..." Xander duly grumbles, looking pretty annoyed Elias even took the time to tell you, "Even as a kid I never believed that stuff! It so obviously was made up as a cautionary tale to children to keep them away from the Isle's edge it is not even scary or anything..."

"OH!" You gasp, realizing that made WAY too much sense!

Auran was kinda close to the edge, or at least enough that some exploration with enough time could lead children to the edge... and you can't imagine there are fences or rails ALL around said edges... A story to keep people away would be way smarter and more efficient at keeping them safe!

You almost had it: This story was pretty much less like Santa Claus and more like Krampus!

...Still though... You now can't help but wonder if Elmiel made this ghost story up...?

"Hellie believed it," Elias pouted, playfully indignant.

Wait, what...?

"When I told her the story of the winged beast when we were kids she got so scared...! She couldn't sleep the first few nights I told her!" Elias snickered, sounding a little too pleased at scaring the Empress, but you figured after all the heartache she had put him through practically all his life he at least should be ok just giving her a quick fright back then, right?

"Oh brother," Xander continues to sigh and roll his eyes.

"She swore she heard it one of those nights!" Elias laughs while telling you.



Suddenly... Your heart feels like its being squeezed a little.... in fear... You don't know why but being told Hellie swore she heard it...

The winged beast doesn't really exist, right? It's just a story to tell children to keep them from falling off of Cion Isle, right?

You.... You are going no where near the edges of this floating Isle... Ever...

Uhm, not... not that you planned to, but... well... Even less likely now!!

Unless there's a crest bearer there...!!



"It was probably just a small bird lost at night or a big bug too close to her window. She was like five at the time and scared! Besides, she heard it way down from the bottom of Cion Isle? Don't make me laugh," Xander again irritably deduces to explain away the phenomenon.

"Yeah, probably," Elias shrugs it off.

You remain silent and say nothing. It's possible, but the feeling of someone squeezing your heart lingers slightly even with that suggestion... You make a mental note to ask Helena if she can remember anything about that next time you see her...

"See, Elias? Now she's scared!" You're snapped back into reality as you hear Xander scold him.

"E-eh?" You hear Elias, who, very much to your surprise, pulls you even closer to him so fast it nearly yanks your neck back enough to almost rest the back section of the top of your head on his chest and you get a good, close look at his deep, gorgeous blue eyes.

They are filled with concern.​

"Don't worry, Rosie, it doesn't really exist!" Xander comforts you as well, smiling at you.

"And even if it did, we'd protect you from it! It won't gobble you up with me or Xander around!" Elias cheers happily.

"Aheh, i-it'd be hard to eat us when you don't exist..." You barely manage to stammer out.

The lurching feeling in the pit of your stomach keeps you from truly believing that, however...

You shake your head and remind yourself it doesn't matter, you'll probably not even have to go to the Isles edge, let alone below the isle or something... r-right?


After a bit of riding you three finally reach the tavern Elias spoke of. The sun seems to be directly above everything according to the shadows, and you wanna safely say the day is about half-way over already and you've just barely almost reached the edge.

Wow! Flying through all of this with Elias yesterday made this Kingdom seem a lot smaller than it really was! This place is huge! He must have been offering walking to the castle yesterday as a courtesy in case flight or him carrying you discomforted you because to have walked all this way would have surely left you too exhausted to travel today and you would have gotten to the palace well into the evening! While you sort of missed out, you're glad you rode with him even now!


"Alright, I'll go put our horses in the tavern's stable. Elias, you and Rosie go inside ahead of me and reserve a table. I'll catch up after I get these stallions comfortable," Xander offered, earning a nod from both you and Elias as he smiles and waves.

Xander also seems dutiful and dependable just like your brother...

"'Kay!" You smile back.

"C'mon Rosie! Lets have lunch before we head to the library!" Elias enthusiastically agrees and practically spirits you away into the tavern, which you barely manage to look at the sign for it to discover it is called 'Ye Olde Falcon'.

"E-eep! A-alright!" You barely manage to shout before entering the tavern.



As you enter the tavern through the old, wooden door, you're welcomed by a sense of home and dancing people.
The bartender is extremely busy, but still manages to welcome you with a short wave.

It's as alluring inside as it is on the outside: Stone beams support the upper floor and the lights attached to them. The walls are littered with all sorts of memorabilia, though you're unsure of how to feel about them: Matching the castles mixed theme of eastern meets western fantasy, you can't place your finger on what some of these mounted trinkets are supposed to be, and you fear you may sound too naive asking Elias...

The tavern itself is packed. Groups belonging to some kind of organization, whether sport, music or others that you aren't sure of, seem to be the primary clientele here...

Several long tables are occupied by what looks like couples, lone travelers and really anybody else who needed a drink or meal. The other, smaller tables are also occupied by people who are clearly having a good time. Even most of the stools at the bar are occupied, though nobody seems to mind more company.

"This place supposedly has some good food, though honestly I think Cora cooks everything better!" Elias cheerily informs you as you both walk in.

Judging by the laughter, cheering, and overall enjoyment of everybody, it's probably the company you figure is why people flock here more than the food, though you can't say you don't like the vibes inside. You and Elias manage to find a seat and prepare for lunch!


"Uhm..." You ask, looking around the table Elias choose that didn't really have anything on it, which didn't surprise you, but you wonder how one ordered?

Does one even order anything specific? Now that you think about it, weren't these (basically) ale houses only for drinks and socializing? They were also usually filthy, from what you read in your text books, but this place seemed decently clean, so you're not really sure what to expect...

"We'll take some milk, pottage, and a few bits of bread and cheese, please!" Elias called to the bartender who nodded and seemed to get started on his request.

Ah, ok, so, they don't serve dishes, just basic slices of meats, breads, and cheeses and sort of like a "soup of the day" type thing, you're guessing?

"Uh-uhm, so, what is p-pottage?" You ask Elias just to confirm your suspicion, not making eye contact with him and trying not to think of this as a date as you are alone with him for now.

"Oh, well it's usually just a serving of stew with a random bit of vegetables, grains, and meat or fish! Usually this tavern has meat in it! Yum!" Elias tells you, already getting hungry in anticipation.




"I'm here, I'm here!" Xander hurriedly rushes up to your table after a bit.

"Hi, big br-- Er, Captain!" You greet him, looking away and embarrassed at your mistake and hoping he didn't notice.

"Hey! Alright, so, we should be out of here as soon as we finish eating, then we'll stop by the library and pick up whatever books Rosie wants. After that, we'll have to hustle to get to and through the forest... If we hurry, we'll be able to make good time through the forest and almost to the mountain path and get to Tarrin Village before too late tomorrow!" Xander mentally aligns his plans out loud as he sits in the chair next to Elias, who is sitting across from you.

"Right, ok!" You hurriedly respond.

"Alright, so for the three of us, that should be about 15 tallons," Elias calculates, sounding surprisingly smart, while pulling out a coin purse and removing some weird-looking coins that look like copper and silver meshed together.

You suppose you now sorta know what some coin currency of Cion Isle is called.

The food and drinks arrive quickly after the "debriefing" and you, Xander, and Elias have no trouble digging in! This pottage is, as explained, basically a smorgasbord of miscellaneous stew ingredients, but it still is pretty tasty!


After your satisfying lunch the three of you head towards the library next door. You pick a few books about swordplay and some of Cion Isle's history, figuring the more you know about this place, the better off you are.

"Ha! See! Xander, look!" Elias suddenly exclaims proudly while scuttling towards him and waving a book around (leaving you to wonder if this librarian was anything like the librarian back in the one you were familiar with in your world if he would have been alright from how hard he'd be slapped with a citation or something...)

