The Princess' Dream Citadel

[wizardseason]

The Princess' Dream Citadel is a tower surrounded by waterfalls on all sides, surrounded by a spiral staircase that reaches every floor. At the top is a reflective platform below a starry moonlit sky. Within its many floors are any number of amenities that the Princess or the good-allured knights good need.

Each night, the Protector can be found on the roof, stargazing and listening to the sounds of the waterfalls around the tower.

Comments

[roaryrory]

"Yeah! What's the point of not fighting, don't people want to stay alive?" There is a fire in her eyes as she says this. She then turns to the Protector with a more quizzical look, though.

"Who... what wanted to destroy the world, back then? The Wizard? Something else? Why?" She really, really wants to put this puzzle together, but she's not very good at that. It's all so confusing, and too grand for her to understand.

[disguiseself]

[She's taken her tail in her hands and is twisting it nervously as the rest of them speak, taking a moment to consider Luka's words.] I think what Gyre meant is... just surviving gets tiring after a while? People want to actually live their lives without this looming over their heads, right? Uh, at least that's what I guess he was talking about?

[She wonders the same things Rory voiced, so she gives him a curious look too, tilting her head as she waits for him to answer.]

[wizardseason]

"The planet itself is unstable. The world saw glimpses of the destruction to come: Earthquakes, fissures, instability. If it continued, the very planet itself would have come undone at its seams." He answers Rory's inquiry, meeting both her and Olivia's eyes.

He notes their other conversation but chooses not to contribute to it. He, unfortunately, cannot relate. He has one single goal: Keep the world spinning, year after year. The cycle must continue.

[eutychia]

"Even if just surviving isn't ideal, the alternative is nothing at all... so, I don't see the point in trying anything else." Luka says. "It sounds like the planet was fucked. I'm sure if there was another way, the Protector would have figured it out, right?"

He turns to the Protector, as if waiting for confirmation.

[roaryrory]

"I guess that's fair. Not fun to live with constant anxiety," Rory says thoughtfully to respond to what Olivia said. "But Luka's right, not existing would be even more terrifying!"

She then tilts her head to the Protector's direction. "So the Wizard wants to end this cycle, right? Of buying the peace?" she asks, "Is that why this whole thing is happening?"

[disguiseself]

So our planet was dying before you two came along...? [This is.......... very stressful.]

And so then, what? You saved us and the Wizard didn't like it?

[wizardseason]

The Protector nods in response to Luka's assumption then, after a moment, vocalizes it. "You are correct. This is the only way."

"The Wizard wishes for the cycle to end. If I fall, the world falls with me. My fate is tied to the world itself." He answers both Rory and Olivia, watching their faces for how they'll take the news.

"We do not see eye to eye on any solution."

[eutychia]

"Well," Luka thinks. "How would she kill you? You exist on this... wherever this is, right? Dream realm?"

[disguiseself]

But... why is that so? Why is it your responsibility to protect this world? Were you and the Wizard from here, originally? Or... are you, like... [How do you ask someone if they are a God? Olivia looks like she's trying real hard to wrap her head around all of this.]

[wizardseason]

"When the twelfth monster falls, both she and I can be killed. I will no longer be out of reach, but neither will she." He answers, calmly, he trusts these three well enough to reveal his weakness to them. The brief window that he could be killed in was not widely advertised, for obvious reasons.

Though she knew it like he did, there was always a chance the evil knights didn't know it.

"When we moved to save the world, we tied ourselves to it. We came here from another world, one we failed to save." He answers, rummaging in a pocket to pull forth his smoking pipe. It's about time to fill the area with smoke, and he starts preparing the tip of the pipe with something.

"This world is not like the others, it bound us here."

[eutychia]

"What was your world like?" Luka can't help but ask, leaning forward with intense curiousity.

[roaryrory]

Rory is absolutely mesmerized by all of this, also leaning forward so much she's almost falling off the chair. Thankfully, because of its bean bag-like softness, it keeps her seated. "Oh, oh, you said 'others'! Were there more worlds than just this and the previous? How many, how different?"

The sight of the pipe makes her smile - her father used to smoke one, when he was alive. It makes the Protector seem even more trustworthy to her, like a fatherly figure.

