Corona: Water nymph? Well, I dunno a whole lot about magic but we got a water guy. He's a waterborne AI. *Gestures over his shoulder to a large tank of water with a few glowing neon lines acting as its face.* Aquarius: Oh don't bring me into this, ape.
Relias: Well, that has to do with our story's magic system. Lucky for you all, you have the two most qualified people to tell you about it! Luna: This has already been explained to the room as a whole, so let's keep this brief, yeah? Relias: I suppose that's fine. So, we have this thing called "Energy," which is kind of like the lifeblood of Yara. Luna: Yara is the name of our planet. Relias: Anyway, if you have a deep connection to Yara and undergo through rigorous training, you can become so adept with Energy that you become one with Yara itself. These beings are called the "Ascended," which are also what we consider to be the true Gods of Yara. I am actually the very first Ascended, which I achieved within months of first discovering Energy, which was sealed away when the Old Gods brought magic into the world. One who is connected to Yara ceases to be a normal creature, and their body becomes an odd mixture of life and Pure Energy. An Ascended can actually switch between having a normal body or a Pure Energy body. Luna: You're getting off track. Relias: Thank you. I'll admit the only gods I've made have not been exactly intentional, but I have a method. I'll go around and scout out people who show a connection to Yara and the potential to be strong Energy Users. I will train these Users to be able to Ascend, they will serve me, and we will make this world fair! It's really not easy, though. Has not worked once. Luna: Hell, I got your little kidnapping victims closer to Ascension than you did. Maybe I should be the God of Gods? Relias: You're not even Ascended yet!
Huanglong: *sighs* That again... Qinglong: You know this... peculiar thing? Huanglong: Not this one, but... There is something Haruka calls technology. And believe me, just accept that it exists and can do whatever it does. All I got from his explanations was a headache. Qinglong: I see... Huanglong: But from what I can recall it isn’t something that can be made out of water... *to Aquarius* So, water ai or whatever you’re called... How can you even exist?
Vaimiti: …I am so confused. Does it always go this fast? Isabel: Yeah, I’m pretty sure it does. Just roll with it. Katie: Anyways, they’re asking you why you don’t like water magic. Go on, tell them about your tragic backstory. Vaimiti: (eye twitches) It is hardly a tragic backstory. I simply grew to resent water magic due to growing up being told it was all I could do with my life. That does not qualify as what one would call a tragic backstory.
Aquarius: I won't divulge the particulars of my extraterrestrial origin, or the atomic circuitry that gives me consciousness. Just know that I am Aquarius and I am a visitor of sorts to Earth. Corona: He's... not good with people. Black Sun: He is, however, a very good worker. And a rather useful resource for his vast technological genius.
Relias: Are water nymphs born in water? I know the storybook versions in our story are made out of water. Are you made out of water? Luna, try and control her! Luna: Absolutely not.
Xuanwu: *raises his hand* I can, if you want. *Nothing happens. Xuanwu looks at his hand* Xuanwu: The only other time this has happened was when... *turns his head toward Huanglong* You!! Baihu: That trick again?!! I don’t know how you do it, but when I do... Zhuque: I share your sentiment, Baihu, but for as long as we are here let’s avoid unnecessary trouble, okay? Baihu: Yeah, yeah... Xuanwu: Fine... *Qinglong glances at Huanglong* Huanglong: *leaning against the wall with folded arms* And why are you getting mad at me for? Don’t you realize that the nymph might not be made of water at all, which mean your water power don’t work on her? *Xuanwu opens his mouth, but realizing Huanglong is right he shut it again* Qinglong: Let’s see what the nymph has to say then...
Vaimiti: First of all, I am a them, not a her. It is not uncommon for a nymph to choose not to align themself with male or female genders, and that is what I have done. In any case, I was not born in water. We typically do not live in water, as this would make it difficult to interact with other nymphs and other species. Of course, some do elect to live in water later in life, but most of us simply live near it. And you cannot control me because I am not made of water.
Huanglong: I told you! *To Vaimiti* And there are different kinds of nymphs, you say? We demons come in a large variety of species as well. What can you tell us about these other nymphs?
Vaimiti: Well, there’s several different types of nymphs, corresponding to various elements. I’ve already told you about my kind, the water nymphs. We live near water, or sometimes in it. We have more contact with mer than any other species, though they prefer to keep to themselves, so even we don’t have much interaction with them. There’s also the forest nymphs. They live in trees, typically. In history, they’ve often lived with forest elves, so they’ve picked up some traits from them. Like the fact that they’ll talk your damn ear off if you let them. Katie: They’re saying this like it’s a bad thing, but it can be pretty useful when your only guide tells things on a need-to-know basis. Vaimiti: As I was saying, the other two kinds are more elusive. What I can tell you is what I’ve read. The air nymphs live high up. You can find them in mountains, largely, but it’s difficult to get up that high, so most other nymphs don’t have much interaction with them. Their contact is largely with fae, since they can fly up there. Rani: One of these days, I’m going to try and get myself up there. Camila: You can’t fly. You tried, remember? Rani: Yes, I remember, and I also remember when I told you all to never speak of it again. Vaimiti: If you are done interrupting me, the last major type of nymph is the earth nymph. They live underground most of the time, often in caves. You can find them working with dwarves sometimes. They don’t come above-ground much, so I’ve only seen a couple in my lifetime.
Qinglong: We demons didn’t exactly have a lot of interaction between our various species either before the unification. Xuanwu: Come to think of it... Out of all the demonic species we have only one get proper development... *All look up at Zhuque* Zhuque: What?! It’s not my fault!!