"Oh please, that book is just referencing EVERYTHING about Cion Isle, and even if it DOES include things about the winged beast, it's only there to not leave anything out since it wouldn't include everything if it was excluded..." Xander duly argues with Elias over the Winged beast... again.

There's that feeling again... squeezing your heart. Your chest feels a bit heavy...

You find yourself saying a silent prayer to Celosia that you don't ever have to go near the edge of Cion Isle. EVER.

You quickly pluck a few more books about Cion Isle, Auran, and Swordplay from the shelves, ignoring Xander and Elias' silly (and fear-inducing) argument. When you're satisfied with your haul of books, you and your boys rush out of the library and mount your respective horses, determined to make it part way through the forest before too late into the night.

You're slightly disappointed to find it's a bit later than you liked it to be (if the shadows on the buildings and ground indicate anything), but you have no time to pout!


You beg Cocoa to go faster internally, but of course you don't want to hurt or agitate the big horsie helping you get to your desired destination all the quicker.

You take a look beside you at your dependable bro- the Captain of the guards and can't help but smile and be grateful yet again at having him by your side.

You sort of steal more and more glances at Xander the closer and closer you get to the forest, and you visibly flinch when you reach the forests entrance, where you first arrived in this world yesterday...

"Hey, don't worry, Rosie. I won't let Calliope do anything to you," Elias reassures you, feeling you flinch and possibly sensing your unease.

"I-I know, thank you..." You reply back, not wanting to communicate your clear doubt of Elias being able to do so in his sleep... or being able to protect him in YOUR sleep.


Oh, Calliope... How you wish that girl wasn't your enemy!


Sure enough, deep into the night your crew was only partway through the forest... Which obviously meant camp would be here as well.

You're still scared and filled with fear, but you don't want to complain, either: Poor Xerxes and Cocoa have been giving it their all to get you here in such a short amount of time and their break while you ate and got books wasn't very long since you were in a rush... at least not for how much energy the poor dears must have depleted to get you all there.

Xander and Elias hop off the horses, but while Xander immediately starts setting up camp Elias stays beside Cocoa and motions for you to hop down as well, implying he will catch you when you do so.

"Uh-uhm!? A-are you sure?! I-I'm heavy!!" You try to warn him, feeling extremely self-conscious about your weight now.

"Ha! Yeah, all 5 lbs of you would be too much for his lanky arms!" Xander chuckles while starting a campfire (there is just enough moon and moonlight that it's not impossible to find the supplies to do so).

"My lanky arms can carry the Empress and they can carry Rosie just fine, thank you very much!" Elias huffs, but seems to take Xander's joke in stride well enough.

You honestly don't want to do this, and boy would you adore to express that, but you see no other way off of Cocoa at this point, so...

You hop off and he catches you.

His arms are... surprisingly sturdy...​

"Th-thank you very much," You shyly thank him as he sets you down.

"Of course, Rosie!" Elias chirps back.


You really wish Elias wasn't so loud... You don't want to advertise your location to a certain purple-haired bandit in the forest...




You, Elias, and Xander are able to find the giant cloths used to make the tents (unpacking a little bit of several bags before finding the ones that had them) in pretty good time, and some cooked meat with some bread and fruits settled in your stomach just fine for dinner. Cocoa and Xerxes are resting and look half-asleep already as they're eating some oats Elias served them, clearly enjoying their off time from such a long day of running.

"Uh-uhm, Br- X-Xander....?" You ask meekly after dinner.

"Yeah, Rosie?" He asks, smiling a little at you after you caught his attention.

"D-do you think now is a good time to train? W-would it be okay if you could teach me to fight right now?" You request humbly, not making eye contact.

"Heh," Xander nearly chuckles while answering you, "Well, If you're up for it on a full stomach, I guess we can see which type of sword or spear would suit you best and then start with some basics for now... Though I'd like to do most of this while we're not tired from travelling."

"I-I understand, thank you for doing this for me!" You tell him while following him to the horses to retrieve the swords from the saddles.



"Alright, so first I want you to pick a sword, or spear, and then we're going to see how well you can grasp one of the simpler beginner concepts: A forward strike," Xander explains while grabbing several swords and then presenting them to you, telling you a little about each one, "This one is called a Sabre, you can tell them apart from other swords due to it's slight curve. A Scimitar is slightly more curved than a Sabre, and a tad longer as well, so it can slash through opponents with more ease than a Sabre, though not by much. Long swords are obviously are the lengthier of blades, but they're also the more heavier ones and require two hands, so I wouldn't exactly recommend this one for you. Falchions are kinda the best of both axes and swords, but you'll have to build your strength up for this to be optimally useful... The last type of sword I brought along for you to possibly use, which you might be the most efficient with, is a Rapier: Now these, are pretty slim and light weight, which is why this is the one I would most recommend for you to use, as well as you'll probably have the easiest time piercing through enemies and obstacles with this one."

"W-wow," You gasp as Xander lays out all the weapons in front of you, barely remembering at the last minute, "A-and the spears?"

"Right, Glad you didn't forget, I like your tenacity," Xander looks satisfied with you and happy as he fishes out the spears he had brought along for you, "This is a Partisan, which is a heavy cut-and-thrust spear, meaning they're pretty versatile weapons which are suitable for a variety of uses, though it's weight might pose a problem. This is a Morning Star, and this one is fairly heavy and mainly for blunt-force trauma to the opponent and more likely the one you want to use to go for the kill... You could also just seriously damage the enemy with it as well. A Halberd is two-handed, just like the Long sword, and the best of both worlds between a spear and an axe just like the Falchion is between an axe and sword, since it's essentially an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on its pole. This one is called a War Scythe and just has a single, curved blade at its top like a Scimitar or Sabre, also pretty light weight compared to the others and decent both offensively and defensively. Finally, a Lucerne hammer, while having the word hammer in it's name, is actually just a four-pronged head mounted atop a polearm stick. It bears a long spike on it's reverse, and an even longer spike extending from the very top... This can puncture or smash armor pretty easily and is good against opponents that are mounted as well."

"I-I see," You respond, trying to take it all in, hoping Xander doesn't mind repeating himself when needed.

"Alright, so, I want you to pick between swords or spears to try first, and I'd suggest the light weight ones, but you're open to choose whichever first to train with tonight," Xander requests of you.


Oh boy... Looks like you've got a lot of options... First things first!

>>SWORDS OR SPEARS FIRST??<<​

code by @Satanic Nightjar​

 

[Felis]

So as arguably the heavy weapons are out of the question for near future, our best bets in each category are either sabre/rapier or war scythe as these seem to be the lightest. In this light, I'm still leaning towards starting with spears.

The reason for this is that I like that Xander emphasized that the war scythe (probably the most reasonable of the spears to start with because of the lower weight) can be used defensively, too. As I don't know when we'll first have to fight, having some capacities on the defensive side even without a shield sounds really good. Especially since I'm learning this first and foremost in order to be able to defend myself (or Elias or any of my other friends) and less in order to be efficient at proactively attacking.

 

[Idea]

I'll put down for two votes, with the following list of priorities:

1. We need to be able to actually make use of the weapon. We don't have the arm strength to make use of very heavy or blunt-forced-required weapons. Weapons that are silly if you're not an expert in using them, or even just impractical in general like scythes are also out of the question.
2. Safety in using the weapon. You can always gets up and try again if trying to use the weapon itself doesn't kill you. For this reason, I think a weapon that allows for hit and run tactics or even to keep your distance would be best, so slicing weapons aren't ideal.
3. We probably want a bit of style.

Given a lightweight simple spear doesn't seem to be an option, I suggest going either with a rapier (easiest one to use that still guarantees a bit of safety, and also is really fancy) or a halbert (can poke OR cut as needed).

Between swords and spears, I'd generally prefer spears.