[disguiseself]

[Olivia, instead, leans back. So the Wizard and the Protector were... aliens? That's crazy, but in her head it made more sense than them being Gods, anyway. She rubs at one of her cheeks, considering her next words.] That's............. wild. Okay.

So both of you saved the planet? And then, what, the Wizard didn't wanna be bound to us so she wants to destroy it?

[wizardseason]

These were questions the Protector got on some years. Never every year, but it occurred frequently enough that he had scripted his answers by this point. He's tapping on the end of his pipe to get it packed just right before he lights it and begins his story. As he speaks, a fragrant cherry scented smoke fills the area.

"Our world was the first lost, it was filled with vibrant beauty beyond imagining. We were among the survivors, struggling to survive among the stars. You would call us scientists, our experiments were meant to prevent that tragedy from happening again." He pauses, the pause just long enough to let the words settle in.

"We have saved three and failed nine. Each world has faced a different fate, some we had no effect on, others we predicted. When we moved to save this world, our plan did not go as expected. I adapted, she resisted."

[eutychia]

Luka's face falls at the heaviness of the Protector's reply. Nine worlds. Nine whole worlds. He retreats back into the recliner, folding his hands on his lap. If it were even possible, somehow the weight on his shoulders felt heavier after hearing those words.

"Why did she resist?" He asks, quietly. "She'd rather just call it a loss and move on?"

[roaryrory]

"Wow..."

Nine... To be honest, that heaviness is enough to hit Rory, too. She decides to deal with it later, though, if ever. She has some unrelated questions.

"So... Have you guys always been like... uh, would shapeshifters be accurate? Since you do the yearly looks?"

[disguiseself]

[She stares at the Protector, her brow furrowed, trying to read him. She wondered if he grieved for each world he lost, and wondered if, eventually, they'd be the tenth. She bites her lip, looking down as she waited for the other two to ask their questions.]

What was the plan? What... went wrong?

[wizardseason]

"The magic we prepared changed when we moved to save this world. Something else took hold of it. She believes it should remain out of our control, that we should let that bring it all to an end." He answers both Luka and Olivia, pausing to take a long breath through his pipe.

"Shapeshifters would not be inaccurate. Our appearances are fluid, changing with the ebb and flow of magic itself." He slowly exhales, filling the air around him with the cherry smoke.

[eutychia]

"'Something else'?" He repeats back, uncertain. "Do you know anything about what exactly 'it' is? Why would she surrender to it, unless she knows something more about it?"

[wizardseason]

"The world itself." He answers, leaving it in the air for a few moments before he continues.

"If it can take hold of our magic and bend it to its will, letting it run free with that magic to destroy itself is unacceptable." He takes another inhale, looking between Luka, Olivia, and Rory each for a moment.

"We have come across dangerous forces like this one, in time I am certain it will calm." He exhales through his nose this time, a cloud of the cherry smoke forming around him.

"I will not stand by to idly watch this world be engulfed in magical destruction."

[eutychia]

"Huh." Luka says, dumbfounded. "So, let me get this straight, the planet's got hold of your magic and is trying off itself for some reason? So did you guys come to this world to save it or did you guys coming here give it the tools it needed to do... that."

[roaryrory]

Rory, too, looks confused. "And, and. Why were the other worlds self-destructing? Was that just a thing that happens, or also magic? If our world's reacting badly to the magic?"

[disguiseself]

And how do you know it'll calm? I mean, you don't uh, seem sure of why it's happening in the first place, right? How long will it take...? [There's a chance the Protector doesn't know this, she realizes, but she had to ask.]

[wizardseason]

"We knew it was set to destroy itself, but we underestimated its abilities. This world is like no other. Though every world has been different, they have all had some similarities. But all had a different reason for their destruction. This one felt like one we visited before, one we saved." He shakes his head, taking another inhale.

"I have doubted, but we will make it through alive. No cost is too great to save another world. I do not know where the tunnel ends, but the light of hope is there."

[eutychia]

"That's reassuring... I guess. I'm still a little put off by knowing the planet is sentient and wants to die, though, if I'm interpreting this all correctly."