Return of the Emblem Chapter Fourteen: Fight

[Xinnidy]

"Hmm..." The old lady seemed intent in checking up Thales' hands, but with the sort of injuries he'd seen outside, and the ever present shouting muffled through the boat floor --boy, was it getting annoying now-- he wondered if it was worth slowing her down. Certainly she'd have better things to do by now.

Ah.  What the heck, no point looking a gift horse in the mouth. "Well, alright." He showed her his palms, his gaze still lingering towards the door leading outside the infirmary. "Your crewmen sure have some voice." It was possibly the least nosy comment he could make, while still actually being nosy.

[Mercakete]

Evidently, Nadya was already ready to go. So, with a nod, he led the way back up onto the Emi Maru's top deck. He couldn't help but linger on the topic of Luca, though, at least mentally. He really hoped that someone had shown the horse where to go, but given recent events, he wasn't sure he trusted the group on the whole not to leave him -- or anyone else -- behind for their own convenience's sake. That was about as far as that line of thinking went, though. Soon, they were once again above deck, and Rizen was right there, waiting for them.

Kind of. It wasn't as though she'd literally been waiting for her rider to return with another human in order to get back to the wyvern ship. Either way, Norbert's next action was to mount up. Then, he offered a hand to Nadya. No sense in not offering, if only to give her the cue to mount up, herself.

[Phoenix]

The Deadly Dandelion

The muffled gunshot seemed to do more to a select gathering than to anyone else on the ship, but it was enough to get Joanna moving, again. The captain didn't look any more sure of how to proceed than the avians were, so they would just have to insert themselves and hope for the best. That felt more than a little reckless, but Joanna didn't see any other way in the moment. At this point, she could make peace with all the injuries, as long as nobody died over this ... "Sorry for rushing in," she said, wincing at Liam as she ran down the port side stairs onto the main deck. Isis had disappeared completely the moment Joanna's feet reached the main deck, and through tiny fractures in the crowd, she could see Haythem fading in like manner.

By the time they had arrived, nearly all of the aggressive sailors and mercenaries had been, at least temporarily, curtailed. Shouts of rage had been replaced almost completely by cries of pain, bitter groans of protest, and weapons striking the deck. During the nonlethal assault, more than a dozen of the men not involved in the fight started up or toward the ratlines, aiming to drag Angelica down and prevent further injuries. They had no intention of being sneaky about it, and started calling to her and demanding she get down, even while climbing up after her.

Meanwhile, Haythem tried to explain the sudden turn of events. "Lady Aisha wants Amon, Malik and me to return to her in Rex-Avaz. Since she was captured by the Tide, she wants us there to help her regain control. The only way to get back right this minute is to use that," Haythem pointed at Amon's eyes ... and that was the long and short of it. To Amon himself, he added, "It's up to you ... but it's an order. I don't have a choice ... so I'm going." Haythem looked down at his hands and feet. His hands were barely visible anymore, and his feet were gone, with his legs quickly following. Haythem chuckled bitterly as a thought occurred. "Before you go, could you apologize to Nadya for me? I'll ... try to find some way to get her money back to her. No, I'll ... definitely get it back to her. Soon."

Infirmary

The old woman laughed, one of those genuinely amused outbursts. "Do they ever. It's a shame they haven't got any tact or manners, though. It's a bigger shame my husband isn't here to help that girl straighten them out, too." She took Thales' palms, eyeing them closely. "Nothing I haven't seen before, hmhm." Stiffening her grip briefly, a subtle way of informing Thales to keep his hands where they were, the old woman continued, "Alright, just like that ...", then she placed her own palms over them. As soon as she did, the soreness seemed to fade, slowly at first, but within a few seconds, and by the time the old woman had begun to bring her palms away from Thales', the signs of the trauma were gone. She smiled again, satisfied with the result.

[Ether]

Well, it seemed that some of the bystanders had it in mind to stop her interference, shouting at her and climbing up to attempt to dislodge her from her position. So only now would they interfere, huh?

"How interesting you would choose now to intervene, hmm? Instead of trying to calm them down so it wouldn't come to this, you put your foot down to me, after I stop this nonsense from continuing?" Angelica asked, annoyed by it all. Still, they were ascending the ladder after her, so it wouldn't do to stay where she was... kicking off from the mast and platforming her way down, the mage touched the wooden deck nearby to her allies, now that the crowd was no longer surging.