 

[DreamBeat]

There's not much I have to add to the previous responses. It's not a bad idea to stray away from weapons that would require more strength than speed. From the swords, I like the rapier best - lightweight and easy to use. From the spears, I like the halberd and the war scythe - more flexibility on branching out into offensive and defensive positions.

Spears win. Hurrah~

 

[Caligena]

Wow, our selection is quite big! Despite having been traveling with him all day, I didn't think he'd have so many different kinds of weapons on hand! His idea for starting with the rapier sounds pretty solid, since a lot of the techniques used for rapier can easily be applied to spear useage as well, but the versatility (and admittedly style) of the Partisan certainly does sound appealing.

I vote we start with spear, and try and look specifically at the Partisan and halberd.

 

[Minako]

Rosalina Chandra

Felis Idea DreamBeat Caligena ​

So as arguably the heavy weapons are out of the question for near future, our best bets in each category are either sabre/rapier or war scythe as these seem to be the lightest. In this light, I'm still leaning towards starting with spears.

The reason for this is that I like that Xander emphasized that the war scythe (probably the most reasonable of the spears to start with because of the lower weight) can be used defensively, too. As I don't know when we'll first have to fight, having some capacities on the defensive side even without a shield sounds really good. Especially since I'm learning this first and foremost in order to be able to defend myself (or Elias or any of my other friends) and less in order to be efficient at proactively attacking.

I'll put down for two votes, with the following list of priorities:

1. We need to be able to actually make use of the weapon. We don't have the arm strength to make use of very heavy or blunt-forced-required weapons. Weapons that are silly if you're not an expert in using them, or even just impractical in general like scythes are also out of the question.
2. Safety in using the weapon. You can always gets up and try again if trying to use the weapon itself doesn't kill you. For this reason, I think a weapon that allows for hit and run tactics or even to keep your distance would be best, so slicing weapons aren't ideal.
3. We probably want a bit of style.

Given a lightweight simple spear doesn't seem to be an option, I suggest going either with a rapier (easiest one to use that still guarantees a bit of safety, and also is really fancy) or a halbert (can poke OR cut as needed).

Between swords and spears, I'd generally prefer spears.

There's not much I have to add to the previous responses. It's not a bad idea to stray away from weapons that would require more strength than speed. From the swords, I like the rapier best - lightweight and easy to use. From the spears, I like the halberd and the war scythe - more flexibility on branching out into offensive and defensive positions.

Spears win. Hurrah~

Wow, our selection is quite big! Despite having been traveling with him all day, I didn't think he'd have so many different kinds of weapons on hand! His idea for starting with the rapier sounds pretty solid, since a lot of the techniques used for rapier can easily be applied to spear useage as well, but the versatility (and admittedly style) of the Partisan certainly does sound appealing.

I vote we start with spear, and try and look specifically at the Partisan and halberd.

Spears win unanimously!!! Trying Halberd first, then War Scythe! Rapier dubbed back-up weapon.

"I-I'll take the halberd, please, indefinitely," You decide, with almost no doubt in your mind, adding after some contemplation, "Though I'd like to try the Rapier in detail later as a back-up weapon, since it is also light weight."

"Heh, Rapier as a back-up weapon it is. You've got conviction. I like that," Xander smirks and pleasedly notes while winking at you and then tossing you the Halberd, adding at the last second, "Catch."

You stumble and fumble to catch the halberd, barely doing so competently and Xander kindly chuckles.

"We'll work on that, too!" He reassures you jokingly.

"Y-yeah, yeah! Quit teasing me and teach me how to use this thing already!" You pout, bickering with him not unlike you do when you bicker with your brother.

"Alright, alright," Xander rolls his eyes while coming closer to you and beginning to move your arms while holding the halberd, "Okay, Rosie, you grip it like this, this also requires both hands, but not for its weight, just the technique. That's good, remember to keep your hands far enough apart to be able to shift the halberds position. For a forward-strike, keep your right leg forward so you can shift your weight onto it when you lean forward to use the halberd."

"O-okay," You nod to show you comprehend, and proceed to do to exactly what Xander told you.

You spread your grip on the halberd apart a bit, you move your right leg forward and raise the halberd vertically, relieved the halberd wasn't as heavy as you were anticipating it to be even raised, and then, as you lunge forward and quickly shift your weight onto your forward foot you also aggressively (and as quickly as possible) thrust your arms diagonally downward while still holding the halberd.

"HIIIYAHH!" You shout, quickly looking up at Xander to see what he thought.

"That's great!" Xander replies back with gusto.

"Haha, yeah?! You think so?!" You excitedly shout back, extremely happy you have Xanders approval.

...So happy, in fact, that you nearly forget where you were... and why you were so anxious to camp out here...

...You quickly lose your apparent amnesia when you hear something shuffling in the bushes. Something big.

Ack! You were just internally getting on Elias' case when you did worse moments later?!​

Elias hears it too, and he gets up from watching you and Xander to start looking around. You follow his movements for a moment and you can't deny you feel a little less at ease to see Cocoa and Xerxes pretty much asleep... Those poor things won't be able to get you out of here until tomorrow morning at earliest...


"S-so, B- Xander, d-did you want me to try it again, or other techniques...? B-because before that I-I'd like to also get a shield, pl-please...?" You meekly asked, shaking.

"Uhm... sure...?" He answers, confused, naturally adding, "Is everything alright? Why are you shaking all of a sudden?"

Either Xander didn't hear it or he just has nerves of steel, because even Elias looked serious and got up when he heard the rustling.

"Y-you... d-didn't.... hear--"

"Oh, that," Xander, now no longer confused, "It was probably just some creature thinking our food is up for grabs. Elias and I can more than handle some hungry animal. If they're that persistent we can throw some of the leftovers their way."

IT REALLY WAS NERVES OF STEEL! WOW!​

"A-ah, I see..." You reply rather quietly, suspecting it's no animal lurking around, "Uhm... D-do you think they were drawn to my shouting just now?"

"I doubt it, the light from our fire and the smell of our food was probably what did it," Xander answers honestly and stone-faced, his uncanny resemblance to your big brother under pressure can't help but put you at least a little more at ease, adding a cherry on top it by jokingly adding, "Plus, we both know Elias is the more likely person to out our position by being loud."

He even winks at you like your brother does after joking...

"Oh, haha, you're right... Thank you big bro- Er, Xander, I'm sorry..." You reply absentmindedly, a bit more sure of yourself.

"It's alright, You can call me 'big brother' if you like," Xander smiles at you while pulling something out of the supply saddle, this time walking up to you and handing it to you, "Here, I want you to try wielding this a second."

You sort of are jolted out of lala-land and realize that Xander just handed you something!

"Ah..!" You gasp mildly quietly.

It’s a beautiful, yet forearm sized, iron shield with the same insignia as Xander’s helmet, which you guess is the emblem of Auran or something.​

"This is an arm shield, it straps onto your arm, like so," He explains as he ties the miniature shield around your right forearm, "This is the best type of shield for the halberd you're wielding, since you'll be using both hands for halberd techniques. Not only that, but, because it's one of the smaller types of arm shields it won't give you a problem weight-wise. Plus, it's also useful in melee: The extensions of the arm shield can also be extensions of your fists in combat!"

"Cool!" You cry out, impressed, again forgetting your settings and situation.

"Now, it's not perfect, of course, if it's size didn't give that away already: When using this shield as an extension of your fist, always remember that in doing so you leave yourself WIDE OPEN. Never forget that, because forgetting that could lead to an early grave. Always be cautious and careful when using this," Xander warns seriously.

That made sense: If you're going to use your shield as a medieval version of brass knuckles you best bet enemies are going to notice said shield is no longer shielding...


