apocalypsehowcomm | [LOG] Apartment Life [Closed]

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[LOG] Apartment Life [Closed]

Who: Elidibus and Emet-Selch
When: Early Feb [Backdated to Arrival]
Where: ADI Apartments, D1
Summary: Two (former?) Ascians finally get to say what's on their minds about all this.
Warnings: Probably some condescending sounding talk about mortal kind. Possible references to mass murder/extinction. Lots of FFXIV Spoilers/Endwalker expac Spoilers.

What a strange day it had been, even for two who had seen a thousand thousand years and more.

It was no great feat to seamlessly cooperate and appear as much less than they truly were, surely. Elidibus had no intention of offering more about himself than the fact that he was able to calmly react to a situation such as the one they found themselves in, was intelligent and had come from a society with 'some magic'. There would be no hint at how deeply troubled he truly was, robbed of his senses and great magic, blind to this unknown star.

And bound to some unknown entity who wished to use them for its designs. Hoist on one's own petard, is it? A terrible irony and one he was not especially amused by.

It did not mean he trusted the ADI any more than the creatures that are claimed to have summoned them. But they offered assets and his pride was not so unreasonable as to reject what might be useful. Modern Eorzean had been like enough to 'English' to get by even before he had been led to the room with the mysterious paper.

Elidibus had been surprised to see Emet-Selch. Not from the fact that the entity obviously saw use in grabbing the Unsundered while they may have been in a weakened state. But to see his face.

The memories which were invoked by seeing not an aetheric signature, not a mortal vessel or a robe and mask clad figure, but features of a time long gone.

Yet he could not ask questions there. He listened and learned. When Emet-Selch had suggested the name 'Solus Galvus', there had been a small twist in Elidibus's heart to know his dear friend had indeed lived the countless eons in kind. He had hidden it well, though during the entirety of it all, there may have been small indicators and hints in the younger Ancient's manners to suggest that he is not quite the same as last Emet-Selch saw him.

A brief hint of emotion when the name 'Themis' was suggested to accompany Galvus. The ability to look at rather than through without the clinical detachment of the shell that he'd become as Zodiark tore away his memories and left only a driven caricature of the young man he had once been.

They had parted briefly when taken to shops by different agents. Some things would take a little more time to process, but the basics were found. Food, clothes, household necessities and the smartphone at the very least. Plus the borrowed sweats. Robes were not part of this star's common fashion, more's the pity.

At an appointed time, they were dropped off at the 'D' building of the ADI's apartments, given a basic rundown of appliances and ameneties, handed keys and... well, left to themselves finally. The door closes behind the agents and their footsteps are head in retreat.

With the food that needed to be kept cold likely having been put up during the housing tour, there is no rush to do anything in particular. Elidibus is silent, but moves to a window facing the lot they had entered from. It's from there he can watch that yes, the agents all leave as they said.

"Their actions are full of contradictions and border on naivety." Elidibus offers in the Ancient tongue as the vehicles drive away. "How much more is there to this tale of theirs that we are worth more alive despite the risk?

Who welcomes obvious harbingers of apocalypse with such open arms? It may add a general impression of manpower which doesn't have to upset the status quo of a world ignorant of the supernatural, but the risk seems far greater than it's worth. What more could there be?

Or like so many mortals, have their short lifespans blinded them?

[ Curious about Ancient Language sound? Please feel free to hear the weewoons here. ]

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It's been an... interesting tale that has been woven for them, that much is certain. True, he cannot entirely complain about the apparent efficiency with which matters have been run, but all the same it's... odd, perhaps, that a place should seek outside help for a problem that is so very much one native to this world. Or so he certainly assumes, given what little he has seen thus far. It might well be true enough that both he and Elidibus have some significant experience with apocalypses but even so, he cannot imagine anyone willingly summoning them both had they a choice.