"They'll get off without more than bruises. That's more than I can say about their intentions, swinging blades and axes around."

[Nanami Touko]

"WHAT!?" That sounded... So stupid! Is that why the Basilisk disappeared? Is that why they were in this stupid brawl, right now!? "Who the fuck is Aisha and why should we care, right now!?" Eva grunted off another swing, taking steps back so she could talk without getting interrupted.

"Tell her to piss off and call again later! If it has to do with Rex-Avaz, I'm sure it's real important to you, but in the middle of this slugfest-- could she have worse timing!?" Don't have a choice, what is this nonsense... "Amon! I don't care what you do after, but if you go with them right now and leave us stuck in this, I swear I'll kick your ass if we ever see you again! Losing the wyvern's already bad enough, fuck..." At least they still had Angelica, and the more bothered individuals were taken care of, but it wasn't just about that. It was about the aftermath. The person who caused the problem couldn't just up and disappear, and Eva wasn't about to start taking care of any talks. That would probably start another fight, all on its own.

[scorri]

Lumi smiled happily as she saw Thales' palms seemingly completely healed. "There! That's better, isn't it? And it didn't even take that long. So no need to feel bad or anything. You've got to take care of yourself. I... I wish I could say that things aren't crazy like this all the time, but ever since I've joined this group, things seem to be getting more and more insane... Hopefully things will calm down at some point, but it doesn't seem likely with our goals. Hopefully you don't regret joining up with us though?"

Hoshi smiled back at Haruhi. <"I understand. This group seems to attract trouble, but don't worry. Things seem to have quieted down for now. We can still go see what is going on, but hopefully it's nothing. It was probably just emotions running high after the battle."> Making her way out onto the deck, Hoshi glanced around to see if anyone else was around. Perhaps they would know what was happening.

[Xinnidy]

Thales let the elderly lady inspect his palms, figuring it some sort of inspection, at least he got a few laughs out of her. "Yeah... they can't all be winners. Can't be easy being a captain." That was surprisingly relatable to his days in the gang. Still, in a combination of might makes right, passable money shares, and ever subtle indocrination, Casimir and Seif's whelps felt like trained dogs compared to this. Guess the captain is on the fresh side still...

It was to his surprise that it was not an examination that was happening, but straight up healing. Just like that, no medicine or staves giving out light or any sign he'd expect other than the soreness fading away. Wait, what? When she was done, Thales took a good look at his hands, not hiding his surprise and skepticism. "Was that magic? I couldn't tell..." He wasn't magically literate beyong the martial basics he'd learned up to his fifteenth year, but he thought he knew how the laws of healing magic worked by now. Apparently not. "Um, thank you." It wouldn't do to have no manners after that healing job.

"Ah, Lumi. Just what's going on up there?" He took the chance to ask figuring there'd be... no appropriate time to ask either way. "Y-yeah, it seems you guys are caught in something, uh, pretty convoluted. I can't say I don't mind that... but it's hard to look away once you start seeing into it, like watching a play in rising tension... on and on for hours, and the climax still nowhere near." Thales seemed to mentally kick himself at the comparison, embarrassed to use the comparison, but something about the ridiculousness he could only compare to a childhood hobby. "I still have a lot I'd like to ask Amon, but... as long as you don't give me nothing for pay. It beats staying in Urquium." An awkward chuckle escaped him. Well, that much was true.

[Dandragon]

Mavis stood over the curled up forms of the mercenaries she had been fighting against, and she could easily hear the groans of pain from all of them. "Looks like my work here is done!" She said, dusting off her hands. "So? Anyone else up for some fisticuffs?" Mavis looked around, and saw plenty of the once fighting mercenaries similarly on the ground and in pain. That old lady is gonna have her work cut out for her. She thought as she kept looking for any other trying to fight.

Of course, the next thing she saw nearly made her jump in surprise. Haythem, one of the men she had been defending and fighting with, was now glowing and...fading away? Mavis blinked a couple times to make sure she wasn't seeing things, and sure enough, he was disappearing from the Deadly Dandelion as if he were a ghost. "Hey! What the heck is going on over there!" She asked, before hearing someone come up behind her, punching him in the face and flipping him over. She jogged right on over to the group of 3 after incapacitating him. "You're not ditching us, are you? After all this?"