"Right, thank you so much, Xander. We haven't even had a full lesson yet, but I already feel I've learned so much!" You express your most heartfelt gratitude towards Xander as he unstraps the shield and puts it near the Halberd and Rapier he set aside.



"I'm impressed you picked all those out on such short notice! I'm sorry I sprung it on you... That extra weight carrying all those excess weapons must not be too good for poor Xerxes..." You extend your sympathy to Xander's horse as you turn to them again and find the poor horses are out like lights now.

The only extra weight Cocoa had aside a bit more food was just your pink school bag with your uniform shoved in it.

"Ha! Please, Xerxes is more than capable of carrying a bit of extra weight! It wasn't even a challenge to him," Xander boasts confidently, more traits he shares with Caesar.

"Heh... Alright, if you say so," You mutter, at ease with Xander beside you.

"Alright, so we've got your weapons and your shield, and you've executed a forward strike rather well for a beginner. What I want you to do now is get some rest. I'm going to wake you up early tomorrow so we can drill that forward strike with your halberd a little bit more, maybe trying other techniques as well, while you've got your arm shield strapped on. I also want you to try out the Rapier before we head out, but if we don't have enough time I won't keep us from getting on our way. You still need a dagger or some other type of knife as a side-arm as well, but we'll get to that when we get to that, I suppose," Xander suggests while setting aside your new Halberd, Rapier, and arm shield while shooing you off to your tent, everything ready for sleeping inside it already set up.

"A-ah... but--!" You try to protest for reasons completely involving a certain purple haired bandit, but are stopped by Xander in true big brother fashion.

"No 'buts', Rosie. I want you well rested for training and travelling tomorrow, which you won't be if you don't get some sleep right now."

"Y-yes, I know, however--" You try to protest again, but this time you're stopped by a hand on your shoulder.

"Don't worry, Rosie. Xander and I will take turns staying up, so the camp won't be completely unguarded even while we sleep," He sweetly reassures you, melting your heart with that bright smile.

"O... Okay..." You finally agree after a moment, nodding and turning back to Xander, "You're both right. I'm sorry. I trust you both with my life. I-if you need me or anything, please don't hesitate to wake me up. Good night, you two."

"Good night, Rosie," They both answer happily in unison.

Almost immediately upon entering and closing the tent behind you, You yawn and change out of your disguise-y clothes, redo your piggy-tails so they are lower, and dress into the night gown that you wore the previous night, tiredly laying yourself on the camping "rolls" (from the look of it these were a medieval version of sleeping bags) to get some sleep, though you still feel a little too anxious to slumber granted everything...




Or...

So you thought...



You feel alone and scared. You don't really know what is going on, but you know you're...

In some... white... void...?

All you can see is nothing stretching out into eternity...


"H-hello...?" You call out, wondering if anyone could truly be there.

There was, of course, no respon--

"Heh, not a bad start, kid, though I gotta admit, you took a lot more initiative than I thought you would! Especially at the start!" Came... an almost sweet-sounding voice from behind you that you swear you've heard before.

But where?

"E-eh?! Wh-what?!" You gasp, turning around as quickly as humanly possible.

They were a lot farther away than expected, and you either didn't realize there was mist before or this... whoever... just exudes mist and/or fog because you can't make out more than their silhouette....

"Heh... Skittish little thing, but you do have potential... There's a reason I chose YOU, after all..." The figure notes, more to themselves than you.

"Wh-who...--" You begin to ask when they interrupt you.

"Listen up, kiddo," They begin to say, again in a sweet-sounding voice you keep swearing you've heard before, "I know you're in a brand new world and scared, but I chose you, and my crest bearers, for a reason. You're stronger than you think, and that strength is already shining through! I wish you wouldn't be blind to it, or whatever is keeping you from acknowledging it. So don't doubt. And don't worry! You and my crest-beaerers got this! I'll even help you out some by enchanting that, show them to you so you're less afraid, and even give you a hint about my fire-bearer: They'll be hiding in plain sight and are the first and last person you'd expect~!"​

Huh?! Show you who, exactly!? What?!? What about enchanting?!

Wait... Their crest-bearers...?!

I-is this--?! It can't be?!

"Celo--"​

Before you could say another word, you feel something touching you and something moving... and hear a voice calling out to you...! Oh no! You're waking up!


"R-rosie...?" You hear Elias' voice as you awaken from your slumber, surprised to find it's already morning, as it felt like you were only asleep for a short time.

"O-oh, good morning Elia--" You begin to say when suddenly... you feel something.... fuzzy...

And it's not the fur inside your sleeping roll...

Because you can also feel it moving...

"Wh-wha..." You ask in horror, frozen in fear.

"I-I was about to ask you the same thing..." He answers worriedly, "I-I think something crawled into your tent last night, but I'm just wondering HOW?! Xander and I took turns watching and guarding your tent specifically, a-and I heard some rustling, but I swore nothing got IN!"

He seems genuinely scared and apologetic.

"G-guys! G-guys! I think I-- Huh? What's going on??" Comes Xander's voice, quickly approaching your tent and pulling back the tent entrance to peek his head in next to Elias, about to tell you both something when he also notices your sleeping roll, "Whoa?! What is that?! Elias! You let something in here!?"

"N-no! No! I swear I didn't! I don't even know when it got here!!!" Elias defends himself, but there are slight hints of being offended by the insinuation in his tone to Xander.

"I-it's fine, i-its fine... M-maybe it's... a-asleep..." You sheepishly try to defend Elias... Or you would have if the creature didn't immediately begin to gently rustle as soon as you said that.

"Just try to gently get a hold of it... And calmly set it down and out of your roller... It may not bite you if you remain calm..." Xander tells you what to do to slowly and calmly, obviously not freaking out so that YOU don't freak out, and it ingeniously helps.

You are sorta breathing heavily, but you're not freaking out just yet.

"O-ok, ok..." You obediently reply, carefully taking the rustling creature in your hands, sliding it oh-so-cautiously out of your sleeping roll and--

"Chika?" You hear the strange but adorable rabbit-like creature cry confusedly, pondering curiously why it was disturbed. It's fur is pure white and it has bright, red eyes!​

"Wh-what..." You blurt out, not believing what you're seeing.

"Wh-whoa!?" Both Xander and Elias exclaim.

"I-I-I-I--!" You just sort of loop yourself, still stunned.

"Wh-what is it...?" Elias finally asked, analyzing and examining the creature with only his eyes so as not to aggravate it.

"I-I was hoping either of you two would know!" You shout, unsure how to react to all this...!

"N-no, of course not! Our bunnies and rabbits can be flopsy, but this--!" Elias starts, with Xander, clearly being on his same page, adds:

"And also they don't have a weird gem on their foreheads!"

Oh! You could barely notice in all the craziness: There was indeed a bright red jewel practically glowing on their forehead!

"O-oh wow..." You gasp while looking at it, almost wanting to reach out and touch it, adding more to yourself than to them, "I-I wonder what it's called. o-or named, i-if it has a name..."

"Chika~! Chika chika!!" The strange but cute creature cries, pointing to said jewel on it.

Can it understand you?

"Uhm...Ruby...? G-garnet...?" You hesitantly ask if that was what it meant, as red gems are usually called as such.

The creature shakes it's head, but it doesn't seem like you were too far off since they're not as aggravated at the wrong guesses.

What else do you call a gar--

Wait! You know!

"C-carbuncle...?" You cry out, thinking their name came from not only a Sherlock Holmes story, but a final fantasy summon!

"CHIKA!" The creature jumps up happily at your guess.​

Nailed it!

Heh... Those huge, flopsy ears... As (you guess) Carbuncle flaps them around merrily, even hovering above the ground as they do so, they kinda remind you... of wi--

WAIT.

...No...

This... This creature couldn't possibly be...



...