To say nothing of the information they have been given itself, and Emet-Selch follows Elidibus to the window without a second thought. While he knows full well that it would only benefit the agents to do as they have said, he knows that is hardly any guarantee that they will. Much less that the apparent privacy that they have been granted actually is truly private.

"Indeed," he answers, in the same tongue. "I do not doubt their belief in the possibility of an impending apocalypse. However if such is the case, why not turn to those who would not have the abilities they claim must be bought at such a high price? Unless they simply seek to make the most of that which they have."

Which is not entirely beyond possibility. But even so, he cannot imagine that all who have been summoned into this reality will be so content to leave their more supernaturally derived abilities behind. Certainly he does not intend to, and he cannot imagine the same will not be true in Elidibus' case.

There may also be questions as to whether a spell in the hands of the ADI will let them translate what might be not-so-private. But it's probably expected there would be some attempt at a 'private discussion in a native language'. Fortunately there is much they can speak of that would be relatively harmless.

"It seems they aren't capable of stopping the phenomenon," Elidibus says after a moment's consideration. "I would not doubt many in the organization are capable of choosing to end the existence of those who rebel against their directive."

The agents are gone. Satisfied with that much, Elidibus turns away from the window and looks up at Emet-Selch. "It would be unwise to disposal of readily available tools. But there may also be a possibility they fear what would happen if they disposed of us out of hand."

What would the Entities do for their goals if the ADI simply eradicated anyone who appeared? "Though in the end there is likely no little effort at mercy involved."

It's not entirely out of the realm of possibility. Though given what little Emet-Selch has already seen - and heard - from the agents of ADI, he has his doubts as to whether it would be a spell. More likely, if there is anything in place, it will be of a more technological nature, and thus not nearly as likely to be able to handle a language long dead and from another world besides.

Not yet, at any rate. But that is a consideration for another time.

"Nor I, and in absence of any confirmed way to return to the aetherial sea, such a death would be final."

To say nothing of the fact that they are both past what would otherwise have been their final death. At least assuming he is correct in his assumption as to just when it is Elidibus has arrived from. And while he would have been content enough to return to that same aetherial sea... it seems he no longer has that choice.

"That they have taken some measure of effort to see us adequately adjusted to life in the world would likewise confirm there is some measure of concern over what might happen were they to not. If they have little control over who should arrive, far better to extend something of a hand of friendship than risk sowing chaos and panic. Least of all when their would-be foes are as they are described to be."

Limited though he would imagine their success to be in convincing all newcomers to give up whatever supernatural abilities they might have once possessed, he can easily imagine it would be worse, should they not seek to inform all comers of the - apparent - nature of this world in particular.

It's true the ADI have an apparent aversion to magic; particularly because it is fueled by these Fears. This is all well and reasonable given the explanation. But could technology, however impressive, be a full countermeasure? It remains to be seen. Though Emet-Selch is probably right in thinking they would use their science to work on translations over any magic.

Elidibus grows somber. That is to say more so than he was, reflecting with eyes closed. Emet-Selch's words are allowed to flow to their end without comment. It's a rare instance; rarer still these past millennia. But the younger of the two Convocation members is not waiting for his colleague to finish voicing his perspective on all they have learned before speaking again.

Elidibus waits as a courtesy instead, so that he can voice a somewhat...selfish statement.

Before his eyes are opened again, he turns away from Emet-Selch, the window, and crosses the simply furnished common room to where they left their new possessions. And old ones.

"I, for one, have no wish to sacrifice myself for a foreign star. Nor do I desire my passing." Death... it's a final, mortal concept. He does not fear it. But the pain of it here would be that it is not home. "...where I could not rejoin our brethren." Yes, from Elidibus's perspective they had both met their final end. He knows naught of after and Emet-Selch's brief resurrection by Hydaelyn's hand.

"Though I have no intention of submitting myself to the will of our captors, for all it is likely we may fulfill some of their desire ere we are free."