[Phoenix]

Self Control

Honestly, if Haythem could have stopped himself from vanishing right this moment, he would have. His own will had nothing to do with this. He knew Aisha had far more pressing concerns than Haythem's own unease, like the destruction of Sanctuary, and the captivity of her people. Those that perished in the siege went without saying. "Please don't be upset," Haythem pleaded, mainly with Eva, though his eyes were passing over just about everyone, "This won't be the last time you see us." He certainly hoped it wasn't ... "It can't be ..." he shook his head, dismissing the thought ... and that was it. After that last word, he was gone.

"Haythem ..." Amon winced. He didn't have a choice. That was what he'd said. Was that the price of saving Haythem's life? Stripping away his free will completely? As the last of the lights faded, Amon's thoughts drifted to Malik. How would he feel about this? Would he submit, despite being able to reject the order from their queen and goddess? What was Amon supposed to do if that was the case? Despite his own musing, a lot of eyes were on Amon himself, now. Many of the sailors were expecting him to simply vanish, too. That wasn't going to happen; unlike Haythem, Amon was still in control, in a sense. It had been so long since his obligations stood at odds with his own conscience ....

Enigma

"Magic of a sort," the old woman admitted. It was the same sort that allowed Lexi to manipulate the ship in fantastic ways. "Much as it mystifies the help, a healer's got to practice healing. No thanks necessary, though; I'm getting valuable experience from all this~"

[Nanami Touko]

"Oi... Oi, oi oi, I told you to tell her to fuck off, don't you dare--!" But he was gone. He really didn't have any control over this. The brawling had stopped, Haythem and Isis had vanished, and Eva... Eva was left with too many questions... One person held too many answers.

"YOU!" she bellowed, snatching Amon by the collar and hoisting him a good foot off the ground. "We're all gonna sit down. And you, you are going to explain all of this to us. No more being in the dark with this nonsense! I get that I'm new here, I get that, you don't wanna tell me everything, but if I have to watch someone else up and vanish, for no reason... I...!" She bit her lip and tossed Amon down, sighing to stop herself from tearing up. "You got that? And Haythem... He better come back, okay!?" Tch... Stupid... Everything's so stupid...

----------

"<Attract trouble... What sort of trouble?>" Going back to Kigen with competent people around her wasn't awful, but 'attracting trouble'... That was too vague to not be worried about. Was this mess because of them, or were they just stuck in it? She sighed, quietly, and followed after Hoshi. She'd get the answers to her questions eventually, and hopefully eventually was soon. She kinda wanted to meet the rest of the people in their group, though... Surely there were some interesting faces about.

Edited June 1, 2017 by Nanami Touko

[-Cynthia-]

Liam

Liam stayed close to Joanna as best he could, looking for any potential danger. What he found was not what he expected.

"Mother Mercy- what is going on here?" he asked Joanna, though he wasn't sure she had an answer either. Why are people disappearing? There's so much strange magic happening here...

Nadya

Nadya readily took the hand Bert offered and mounted up on Rizen. "I have a bad feeling about this...but let's see what's happenin'," she said with a sigh.

[Toogee]

Haythem disappeared entirely, leaving Amon to answer the group's concerns. Jam too wanted answers as to what was happening, yet she also knew things weren't well in Rex Avaz. While she was told that the Sanctuary had been taken, the status of the rest of the country was unknown. Seeing that this included her own village, the dancer was naturally concerned for the situation. She was a bit more sympathetic to him departing.

"If you're gonna go, make it quick. We still need you for this portal thing."

[Mercakete]

Even as Nadya began to speak, Norbert was directing Rizen's hooves to about where they landed before, first at a trot, then at a short gallop, before the winged mare took off towards the allied ship by air. He'd only just gotten her moving, however, when the rider noticed a couple people coming up onto the deck from below. It was dark enough now that it was hard to tell at just a glance who they were, but they looked different from the other sailors, anyway. Even if they were with the group, though, Rizen couldn't fly any more passengers in one trip, so he put them out of his mind and focused on the ship ahead.

Rizen was focused forward, too. She was a little bit cautious, considering the danger that had been there only a short while ago, but the predator's scent had faded quite a bit. It was much quieter, too. Maybe her human knew what he was doing for a change. Either way, she decided to trust him that the danger had passed. The ships had gotten so close, now, too, that the trip didn't take very long at all. Soon, the pegasus' hooves touched down onto carefully-tended wooden planks once again.