...Hahahahaha! Of course not! The winged beast is supposed to be a huge creature below the clouds that eats unfortunate souls who have fallen from Cion...

This lil guy is a bejewled Peter Cottontail!

You're so silly.

"Cutie!" You cry, hugging them as they hop into your arms and nuzzle you.

"Chika chika!" Carbuncle cries cutely.

"Thank goodness they're friendly..." Elias breathes a sigh of relief along with Xander.

"Yeah, no kidding, if it had bitten or hurt Rosie in any way..." Xander exhales like he's been holding his breath this entire time.

"Chika chika chika! Cha!" Carbuncle at first seems indignant (was Carbuncle mad at them for assuming they would hurt you...?), but then hops onto Elias' AND THEN Xander's heads and dances on them!

"Pl...Please get off of my head, weird rabbit..." Xander duly requests your new fluffy, winged friend off his helmet.​

You and Elias both snicker.

"I think their name is Carbuncle, big brother~!" You giggle.

"Right... Er, look, anyway!" Xander then gasps as he recalls something, "Rosie, I need you to come with me, somethings happened to your halberd!"

"WHAT!?" You shout as you practically jump out of your roller and follow Xander to where you both last left your weapons.



When you run over to it, you're a bit confused to find... the weapons look exactly as you left them...???

You turn to Xander and are about to ask if he was mistaken or saw something while half-asleep when Xander clarifies his reaction.

"Just... Hold on a second....Don't take your eyes off of that halberd just yet..." Xander narrows his eyes a bit annoyed at your new weapon.

You, Elias, and Xander freeze in your tracks and silently stare at the halberd... You hold your breath.

Moments pass, with nothing happening at all, and you're about to turn to Xander to ask him what the deal was when---

"I love to sing-a!
'Bout the Moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a!
I love to sing-a!
'Bout a sky of blue, or a tea for two, anything-a with a rhythm to an 'I love you'-a!
I love-a to~
I love-a to SIIIIIIINNNNNGGGG~!"
​

Your halberd glows purple-y and starts slightly waving while singing (you also sing along) a song you occasionally get stuck in your head from an old cartoon quite well, actually...

Welp. Your halberd can sing now.

You have a singing halberd.


"I don't know what kind of weird black magic it's spewing, but that thing is definitely going to give away our position to an enemy if it keeps doing that..." Xander grimaces, almost making you giggle, but he does have a point.

"Yeah..." Elias agrees concernedly, approaching the halberd cautiously.

"It's kinda cool and cute, tho!" You laugh a little while joining Elias in approaching it, explaining, "A-and it's not some weird spell or black magic... It's a song from an old cartoon I watched ages and ages after it first aired on T.V!"

"Cartoons? TV? What?" Xander asked confusedly.

"I-I'll explain later!" You laugh.

"Elias, can you get rid of the spells making this thing nuts?" Xander asks, worried as Elias examines the Halberd.

"Mmm... I dunno... It's complicated..." Elias says, again surrounded by magic and, sure enough, when using it on the halberd, surrounding it by magic as well.

Whoa!!!

This wasn't like the first time you saw a magic flow, with a steady stream of it emanating from him... Your halberd's magic is... just crazy! Everywhere!

A tangled mess of squiggles, though the gradients and colors are beautiful! It's a pretty sky blue, and light indigo and dark purple merging into pink in different hues and such!

"That's odd, it's like... Someone cast a variety of complicated spells on this halberd, really finely tuned and intricate, and then someone else just came and added another one and spoiled it... Think of it like a nicely finished tapestry that someone worked hard to make and then someone else just yanking on the threads and ruining it with a needle and another thread.... I'm not sure I'll be able to fix this..." Elias explains sadly, still looking diligently at the magic streams.

"Oh... I see..." You sigh disheartened, wondering if this means you'll have to leave your halberd behind for the groups safety.

Upon closer examination of the Halberd, or rather, the area around it....

You spot a long strand of purple hair...

"Elias..." You meekly gasp, holding onto the strand of hair and showing him.

"C-calliope...!?" He asks, shocked.

"A-at least she didn't hurt us, just sabotaged my weapon..." You note, trying to look on the positive side of all this.

"But... There's no way she could have cast the spells on this halberd... Honestly, My biggest concern is who was strong enough to be able to cast these...??? I couldn't even cast some of these spells..." Elias deduced, concerned.

"Well, She might have been the 'needle with the other thread to ruin the tapestry'..." You point out while literally pointing at the dark purple strands of magic since it is out of place among the pastel shades of the blues, indigos, and pinks (and the darker stream does indeed look more tangled than the rest).

"Now THAT I can buy," Xander nearly spits unhappily.

"Calliope..." You sigh, still happy she didn't hurt anyone.

"Chika..." Carbuncle also sighs heavily with you in your arms.


"Hmmm! I might not be able to sort of fix this... But YOU can, Rosie!" Elias peeps up after a while of going through all the spells and magic your Halberd has, "I don't know when, why, or how this Halberd got enchanted--"

Now that you think back to your dream... Elias might not have an idea, but you've got a suspect in mind...

"But YOU can make it so that the Halberd stops singing even if I can't remove the spell!" He proudly proclaims.

"Great!" Xander cheers, "How?!"

"Name it!" Elias answers happily.

"I-I'm sorry... what?" You ask, not sure if you heard him right...

"Well, see, it's singing, as you say, a song only YOU know from your world because it has a connection to YOU. IT wants your attention! It wants you to wield it now that it's been enchanted. The streams may still be a little tangled but giving the halberd a name YOU chose will signify your ownership of it, which the halberd, or, uh, I guess the magic IN the halberd wants! IT wants YOU, Rosie! It wants you to be it's owner! That's why it was singing a song from your heart and your world! Once you name it the tangles will fall into place!" Elias clarifies his request, sorta making sense to you but also still confusing you.

You DO really like that tune, and it never fails to put a smile on your face (or Corny's when you've sang it to her in the past)!

"Trust me, Rosie!" Elias chirps so sweetly and beams at you so brightly... How could you ever say no to him?!​

"E-er... U-h-uh-uhm... O-ok..." You stutter shyly while looking away, blushing like crazy with a face as red as a tomato, and pondering a name...

You're thinking... maybe... Requiem?!?! Because you'll forever know this halberd as a singer now, and it also is about to end your enemies whole careers!!

Or... Er... Maybe not...

Hmmmm... What SHOULD you name your halberd!?

This was, without a doubt, Celosia's doing (which Calliope quickly ruined)... Was she trying to help you by enchanting your weapon of choice?! Was she the reason Carbuncle was here now?

Was she the one that brought you into thi--

THAT VOICE! HER VOICE! YOU KNOW WHERE YOU HEARD IT NOW!

WHEN YOU FIRST HEARD THE BOOK IN THE LIBRARY... THAT WAS HER! THAT WAS HER VOICE!!

Celosia herself summoned you here?! Why!? Why YOU of all girls!? There is literally NOTHING special about you at all!


What's going on!? First you wake up with a cute little bejweled bunbun with wings for ears in your sleeping roll and now you have a singing halberd you have to name to get to STOP singing?!

You're just too jingle-jangled to think up a good name for it!

>>NAME THAT HALBERD!<<​

code by @Satanic Nightjar​

 

[Caligena]

Well, I suppose Carbuncle would fill up the story's need for a token lowest-key Over-Powered animal companion. Let's hope as fricking adorable as he is, he's also not equally as annoying. So far, so good though, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.
You know... him sitting on top of Xander's helm makes me realize just how much better his helmet looks with a little bit of plumage, ha ha.