'We'. Elidibus seems almost certain Emet-Selch would be of the same mind. While he is likely not wrong and the confidence is born of experience in dealing with the taller man, it seems it is spoken more... personally than it might once otherwise have been.

Given the empires Emet-Selch has hand a hand in over the centuries - either in part or in full - it's certainly not impossible for technology to stand against magic. On the other hand, Emet-Selch has yet to get a full measure of the technology that ADI has the capability to bring to bear. To say nothing of what the Fears themselves might be capable of - given what little he has already heard it would certainly not go amiss to consider them to be similar to the creatures that had been born of the Final Days.

(A not entirely comforting thought, but one that the evidence certainly seems to point to.)

For now, however, he chooses not to mention it. If Elidibus has not already started to come to that conclusion he is willing to, but he cannot imagine that Elidibus will have missed that same suggestion. Instead, he waits patiently until Elidibus finishes speaking, noting the somewhat selfish nature of Elidibus' statement and adding to what he had already begun to guess at.

"Nor do I. I see no reason that we should not offer such assistance as we are able, given that there seems to be little reason to not do so, but should another option for returning present itself I am more than willing to seek it out."

Not least of all for the fact that he would have much preferred to be allowed to continue his well-deserved rest.

"Nor do I intend to keep strictly to their suggestion with regards to supernatural powers. If such matters could prove the difference between life and death, it is a price I am willing to pay."

Technology was capable of a great deal, Elidibus would agree. Yet on their star, technology could easily be blended with magick by harnessing aether in different ways. Letting the technology itself do what the body could not, in some cases. While that may hold true for Earth, the ADI seem - at first glance - to be resistant to such concepts.

In fairness they are not without reason. Whatever the case, there is much more to be learned.

Because yes, Elidibus is aware of the similarities of Fears and those beasts of the Final Days. That those things could easily be nightmarish creations which managed to drift across the cosmos and take root here. How ironic if that were the case. Though hardly the only explanation or even the most likely, it remains an unpleasant possibility and reminder.

And though it will in the end be unrelated to the fate of their ancient past (another of those strange, uncanny similarities to this 'Earth' and their star and its reflections), it is worth at least an onze of sympathy for a star caught in a similar grip of pending doom.

Elidibus would not mind lending a hand even where it did not benefit him and his goals directly; he might not be ready to sacrifice everything for this star. But he would not turn a blind eye to it either.

"At minimum it would behoove us to better understand the limits and price of our birthright under the circumstances we find ourselves." And these are words Elidibus offers after a moment's more of careful thought.

"...If not for what we must do to survive our tenure here, then to be certain what benefit or harm could be caused should they manifest out of our control."

Elidibus does not speak without knowing the weight of such words. Their powers are great. And if the 'normal' for this world is what he is experiencing right now, then even one of their Sundered brethren would be a catastrophic threat to this star. One of the Unsundered would be exponentially more dangerous.

And here there are two.

Could be, certainly. Not all of it had been, but even the technology of the Garleans had found its basis in Allagan technology. Technology that had more than frequently gone hand in hand with aether in some manner. And though it had certainly been adapted to accommodate the Garlean inability to manipulate aether, it had yet been colored by it. Something that does not seem to be the same here, no matter how similar the technology might be between this star and their own.

An oddity that he cannot, yet, write off as mere coincidence, just as he cannot entirely write off the possibility that the beasts of the Final Days have found their way across the cosmos and landed here. Especially when he knows full well that the song of oblivion would have, by necessity, touched other worlds then their own. Would have brought other worlds to their knees, and there is certainly nothing to say that it cannot have touched this one. Or, if nothing else, echoed out across the cosmos and left a seed of an idea behind.

"I agree," he answers with a nod. "Though I would imagine that there are some abilities that are likely to be safe enough for use even despite such costs as we have been cautioned against," Emet-Selch's soulsight, for one, "anything greater will indeed require a more thorough understand of what this world means to ask of us."