Taking advantage of being mounted, Norbert rode the rest of the way by hoof to where he'd seen the commotion. The sight was rather surprising. Sailors were strewn all over the place. Had some hostile boarded them? He'd brought Rizen to a halt, so Nadya could do what she wanted, but Norbert, himself, didn't bother dismounting. Eva looked pretty mad at Amon. And where were Haythem and Isis?

"What in Truth's name happened here?" Norbert asked, somewhere between baffled and mildly demanding.

Edited June 1, 2017 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

The Main Deck

As if Amon needed to be strong armed into explaining anything. Unfortunately, he was only just now beginning to understand what was truly going on, himself. Years of free running and months of regular fighting made landing back on his feet a matter of reflex. "Calm down," he said. He meant it for Eva, but he felt as if he'd said it to himself. He was feeling frustrated, as well, he knew. "I wasn't hiding anything here. I just ... didn't realize what this actually was, and who was really in control." Amon raised his hand over his face, his fingers wandering toward his jewel-like irises.

With Joanna, Liam, Nadya, and even Norbert here, now ... that was just about everyone on the same ship. "If you really want to know everything I do, that's fine, but this isn't the best place ..."

As Understood

Although Amon wasn't trying to hide anything pertinent to his explanation, he couldn't help but leave his dream-like encounter with Aisha and Osiris out of the explanation. More or less everything else made it to the ears of his allies in tact. "If you haven't noticed them yet," Amon continued his arduous retelling, leaning forward and widening his gaze for those gathered close by, "look closer." Joanna and Malik easily recognized the gems that had replaced the sancturan's irises. Shadrak and Greta were still trying to figure them out. "These are what let me see how valuable something is. Once I claim it for Sanctuary ..." he thought back bitterly to his choice to save Haythem, not realizing the involuntary trade being made in doing so, "it disappears. It works on objects and people."

The dining area of the ship was spacious, but it could just barely contain the crowd gathered there comfortably. For the sake of sanity, Lexi had given strict orders that her people could listen in if they behaved, but weren't to try and butt in. It helped that the biggest offenders in the brawl on the main deck weren't around, and the rest weren't keen on fighting in such a tight space. One small mistake could see half a dozen people killed. That was one of the only comforts afforded Amon, right now, that and being heard out in full, without sharply worded interruptions. Haythem was fortunate in a way, able to simply vanish if the situation became too dire. It was just tempting enough to linger in Amon's mind as he continued his explanation.

"I thought it was something I controlled; that's what it looked like. It's actually Lady Aisha who decides whether something can appear again or not. She can make them disappear, too ... just like you saw." That was a terrible thing to have to admit aloud. They'd risked so much on the assumption that Amon himself controlled the ship and the timing of its arrival and dismissal. "All I can do for certain is claim things for Sanctuary." He wasn't completely certain of that anymore either, but he had a small measure of faith clinging to him. "Lady Aisha is the ruler of Sanctuary ... so in hindsight, it makes perfect sense they're under her control. Not mine ..."

It felt about time to explain the situation with Haythem and Isis in particular. That took a few minutes, as Amon rehashed their entire horrific ordeal, right up to the loss of Haythem's arm and the death of Kohut. "He blamed himself for what happened, us winding up in that situation, Isis and Malik getting hurt, himself getting hurt, all of it." It went without saying that Amon was no healer ... "I couldn't just let him die up there." Even knowing the cost, Amon felt almost certain he'd have taken the same action as before. As much as it hurt to consider, at least it was Aisha calling the shots and not someone that wanted them to suffer needlessly. Aisha's priorities had obviously changed with the fall of Sanctuary, but she still wasn't evil. She wouldn't turn on them and enslave them for her own amusement. It just felt wrong on principle. Servitude was meant to be a choice. "If I knew of any other way to save him, I would have done that instead ... but I saw him fading right in front of me. There was so much blood. His arm was completely gone. It was a hundred times worse than what you all saw. I couldn't stand it. That's why I did it. I won't let that be the end of it, though. If there's a way to free Haythem from the Regalia, I'll ask Lady Aisha to release him. I don't think she'll do it until the fighting's over, but I don't see a reason why she'd never release him at all."