Oh yeesh a singing weapon? This certainly doesn't bode well... A name?... Well, Requiem certainly is quite fitting. The name Bladesong also comes to mind... but we could save that for the rapier or something, since it kinda feels probably more like a sword name. Perhaps if we're going musical style themed, we could name ALL the weapons after these kinds of things, a la Castlevania? Symphony, Aria, and Rondo come to mind. Or perhaps ones from Zelda, like Sonata, Minuet, Elegy, Bolero, etc.
Gosh, so many possibilities!
Also, I'm going have that jingle stuck in my head again now. Thanks, Calliope. Thanks a bunch.

Wait... if... Calliope can cast and interfere with magic this powerful, and magic is supposed to be super rare here... Actually, so far we've almost explicitly seen it only used by Elias, and he's a Crest Bearer!! This... couldn't mean... No, she couldn't be... Is... Is Calliope secretly a crest bearer????

 

[Felis]

Oh, Carbuncle is sweet! Chika~

While it's kind of adorable that our halberd sings, it's certainly more practical for that quirk to go away. I like a music themed name, but Requiem sounds a bit gloomy. Some terms that come to mind and might fit a halberd are Staccato, Allegro, Forte, Accent or Fermata. Rondo, Gavotte, Minuet or Bolero sound good, too. If I'm going for something less serious, I could call it the Singing Sting or something?

Hmm... going by "they're the first and last person I'd expect" of course Calliope could be a crest bearer, but so could Scias, technically. I guess we'll find out more when we meet either of them in person.

 

[DreamBeat]

I'm digging the names Requiem and Rondo. Maybe you can mix those two and make Rondo of Requiem (even though that makes no sense and might tick off some musically literate people)...

 

[Idea]

So, my first thought when I saw the rabbit was "Oh, she's got a pokemon".

Now that I see the halbert all enchanted, I think "oh, she's becoming a magical girl."

So in honor of those two thoughts, "Jigglypuff" (I think that's how you spell it)

 

[Minako]

Rosalina Chandra

Caligena Felis DreamBeat Idea ​

Well, I suppose Carbuncle would fill up the story's need for a token lowest-key Over-Powered animal companion. Let's hope as fricking adorable as he is, he's also not equally as annoying. So far, so good though, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.
You know... him sitting on top of Xander's helm makes me realize just how much better his helmet looks with a little bit of plumage, ha ha.

Oh yeesh a singing weapon? This certainly doesn't bode well... A name?... Well, Requiem certainly is quite fitting. The name Bladesong also comes to mind... but we could save that for the rapier or something, since it kinda feels probably more like a sword name. Perhaps if we're going musical style themed, we could name ALL the weapons after these kinds of things, a la Castlevania? Symphony, Aria, and Rondo come to mind. Or perhaps ones from Zelda, like Sonata, Minuet, Elegy, Bolero, etc.
Gosh, so many possibilities!
Also, I'm going have that jingle stuck in my head again now. Thanks, Calliope. Thanks a bunch.

Wait... if... Calliope can cast and interfere with magic this powerful, and magic is supposed to be super rare here... Actually, so far we've almost explicitly seen it only used by Elias, and he's a Crest Bearer!! This... couldn't mean... No, she couldn't be... Is... Is Calliope secretly a crest bearer????

Oh, Carbuncle is sweet! Chika~

While it's kind of adorable that our halberd sings, it's certainly more practical for that quirk to go away. I like a music themed name, but Requiem sounds a bit gloomy. Some terms that come to mind and might fit a halberd are Staccato, Allegro, Forte, Accent or Fermata. Rondo, Gavotte, Minuet or Bolero sound good, too. If I'm going for something less serious, I could call it the Singing Sting or something?

Hmm... going by "they're the first and last person I'd expect" of course Calliope could be a crest bearer, but so could Scias, technically. I guess we'll find out more when we meet either of them in person.

I'm digging the names Requiem and Rondo. Maybe you can mix those two and make Rondo of Requiem (even though that makes no sense and might tick off some musically literate people)...

So, my first thought when I saw the rabbit was "Oh, she's got a pokemon".

Now that I see the halbert all enchanted, I think "oh, she's becoming a magical girl."

So in honor of those two thoughts, "Jigglypuff" (I think that's how you spell it)

You can't help now but wonder if you named your new halberd Jigglypuff, when it sang... Would put people to sleep...??​

You're kinda curious now...

Also, you kinda like the idea of you being a magical girl... Granted more the cute, bright, colorful kind and not the dies a horrible death kind...

Apropos to nothing, if you start getting pink hair through all this you are using berry juice or something to dye it...

Man are you glad you didn't pick the archer...

Majority vote: Musical name! Most posted name suggestion: Rondo.

​

"Ok... I dub thee... RONDO!" You cry out, deciding on your new singing halberds name.

As soon as you say their name the stream of magic moves around like crazy, and finally after several minutes, sort of untangles itself, now integrating the dark purple stream as if it was made with it, almost. It's still a bit out of place, and definitely not the same pattern as before it was tampered with, but it no longer is a tangled web of chaos, either.

"The bond has been sealed!" Elias cries happily, "Call out to it! Call Rondo to you!"

"A-alright... Rondo... To me!" You cry, moments later:

The halberd glows eagerly and engulfs itself in magic, disappearing and then reappearing moments later! It's long hilt slamming into your palms after exiting the portal of magic!
>>ACQUIRED RONDO THE HALBERD<<​

"Great..." Xander almost scoffs hesitantly.

"Uhm... So... What exactly does that mean...?" You ask, confused by not only what just happened, but Xander's sudden apprehension and disapproval.​

"It means, now that you've established ownership, you've successfully bonded to your weapon! It no longer needs to sing anything emanating in your heart since it already knows you own them, once you call it to you and you're not out of it's range, it will come!" Elias explains.

"Well, it's good it won't sing anymore, and that Rosie can now sorta call it on command, but I don't like the idea of her being bonded to a weapon..." Xander kinda scowls, not at you, but at the situation.

"Eh? Why's that? It doesn't sing anymore and now it comes when I call it, s-so isn't that a good thing?" You ask, curious.

"Well yeah, and I'm sure a bunch of the other enhancements make it a lot more powerful than a regular, un-enchanted halberd, sure, but now you're almost limited to just using that halberd..." Xander mutters, unsatisfied, "Plus, what if it gets lost or stolen?"

"E-eh? Can't I just call it back?" You wonder, getting a little scared at Xanders concern.

"W-well," Elias explains, "As I said, you need to be in it's range... Granted, it's usually a pretty forgiving range, at least a good radius around you, though being too far away can be pretty easy at times..."

"That... Doesn't solve my problem, though, if it gets lost or stolen..." You mutter, getting more scared at seeing Elias and Xander's anxiousness grow.

"...Being weaponless if your halberd gets lost or stolen will be the least of your problems..." Xander states, and now you're fast on the tracks to "freak-out town", population YOU if they don't start being clear with you.

"What... Does that mean...?" You ask, starting to shake... The looks on their faces give you the feeling you're about to get some bad news.

Xander, you can tell, is trying his hardest not to scold Elias, since HE wasn't the one who enchanted it... But to him, no doubt, Elias LET this happen and still deserves scorn. Elias looks down, pained, and clearly also blames himself.

He takes a deep breath, and nods to himself. He's about to tell you exactly whats going down, whether you're ready or not.


"I'll start with with positives, since there are more good than bad overall," Elias begins to explain.

"Quality over quantity," Xander grits.

"The good news is, in this bond you have with your halberd, aside from coming to you when called when you're not too far from it, only you can use and control it, would anyone else try to wield your weapon they would at best have a regular halberd and at worst be forced away," Elias tells you, almost luring you into a false sense of security with how great this DOES sound, "As a non-magic user this is an advantage for you, since the weapon draws and uses your energy and turns it into battle-spells on its own, no actual experience or affinity with magic necessary or required. Even better, it looks like, because it's bonded to you so tightly, you'll probably have some pretty expert control over the spells as well since it can sense what spell you'd like to use, and you seem to have a great variety weaved in here! It can even sense when you're in trouble, so even if its out of range to be called back to you, if I or Xander are near it while you are not we'll know you're in trouble right away!"