Fear is - after all - apparently running rampant enough all on its own. And while they themselves are not affected by it (save for the connection to the entities in question they now seem to hold), that is certainly no guarantee that the fear will not take root in that which they should attempt to manifest.

Elidibus hasn't yet heard what happened after he sent the Warrior of Light traveling to the past. He gave up his life and his soul had not been so connected, it seems, to be called upon by Azem's spell in the end. Though he had no intention of lingering and this journey to another world was not of his own choice.

Having sorted through the shopping to retrieve the possessions the ADI purchased on his behalf, the Ancient offers a nod.

"They may be safe enough to use. Though undoubtedly those cautions also refer to the power we grant our captors while securing their use." Aethersight and other natural senses need fuel as well and the Fears are undoubtedly out to make a profit. "As unpleasant as it may be, I would recommend pursuing but a fraction of our natural gifts for now. Something we may find our bearings with."

Not affected? Perhaps it is better to say they may not be as easily affected. Fear was what gave birth to those horrifying creations. And while the two have many thousands upon thousands of years to have steeled themselves against things mortals would quail at...

It is something hard enough to think about, yet they may as well be mortal, too. Open to so many elements neither would have thought twice about before.

"I will enter their research department as soon as I am able. What do you intend to do?" For now it seems there's little more that needs to be discussed on the first steps they should take toward investigating the cost of their abilities.

And Elidibus is unlikely, as ever conscientious about what should be prioritized, to suddenly turn toward anything more personal that hangs in the air between them.

In time, Emet-Selch might think to offer some explanation as to what had happened after Elidibus had met his final end. If only by way of explaining what he last recalls of their world. But for now, it's nothing he happens to be thinking of. The matters of their own world are not the matters of this one, and just at the moment he is riding too much of the general displeasure at having been called forth to another world to really be thinking of such things. Especially with so much else to focus on instead.

(He may not be thrilled about ending up elsewhere. But that doesn't mean that he's not going give the whole of his attention to the problem before them.)

"Given that we have little way, as of this moment, to know precisely how much power we would be granting our would-be patrons should we seek to return to the whole of our powers, I agree."

He may not like it, but neither can he deny that it's the most sensible course of action even so.

As for the matter of the Fears... on that he intends to reserve judgment until such time as he has more practical experience with any of them. Though he remembers well enough the fear and panic that had gripped the whole of the star, once, he has little enough to go on with regards to these new Fears. Nor, for that matter, any suggestion as to whether or not their experiences during the Final Days will affect their experiences with the Fears here. Still, that is likewise a topic that need not be discussed immediately. Even if it will no doubt come up at some point.

"The equipment department seems a reasonable choice. Though research would also do well enough."

It seems the best way to approach this is to begin with the basics in any case. And that is to gather information. It is certainly frustrating having to begin from nothing after so many millennia knowing history by witnessing it; and not even the familiarity of their beloved star, however many pieces it might have been shattered into.

Yet Elidibus keeps to himself, at least for now, that he is not as upset having to do so as he feels he should be. Could it be those precious memories of who he once was contrasting with what he now is? It's far too soon to say and he would rather dwell on it for a time.

And there is really no advantage to mentioning this out loud to his colleague.

After a pause to think, Elidibus returns his opinion on Emet-Selch's choices. "I would not deny your presence in research would be welcome. Though it may be best to begin with a division of labors. And learning the details of this star's technology would serve us well.

Let it not be said he can't multitask. For then he offers, "Shall I move your possessions to one of the rooms?"

Given that they have only just recently gone through yet another upheaval of their very lives - if not one nearly as pronounced as the Final Days - Emet-Selch makes no comment about Elidibus' reaction to needing to yet again start over. Or rather, his lack thereof. Still, it is not the first time and it is not likely to be the last either, and there are still more important matters to be seen too first.