There hadn't been much to tell them about the woman in his dream other than her intentions. She was and was not Raquel. She was and was not the emblem. That woman was best described as someone or something in the middle, Raquel's persona united with the emblem's power. "Also, the girl I mentioned, the one that looks like Raquel? She wants to help us. It's probably easier to understand if I just say 'the emblem' wants to make you into emblem wielders. The problem is partly our situation with the box," he said, eyeing Joanna, who still had the object in question with her, "and partly me. Well ... she said it was all because of me." Another painful admission. That made sense. If he wanted to, Amon could just take the emblem. Liam would give him a hard time, no doubt about it, but the physical act of taking the emblem was always open to him. Naturally, 'Raquel' would discount the box and Joanna being her guardian entirely, under the circumstances.

"I can talk to her because of the knowledge Nyx gave me, at least ... that's what I think it is. She made such a big deal out of me getting an ability of my own ... as if that would help her and keep me alive, somehow," he shook his head, still trying to understand. The power she'd granted was more than just useful, it was incredibly powerful, even for an emblem ability. The problem was that it wasn't truly his, because he was a servant of Aisha. Still struggling to fathom how that worked, Amon wondered if it was truly possible to wind up in a situation like this. Could his goals become so thoroughly in line with Aisha's, or so fully subject to her whims, that any ability the emblem granted him would likewise be hers? Was that really possible?

Amon leaned back against the wall just beside the kitchen doorway. "I thought I knew what was going on, but I was wrong. I'm sorry." Amon was beginning to feel even less human than he suspected Haythem did. He may still have had his own freewill, but Amon sincerely doubted he'd used it much in his brief eighteen years. Even now he had an important decision in front of him, whether or not to obey Aisha's order, and he could feel himself sinking into an obedient mindset now that the dust was beginning to settle. Trying to act on his own had caused so much trouble, and he had nothing to show for it. In the end, Joanna had been the one to come up with a plan to stop the chaos, and Amon's assumptions about the emblem endangered that plan and its volunteers. There was no telling how many would have died if the imperials hadn't retreated, or any number of other things went awry. Now that he was thinking about the issue more deeply, he felt that Aisha was probably right. At least if they returned to her, she could find something for them to do that wouldn't nearly backfire.

"If you've ... got other questions, I'm ready to hear them," he said, his voice just barely registering for those further in the back. Leaving tonight wasn't an option, but maybe once they reached Kigen. That would give him and Malik plenty of time to talk the matter over in private, and do what they could to help the others prepare for their absence, as well as the emblem's full aid.

[Nanami Touko]

Staying calm was the last thing Eva wanted to do, but roughing up Amon wouldn't get her anywhere. She folded her arms and tried to drive her worry at something else, hoping his explanation would be a good one.

It was. When she'd demanded he lay everything out for everyone, he didn't skip a beat. It was nearly too much to pay attention to, the quiet of the group all too evident of so much being given to all of them. She had to look about everyone first, not sure if saying anything first would cause a problem. 

"I-I... I don't have any extra questions. I just wanted to say sorry... You sound like you're just as worried as I was, an'... I got upset at you like you did this on purpose. I don't think I could've made any different decision had I been in that situation... Watching someone die." She tensed up, holding herself. 

"I'm sorry, Amon. Just... Yeah." All this emblem stuff tended to fly over her head, but this time... This time she was getting it. And that made it all the more frightening. So, what, are we all going to end up using the emblem? That sounds worrisome...

Edited June 1, 2017 by Nanami Touko

[Mercakete]

Well, now Norbert finally had a clear picture of what happened. This wasn't only in regards to the emblem shenanigans -- why the ship had disappeared so suddenly, for example, not that he'd been paying much attention at the time -- but also in regards to the battle on the strait, the new faces, the change in attire a couple of the not-so-new faces had, and the fight that broke out earlier on this very vessel. He still didn't know exactly what had happened back at the bandits' hideout -- hopefully there was a good explanation for not even warning him that they were high-tailing it out of there, let alone abandoning the people they were supposed to be rescuing, plus a couple of their own -- but there was enough to think about for now. No use in overdoing it.

While he was processing all this, Eva spoke up, drawing his attention. He apology was sincere -- that much was clear. And, really, it helped Norbert lower his guard a little -- not that he'd realized it was up any higher than usual. It was good to see her being reasonable. Maybe she and the others would be just as reasonable when he asked about the circumstances revolving around the bandit hideout near Ursaea. Not now, though. He was still mulling over more immediate concerns.