Whoa! This halberd just went from great to EPIC overnight! Literally!

No wonder Celosia said this as if she was doing you a favor! She was!

Wait.. Does this mean that you're assuredly NOT able to use magic until you gather all seven crest-bearers and gain the "powers of the heroine"? If you could, you'd probably just be setting off spells like crazy with this "upgrade" Celosia blessed you with, right?

"Uh-uhm, great...?" You say, still too scared to be optimistic about this granted there aren't too much smiles going around, though Carbuncle is doing their best to nuzzle and comfort you as he senses your unease.

"And now for the fatal flaw of all this..." Xander drills lasers into Elias as he frowns at him, and you feel sick to your stomach Xander is taking all of this the way he is, especially now that you're about to find out why...

"Right..." Elias says hesitantly, sighing and nodding, "Well... As it depends on you because of this bond... You kinda depend on it..."

You tilt your head in confusion as this was kinda already established...

"What I mean is... You can't be without it. Literally."

...What?

"If you were to lose your weapon or have it stolen... Well... At first it might feel like an itch you can't scratch... But after a few days... You begin to suffer from weapon withdrawal... You get more and more desperate and feeling like a caged animal... You need IT as much as it needs YOU..." Elias grimaces.

...

SO CELOSIA JUST MADE YOU ESSENTIALLY ADDICTED TO THIS HALBERD?!?!?!

WHAT THE HECK, CELOSIA!?​

"Yeah, there's a reason Elmiel suggests we don't bond with our weapons, despite the advantages..." Xander frowns, making your heart sink even more.

Your heart can't help but lurch knowing Elmiel would probably frown upon this.

"I-I..." You begin, feeling that horrid dizziness of trying to outright reject this new reality because you really don't like this, "H-how long will this bond last...?"

"W-well, until either the caster of said bonding spell UNDOES the bond, o-or..." Elias begins answering your question, outright refusing to finish said answer...

"Until the day you die," Xander finishes for him.

Wonderful.

You don't know if it was Calliope who did this... or Celosia, but either way, being a god and all, you sure hope when it is time to leave Celosia undoes your bond with Rondo... Not that you don't like Rondo, but you don't want to experience withdrawal ALL your life!

"I-I'm scared..." You tell both of them, looking like you are about to cry (because you are).

"Rosie... It's going to be ok..." Elias reassures you, grabbing his staff from Cocoa's saddle and smiling as he shows you, "I'm bonded with my staff as well. I go crazy without it! I know it's a bit scary to think about, but I promise you, we'll all work together to keep Rondo near you at all times. Whoever enchanted your weapon had the best intentions at heart."

He gives you a quick, warm, and reassuring hug.

"A-are other weapons really useless for me to wield now?" You ask Xander, a bit concerned.

"Not exactly, you can still use them and such, but, well..." Xander starts to explain and then turns to Elias, almost as if requesting that he continue on.

"It just won't feel right, you'll feel... Ill at ease and such when using a weapon that isn't Rondo," Elias finishes answering your question, probably better than Xander could since Xander isn't bonded to a weapon and doesn't know how it feel like Elias does.

"Try it," Xander requests of you while fetching your Rapier and handing it to you.

Sure enough, as soon as you held it in your hand like you did Rondo earlier, something felt... Off. Like this weapon wasn't yours. Not yours like Rondo is.

Whoa...

You shiver and shudder slightly as the odd sensation tickles your spine.

Shaking your head very much like a tiny dog shaking off every bit of water off of their wet fur as quickly as they could, you set the Rapier with about as much grace as you could.

"See what I mean?" Xander asks.

"Y-yeah..." You sigh, hoping you can get past this to wield a Rapier, though on the bright side, with Rondo around you can't imagine you'd have much need for a regular weapon.

"Who could have enchanted it to this degree, anyway??" Elias asks, genuinely perplexed, while examining Rondo yet again.

"I...I think it was Celosia..." You blurt out without really thinking.

"EH?! YOU THINK SO?!" Both Xander and Elias shout, stunned.

"I-I... Er, that is... Th-they came to me in a dream... I think they did this to put my mind at ease somehow... Th-though the addiction part now adds a new slew of things to worry about, b-but..." You tell them both anxiously, part of you being a little unsure they'll believe you and the other part thinking you're kinda Celosia's hand-chosen Hierophant, so...​

"From anyone else I might have been skeptical, but YOU, of all people..." Xander gapes, both cautious and proud.

"Oh Rosie! I was wondering when your Hierophant powers might shine! It looks like even Celosia is cheering you on! Don't worry, Celosia is watching over you, she did this to help you, drawback or not, and that must mean nothing bad can really happen!" Elias chirps while hugging you... again. (You realize he does this way more frequently than any normal person would, not that you're complaining or don't like it, but a certain Empress comes to mind when you ponder the reason why he's like this with you and when that happens you can't help but feel a bit saddened every time he embraces you...)

"I also have faith Celosia wouldn't just bring Rosie into this world to hurt her, but don't you dare use this as an excuse to slack off on protecting her, Elias. We got lucky Celosia was the one who bonded her to her weapon, but already we let something get in the way of that," Xander warns as he looks at the strand of purple hair you found near Rondo.

"Th-that reminds me..." You start thinking back now that the subject circled around back to your purple-haired enemy.

Wait... if... Calliope can cast and interfere with magic this powerful, and magic is supposed to be super rare here... Actually, so far we've almost explicitly seen it only used by Elias, and he's a Crest Bearer!! This... couldn't mean... No, she couldn't be... Is... Is Calliope secretly a crest bearer????

"Elias... Since we're all pretty sure Celosia was the one who linked me to Rondo to help me better fight... And Calliope sabotaged it by messing with said connection... I remember you saying to me yesterday very few people are this strong when it comes to magic... In fact, so few, that the ones that have magic powerful enough to even MESS WITH magic on a god-tier level.. are known in this world as crest-bearers..." You put it all out there, sure enough getting a shocked reaction from Xander but a serious and grim nod from Elias.

"Yeah... When I first saw the complex streams of magic and then you showed me her hair... I also began to suspect Calliope..." Elias starts muttering more to himself then you after that point.

"Th-then... Then my theory is right...?" You asked, baffled your hunch was so spot on.

"Pretty much, I'm afraid. This cinches it: She either shares blood with a crest bearer... or is one," Elias finally confirms.

You really don't want Calliope to be a crest-bearer...​

Also, this explains why Elmiel can also use magic quite well...!

"I'm seriously hoping it's her relative and that they're more amenable than SHE is..." Xander sighs exasperated, tired from all this magic-talk, you're certain, and after all this you can kinda relate!

"Haha, yeah, I sure hope so!" Elias agrees, trying to be sympathetic towards Xander.

Knowing your luck Calliope IS a crest-bearer... Oh joy...


"Chika..." Carbuncle sadly cries, patting you to get your attention, obviously feeling a bit ignored in all this, while simultaneously trying to make you feel better.

"Heh, sorry, little friend, I didn't mean to ignore you... I wish you could speak like we could... I'm glad at least you understand us though!" You smile and softly cheer while nuzzling him, causing Carby to coo in response.

"Chika, chika! Chi!" Carby happily accepts and nuzzles back, glad to be lifting your spirits.

You can't help but be a teensy bit saddened you don't exactly understand Carbuncle either, and you hope the more time you spend with them the more your communication grows as well.