(Emet-Selch himself is still not particularly thrilled, either, but he has never had Elidibus' gift for studied neutrality and so it is all the more clear on his face.)

"I shall give you time to settle in to the research department, then, while I familiarize myself with the technology present here. Both within ADI's purview and beyond."

Since there's no sense in looking only at the one. Not when it would very likely mean missing some component of the complete picture.

A moment later, there's a shrug at Elidibus' question.

"I would be more than capable of doing so myself. But should you wish, yes."

Given the rooms in question are of equal stature, it's just a matter of putting the belongings in one. One day they might try to assign a third roommate. It's probably for this reason Elidibus chooses the middle-most of the three. Even if Emet-Selch chooses to move to a preferred view, there will still be a small Emissary acting as a passive buffer for better or worse.

It doesn't take long and soon Elidibus is back to start taking care of whatever remaining bags of food items were left out when they arrived. Even if it proves they don't really need these- or will it? The representatives of the ADI had said they were human and it certainly feels like they're extraordinarily weak enough to consider this an undeniable truth.

But even if they don't need all the staples, it's best to go through the motions, as always.

"To more personal matters," Elidibus brings up as he's back within speaking distance. "I found myself reluctant to speak of such matters amongst our hosts. But I have to admit I feel weaker than even when I have had the occasion to take mortal host."

The vessels of mortals upon Etheirys may have been but a fragment of what they had once been. But even so and particularly the hosts they were inclined to take were often more than these humans of Earth. Far more in some cases.

Elidibus pauses with a distant look as if plumbing the depths of these very limits and looking for words to describe them.

"Though I cannot say they are... entirely gone, every sense seems robbed of me." Other than slight, distant and cotton wrapped pulses where the latent fear brings hint of what's supposed to be.

What may go unnoticed meanwhile and certainly by Elidibus, is the sudden appearance of a folded white robe- plain of adornments they had donned during the long millennia in service of Zodiark- and red mask within a few paces of the Emissary. Surely that is nothing to worry about... right?

ADI might certainly one day see fit to try and assign a third person to their room, its true. Not that Emet-Selch is likely to be particularly inclined to be personable on the off-chance that they do, but this is not anything particularly out of the ordinary. Nor is it anything that is likely to be immediately relevant besides. As such, he is more than content to leave Elidubus to the matter of the rooms - they are all largely the same from what he has seen, with the potential exception of the view and at the moment he has no particular preference one way or the other.

(It is, after all, hardly as if this is anything even remotely similar to the beauty of Amaurot, and while Emet-Selch may have had long millennia to grow accustomed to various sorts of views, across a multitude of civilizations, he cannot claim to be particularly impressed with what he has thus far seen of this city.)

"An apt description. Even when I had cause to act as if I were naught more than mortal in truth, I yet retained my faculties with magic."

Even when said host had been Garlean by birth, and thus not typically able to use magic. A simple enough thing to overcome, once he had taken up residence in Solus' body. That he cannot do so now stands out all the more, to say nothing of the fact that even his soulsight is gone, or as good as.

"It is as if we have lost something of ourselves, in coming here. Something that we have yet to regain."

A pause.

"That or something about the process of making us fit in here has left us... diminished. Far more so than would have ever been the case on either the Source or her shards."

Neither is a comforting thought, truth be told. But given that ADI's explanations can only go so far there is perhaps nothing for it but continue on as best they can. Even if Emet-Selch very much intends to be less than thrilled about having so much less than he's used to for as long as he can get away with. The sudden appearance of a plain white robe and a very familiar mask, on the other hand, is enough to distract him somewhat. He spares a brief moment to peer at the robe and mask, as if he might regain his soulsight simply trying hard enough, and then he speaks up again.

"I thought you had left those aside?"

And unless Elidibus intends to change back into his robes now that they are in the relative privacy of their own residence, he sees no immediate reason for them to be present. Much less to have simply appeared, as they seem to have.

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[LOG] Apartment Life [Closed]

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