Aisha had always commanded her people's servitude, but this was on a whole other level. Somehow, Amon had Aisha's power...kind of. And she was taking people and things in order to enact what she wanted to. It hardly seemed fair, and really, it was nothing short of annoying. Of course, what else was new? He never did like the desert, nor its supposed "queen." The tale of Haythem's near-death was a sorry one, too. Amon was a good guy doing what he could. It was too bad what happened to Haythem, but nothing could be done about it now. Norbert did wish that there had been another way to save the man, though. That led to another concern, though -- one he'd bring up in a little bit. For now, there were even more concerns to consider.

The emblem had finally gone and made itself look like Raquel. In a way, Norbert supposed it made sense, considering that, as far as he knew, she was its first wielder, at least in this age. Maybe it liked her or something. That didn't make it any less weird, of course. In fact, it only got weirder. The emblem wanted more wielders... That had Norbert on guard. Why would it want more wielders? And why, specifically, them? He couldn't help but think back to the dragon head, and to Hypnos -- who were...kind of the same person? Eh, weird magic, regardless -- all of it. The dragon head had offered to help Raquel and those with her to become stronger. He had something to do with the emblem, too... Maybe this was someone else who lived in Raquel's head, and had for so long that it kind of became like her?

He'd taken the thing up on his offer, but had wound up being trained by Hypnos. There had only been one session, and it'd really been...different. He wasn't sure how helpful the training session had been, really. Regardless, Hypnos certainly had taken an interest in Raquel's group, watching how they and Raquel interacted, if his comments were anything to go off of. The last he'd heard, though, Hypnos was no longer connected to the emblem. He was safe with his mother, Nyx. That was the same minor goddess who gave Amon information on the emblem, and, evidently, allowed him to talk to this new..."spirit." Given Shadrak's own testimony regarding Nyx, though...

The pegasus rider's brow furrowed at the thought. Then, he looked to Amon. The poor guy looked absolutely defeated. As much as he felt bad for the Sancturan, he was more worried about the question in his mind. So, with a bit less of an edge to his tone than his usual, he asked, "How do you know this...emblem thing you saw wasn't something Nyx put in your head? Hypnos is her son, and he lived in Raquel's head for a while. Maybe we don't know as much as we think we do." Frowning, and bringing a hand contemplatively to his chin as he leaned back some in the chair he was seated in, he added, "And if you can really gather things and people for Aisha, but can't control it, then does that mean that anyone or anything you touch could suddenly be...'claimed' for her? I don't want to make you feel any worse, but I want to know. I don't want that to happen to me -- or to Rizen, or anything else of mine, for that matter."

Edited June 1, 2017 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Questions & Answers

Malik sighed and uncrossed his arms. He'd taken up a position to the west of the room and like Amon, was leaning up against the wall. Since Amon had finished, Malik had been contemplating the decision the two of them had to make, whether to obey Aisha's order to return immediately or not. There was also the question of 'in what capacity'? She hadn't specifically ordered them to use those things in Amon's eyes to whisk themselves back. They could return to Sanctuary on foot if they chose, ridiculous as that might seem. That was preferable for Malik at any rate. He did have one issue with leaving so soon, though. He and Joanna had a standing agreement with regard to the emblem. Of course, this tool Amon could now use was arguably more useful to the sancturans than the emblem itself. Still, there was much more they could accomplish in the long term if they didn't return just yet.

"Don't worry about it," Amon said, not making eye contact with Eva or anyone else, "I didn't mean for this to happen but I didn't do enough to stop it."

Norbert seemed more concerned about Nyx's potential involvement, something that made Shadrak wince. "Well," Amon thought back, "she told me she could only talk to me or Lilith the way she was." That implied she couldn't or wouldn't speak with Nyx for some reason or other, but didn't prove anything. There was no way to properly address Norbert's concerns at all, it seemed. "She didn't mention Nyx at all, so maybe she doesn't want to become an emblem wielder." She was certainly powerful enough as she was ...

"Okay," Shadrak chimed in suddenly, "if the emblem wants us to become wielders, how do we do that? We're going to need all the power we can get to defeat Valdimarr, so we should make whatever progress we can on the way to Kigen."

Amon's expression darkened as he thought back to his conversation with Raquel. "If it was that simple she probably wouldn't have been focusing on helping me. Besides, Shadrak, she already knows what you're after. She can't help you ... at least not while you're like this."