"Listen, guys," You begin, with some newfound hope, "Right now it doesn't matter if she is or not: Our current mission is to get to Tarrin Village and locate the fire-bearer and that's what we should focus on! Once we get them and head back to the palace we'll have the compass that can help us locate the OTHER crest-bearers AND more fire power on our side! If she truly is one, eventually the compass will lead us to her! By then, I have faith Celosia will have given all the tools we need to help bring her around. I have faith in them. I have faith in us."

You don't know where this really came from, but nonetheless you reassure your teammates, a second wind of enthusiasm and optimism flowing through you.

"Heh! Well said!" Xander smiles, liking your gumption no doubt, "Now that this is all sorted and everything that needs to be said is said, lets eat up and get going! We've already eaten up enough time as is and we want to get to the village and start our search sooner rather than later!"

"Right!" Elias beams and chuckles heartily, already making his way toward the food while Xander starts a small fire.

You make yourself useful and refill Cocoa and Xerxes' food, Carbuncle cutely helping you (and actually not being a bad helper carrying the heavy food all things considered)! Cocoa and Xerxes seem to find Carby agreeable, both of them nodding their heads approvingly as the bejewled bunbun helps you serve their food.


When you're handed a rather big piece of bread and large portion of fruits in comparison to what Xander and Elias were eating you almost didn't want to accept, but you also just can't refuse those two, either...

Oh Calliope...

You're not going to lie to yourself: You're NOT THRILLED AT ALL that your fate and the fate of everyone on Cion Isle lays in the hands of this bandit, but... Right now it's pointless to worry. Worrying won't make any of this go away. It will only hinder you and your mission.

Before the time comes to face Calliope, you have to have faith when it does you'll be ready for her. It's all you can do now...

As you look at the small portion such a big man like Xander ate, knowing darn well he was hungry even after he had eaten, you hold back a sigh and pray to Celosia that the time for the showdown with Calliope comes sooner rather than later... For everyone's sake.





"Alright, guys!" Xander announces (probably being a little loud himself to hide his stomach grumbling) after you've all finished eating, "So, before we head to the village we should probably put on our winter gear right here and now, as it will already be freezing by the time we're up there!"

"Oh!" You exclaim, not even thinking of that.

"It'll be a little uncomfortable now, but trust me once we get a little ways up the mountain path you'll be glad we have gear!" Elias informs you joyfully.

"R-right!" You beam and nod, already heading to your tent to change into your winter cloak, dress, and snow boots!

Once you and your boys are ready, the three of you start getting the horses ready for take off as well soon as you finishing packing up camp!​

"Chika! Ch-chika!" Carbuncle frantically hops up and down to get your attention, clearly worrying you're forgetting about them.

"Hee hee, I haven't forgotten you, Carbykins! Come on, hop on in and you can snuggle up in my dress and cape-let with me so as not to catch cold!" You sweetly offer your new animal companion, the bejweled rabbit-like creature over-joyed at the offer.

You have a small, light dress underneath it and your bra under that, so Carby's fur won't tickle your skin or anything.

"Kah! Kah!" They agree, hopping up and... using their wing-like ears to glide the rest of the way inside your dress...

...
...
...


You, uh... You don't see that everyday...

"C'mon, Rosie!" Elias calls out to you once the last bits of equipment were packed in the saddles.

"O-o... okay..." You just kinda... accept that, and scuttle off to Xander, Elias, and the horsies.



The ride through the rest of Tornigan Woodlands was rather uneventful, granted who you knew was lurking in them, and you couldn't help but breathe easier once Xerxes and Cocoa took your group fully out of the forest and onto the mountain trail. You're impressed the road is as smooth as it is (not that it was perfect, by any means), granted the lack of equipment to make a proper road in this era, though you can't tell if time and countless supply and trade carts passing by here did this on its own, or if it was something else...?

You look to Elias to see if perhaps he had anything to comment on this, as you're guessing this is his first time down this road as well since Hellie hates the cold and he is (or rather, was) glued to her...

He stares around alertly, definitely like he was patrolling as Cocoa soldiers on further, but then his serious expression massively softens once he notices you are gazing up at him. He beams at you and--

"I love to sing-a!
'Bout the Moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a!
I love to sing-a!
'Bout a sky of blue, or a tea for two, anything-a with a rhythm to an 'I love you'-a!
I love-a to~
I love-a to SIIIIIIINNNNNGGGG~!"

T-too cute!!! E-Elias is a surprisingly good singer!​

"A-aw, you didn't like it...?" He asks, disappointed, as he sees you jerk your head away from gawking looking at him.

"I-I liked it!" You reassure him, trying not to let your ever-growing feelings for him be so obvious!

Before you could do anything else, you sure were glad Elias made your cheeks hot when he did! The cold, thin air began to be noticeable at this point, and it only got worse and worse the farther up the road your horses climbed! In only an hour two there was already a lot of snow decorating the road and everything around it, and soon after that you might as well have been in the North Pole with all the chilly winds and pure white all around.

"Ch-ch-chika..." Carbuncle shivered as you feel him clutch onto you (and your body heat) desperately.

"B-b-brr... Y-you guys weren't kidding! Th-this place is COLD," You stutter from the cold.

!!!!

Elias wraps his arms around you tighter and squeezes you in his arms reassuringly, practically whispering in your ear, "Don't worry, I'll keep you and Carbuncle warm."

You're really glad you're not ice cream because that (hot breath of his) alone would have made you melt... It kinda did regardless! You pray to Celosia that shudder that went down your spine just now (that you KNOW Elias had to have felt) he interpreted as you being cold and not you swooning over him!!


"Hey! Eyes forward, you two! One of the gate guards is coming this way! Elias, get the hat off of her and put her hood up, now!" Xander suddenly shouts, pointing ahead.

You look forward as you feel your now hat-less head cold for only a moment until a warm hood is pulled over it instead as you slowly uncover your face (which you totally didn't cover from embarassment at what Elias just did) and look up to see an approaching figure-

As Cora predicted: A red-haired man (almost with some sort of cow-lick) who looked like an angrier, male-version of Cora with much shorter hair and a moustache-goatee combo, would have been rather good-looking if there wasn't a distracting, nasty gash of a scar running down his left eye that was only semi-covered by an eye-patch (you're guessing whatever caused that took the vision out of said eye), black but thick padded winter coat and pants, equally thick grey gloves, a surprisingly brightly colored orange scarf (a cheery shade that doesn't suit the rest of his black outfit), and a scowl that would send anyone who made that face in your world straight to anger-management was first on their way to "welcome" you to, you're guessing from the sign, Tarrin village.

You know exactly who this man is and don't need him to say a single word to know his name.

Scias looks furious as he walks towards your group with his ax at the ready.​

Your heart stops as you most definitely are not prepared to meet your potential fire-bearer, especially after Elias' stunt...! You're finally here in Tarrin village and you have no idea how to greet them!!!

In your head you're trying to quickly unscramble the words to say! He's already spotted you and headed to your horse this second!

Quick, you have to think of something to say!!

>>SAY HELLO TO SCIAS

TRY TO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION: Y/N?<<​

code by @Satanic Nightjar​

 

[Idea]

TRY TO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION: Y/N?<<

The fact we're even given this option makes me want to choose the "no" option, so I'm going with that. Is it smart? No. But it sounds rather...amusing

 

[Felis]

I'm always for making a good impression, but trying to make one isn't the same as succeeding at it... A simple greeting usually works wonders, though as tongue-tied as I am right now, the best way to make a good impression might be to say nothing for the moment and let Elias and Xander handle it.

 

[BestrJestr]

Pfft... Mine's longer. I think a friendly greeting would be a good idea, but maybe in a more stern manner as to let him know he can't intimidate us. I'll put on my best DnD voice and give him a hearty: "Hail friend, we seek no trouble" whilst keeping my Halberd ready for use.