Shadrak made a face ... then crossed his arms bitterly, "Well isn't that convenient, I'm the one that can't become an emblem wielder. Are you sure you're not still upset about what happened at Weyland's? I'd like to talk to the emblem myself, if you don't mind. Having you play gate keeper is going to make this take way longer than it should."

"Your problem is you're after the means, not the ends." Amon wasn't sure what made him say that, but he hadn't been thinking it. He blinked away the brief confusion and continued. He pointed to the box in Joanna's hands. "She's in there. Good luck," he said, not caring one iota if Shadrak got his way in the end or not.

Edited June 2, 2017 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Norbert frowned at Shadrak. He got that Nyx was a touchy subject for him, but... "If you ask me, we have more important things to think about than how to become wielders. Like 'why.' Why would the emblem want us to use it? Maybe there's some risk we don't know about." Speaking of emblem powers and risks, the rider returned his attention to Amon. "And you didn't answer my other question. Are you safe to be around, or could anyone or anything you touch suddenly be in service to Aisha?"

It was a little more blunt than he'd meant to say it, but his more subtle approach hadn't yielded any results.

[Ether]

"If this woman who spoke to you was both the Emblem and Raquel, yet neither, as she claimed, then doesn't it make logical sense to assume that the Emblem has merged with Raquel in some way? She was clearly capable of using the Emblem, and had a... unique attachment to it. If we take that assumption and roll with it, then this all makes perfect sense. The Emblem wants us to wield it because it has merged with Raquel's consciousness in some way, and she knows and has fought beside us." Angelica chimed in, the back and forth not getting them much of anywhere, likely due to how out of it Amon must have been at present, with all that had happened. Having talked to the man a bit about what he had learned of the Emblem from Nyx, Angelica felt she could atleast put together a basic understanding of what was happening.

"That would explain why us, but why at all? Clearly the Emblem is a centerpiece to a lot of shit going on right now, as we've experienced from a brief amount of time around Raquel, as well as the pieces of the damn thing. Raquel is no stranger to trouble, if she has merged with the Emblem, it means that something has caused that to happen. She must know something we don't, something that's moving the timeline forward too quickly for things to sit inactive and wait. That's my take on it, at least." Angelica concluded, looking over at Amon with a bit of concern.

"As for Amon, it's clear that he was never informed of the finer details of his ability, hence his mistake earlier. He's feeling this out as he goes, and pressing him for information there's no way he can be sure of isn't going to get us anywhere."

[-Cynthia-]

Liam frowned at Shadrak- the man grasped for power far too readily for his liking. "Joanna was chosen by Mercy to wield the powers of the emblem, not me or any other. Would you defy her will by attempting to 'become a wielder'? Such actions could have disastrous consequences," he said, crossing his arms.

Nadya verified that Luca had been brought aboard the ship, which made her at least coherent enough to try and understand what happened to Haythem. She focused her attention directly on Amon. "With all due respect Amon, I don't really give a shit about this emblem wielder stuff. Just give it to me straight. Where's Haythem? Where's Isis? And where's my gold?" she asked, maintaining a calm voice for the time being.

[Phoenix]

Questions & Answers

Naturally, Norbert was more concerned with the immediate potential dangers. There was more evidence to suggest the actual 'claiming' aspect of this was under Amon's control and not Aisha's, so while Amon was almost comfortable stating such, the tattered remains of his confidence wouldn't allow much more than an unsatisfactory, "Everyone here should be fine." That was probably the truth. Each time it did happen, Amon was dead set on the outcome, from saving Isis and later Haythem, to capturing the Basilisk. "If you think you're in danger then just keep your distance." Frankly, if they were truly at risk, then the ship itself wasn't necessarily off limits, now.

Angelica followed up with an important theory, though as far as Amon could tell, it was simple reality awaiting confirmation. There were people that had spent far more time with an emblem piece than Raquel, so whatever happened was recent, and unique. He did have something to add, though. "She wants to help us but I think the emblem's always worked that way on some level. With her in there now ... it's probably just more determined. Like I said, she made a really big deal out of me getting a new ability. She said I'd die if I didn't."

Liam wasn't having any of this, either it seemed, though Amon couldn't respond to him proper ... Nadya had been waiting, seemingly patiently, for details about Haythem, Isis, and the money she'd left with them both. No wonder Haythem seemed slightly amused for a moment before he vanished. "He said he'd get your money back to you, soon. He also said he was sorry," Amon relayed the message, trying to channel something, anything of Haythem, but that was just too difficult right now. "If I had to guess, he's probably with Lady Aisha right now."

Shadrak meanwhile, glared expectantly at Liam. "In case you haven't noticed, that's not the only emblem piece lying around. If Mercy's upset about Joanna not being the only wielder, then she should have a word with Raquel, Hypnos, and probably Valdimarr, too."

"It's probably good for Joanna to watch over that one," Amon noted thoughtfully, "whether there's more wielders or not, she and Liam can at least keep the wrong people from getting their hands on it."

"Well according to the 'one true wielder's' guardian, we're all the wrong people," Shadrak said sharply.

[Mercakete]

The Crusher grimaced at Amon's response. It wasn't very clear; it seemed that the Sancturan had his own reservations about whether or not he wouldn't unintentionally conscript others for Sanctuary. It was really too bad; he was a reliable ally, and a good man, besides.

He didn't have any time to respond, though. Angelica came up with a pretty far-fetched theory in Norbert's ears, and then went on to...kind of attempt to answer his question in place of Amon? She also sounded like she was trying to defend the golden-eyed Rexian. At least she was giving this thought, but there was something about her reply that rubbed Bert the wrong way. There was some subtlety about the way she was interjecting that the pegasus rider found irksome. By the time she added her last sentence, he was fairly certain he was being scolded for asking the difficult questions, which magnified and clarified his annoyance. That sort of accusatory attitude always got his walls up and turned up his aggression.

But then, Amon replied to her, and Bert's surprise evaporated his defensiveness. "Her in there?" "Wait -- you mean Raquel's actually...gone into the emblem?" The argument the emblem-Raquel thing made sure sounded like something Raquel would say. Still, it was...odd. Even for emblem stuff. Norbert wouldn't accept such claims easily -- he wasn't that naive.

While Bert was being a skeptic, Liam was reiterating his opinion about emblem wielders, with an extra helping of judging Shadrak. At about the same time, Nadya was wanting to know where Haythem, Isis, and her gold went. That did remind Norbert that he had some money to give to Greta later, but he wasn't so easily pulled from his own, recent question. Shadrak's response was logical, though he had to admit it was kind of disrespectful of Mother Mercy, not that he could claim to be much better, himself. The brief exchange between Amon and Shadrak that followed further evidenced Shadrak's bitterness at Liam's decision.

[Snike]

Pete had questions. Mostly ones like, 'why were they supposed to get emblem powers?,' 'what just happened?,' and 'how much does Aisha pay?,'  but the first two were answered and the third question was promptly dismissed, for now. Before he could think up another question, however, Shadrak and the male avian got into a back and forth, and something strange occurred: he agreed with the shaman.

"It's too late to care about that: We probably only made it out of that battle because of someone besides Mercy's 'chosen one' used emblem power, or magic, or whatever that was," Pete said, as he pointed to Amon, before continuing. "So unless it's disastrous to keep on living, I don't see what her 'will' has to do with anything."

Edited June 2, 2017 by Snike

[Toogee]

Jam was watching the question and answer session devolve into argument. Shad was a little too interested in getting emblem powers, which were apparently going to be doled out to the group at some point in the future. Exciting as it was for new powers, she wasn't sure how any of them could use them. They needed someone experienced to help with the gates. With Amon gone, what would their mission be? 

"OK, so we need an emblem wielder to close this gate thing, right?" Jam asked Amon. "What are we supposed to do if you don't come back? Are we going to Rex Avaz to go get you or...."

[-Cynthia-]

"Beings like Valdimarr are exactly why we can't have just anyone using the powers of the emblem. I believe that Mercy has set me on this path to stop wanton use of the emblem, not encourage more of it," Liam said. "And yes, I do not think most of the people in this room are capable of using it responsibly. It is not a personal slight, but historically beings attempting to usurp the powers of the gods has has disastrous consequences."

Nadya sighed heavily at Amon's response. "I know he'll try his best, but I worry that it's not really in his control at this point. So if he's with Aisha- where's Aisha? Is she still in Sanctuary or what?" she asked, though part of her suspected Amon did not hold all the answers.