Huanglong: Wait! Why didn’t I realize it earlier… *To Luna* You are here. That means… During Truth or Dare Niki said her greatest fear was you being evil. I guess her fear will come true, huh? And that also makes you the same as me. A hidden villain. Qinglong: Or it’s the opposite, and it is Relias who is in for a rude awakening. Huanglong: Speaking of him… *To Relias* I wonder if there might be a connection between you and the one who calls herself Noc. Well, she mentioned more than one name, so you might not know that one… Eterna was another name she used.
Luna: Well... It's not like that... I mean, it kind of is, but... I mean, I wasn't going to let Relias in here, or let him to talk to everyone without supervision. But, I guess I would be the closest to turning bad in the future. You see, I have the memories of two other people in my head. One of them loved Relias more than anything, and the other was a psychopath that hated him so much that just seeing him now makes my skin crawl. That's a dangerous, obsessive combination. Even further, it can make me do terrible things that I already have memories of doing, all in the name of stopping him for "the greater good." I've been careful to keep my emotions in check, but I did tell the others about all of this. That's why Niki said that. No one's afraid of something that they think has no chance of happening. ...Sorry about that. Didn't mean to bring down the mood. Luna: I wish. He'd still have to atone for all of the horrible things he's done, but I think Relias finally giving up on his stupid crusade would make me happier than I've ever been. Does your story have any villains turn to good? Relias: Luna, I give you a lot of leeway, I know that, but calling my mission to create an ideal, equal world a "stupid crusade" is crossing several lines. Relias: I wish. I've only met her briefly, but she's incredibly powerful and quite interesting. She told me that she watches over all realities, as a sort of supervisor, to prevent them from interfering with each other. From what I understand, she is more prominent in those reality hoppers' story. There names were May and Gabriel, right? Luna: Yeah. I think Noc, or Eterna, is supposed to show up in our story a little later down the line. Don't know what for, though. Maybe we have to travel the multiverse, as well? Relias: *To Vaimiti* I have a question. What exactly sets a water nymph apart from a human that uses water magic? Oh, and, my apologies for not understanding that you are not a girl, earlier. I have never encountered one that does not consider themselves to be a male or female, but all should be treated as equals. Such is the only requirement for a perfect world.
Huanglong: *To Luna* Guess you are in the grey area, then. And regarding villains turning good… Zhuque: Our writer has a soft spot for “baddies turned goodies”, so there are more than a few spread out throughout the series. As to who they are… Well, let’s keep the lid on that one for now. Xuanwu: *To Vaimiti* And I suppose we should apologize too. After all, we have one who is somewhat unclear regarding gender of ourselves. Zhuque: Yeah, my species is made up of one single sex and still we reproduce like any other mammal species. So what? Qinglong: I think the issue might be that despite all that, everyone of you still refer to yourselves as males. Zhuque: Once again, not my fault. Baihu: *To everyone*: As mentioned we have a few turncoats, but what about you guys? Do your stories have them?
Qinglong: Hello, and welcome. Eh… How to do this…? Baihu: No problem. Who are you and what is your story? Zhuque: They doesn’t seem able to talk, muscle brain! How do you expect them to answer? Huanglong: *sigh* *To Maynard and Carl* Is there some way we can communicate with you? Unfortunately none of us here is a mind reader.
Corona: Well, this is awkward. I uh... don't know any deaf people so I never learned sign. And I guess it's hard to lipread someone through a mask.
Vaimiti: What sets us apart from humans with water magic? Well, a number of things. Nymphs always have magic, and so we innately know how to use it. Humans, on the other hand, almost never have that capability, and so they struggle to harness it. Because of this, nymphs are also capable of learning certain other types of magic; humans, on the other hand, cannot do such even if they do have magic. Of course, nymphs are...discouraged from doing such, but the point is that we can do so. Katie: Also, they have blue skin. Literally, you're looking at a blue-skinned nymph, and you're asking how they're different from me. They're a fucking Smurf, that's how. Vaimiti: I will not dignify you calling me such things until you tell me what a Smurf is. Anyhow, if you are done, I would also like to say that a water nymph is capable of breathing underwater naturally; Katie, however, would have to form an air bubble of some sort. Katie: Which I can do, for the record. It's not hard. But anyways, that's not the point. Vaimiti: No, it's not. In any case, I'm sure there are a number of other differences, but I have had no experience with humans prior to all this, and we have not taken the time to figure out how we differ. One last thing--gender has no effect on how you are treated in my realm, but I would hardly call it a perfect world, or even an equal one.
Relias: Oh, I guess I didn't really take notice of the blue skin. Back when our world still had magic, there were the Beastborn, who had different traits than normal humans, but I still considered them to be human. If it wasn't perfect, then I guess someone else must've been discriminated against, right? As long as you- Luna: Actually, Relias, you're time's up. I'm getting Zeke and you two don't know how to at least act civil with each other. It's not like you know that much more than I do. Relias: ... Very well, but I think I'd like to come back here sometime. preferably without supervision. *The two leave, and Luna comes back with a new guy. He's taller than her and has black hair and blue eyes.* Zeke: You know, you should at least give me some more details than "we're all talking about our stories." I want to know exactly what I'm getting myself into. I thought you were done hiding stuff from us? Luna: Go drown in swamp water. You're hear because we've got a couple of people who can't talk or hear, so hopefully they speak sign language. Have a go and try to be useful, for once. Zeke: *Under his breath* First you don't tell me about this place, now you drag me here for your own reasons. Selfish bitch. *Takes a moment, then starts to talk while translating what he says into sign language. He's fluent.* Hey, everyone. Luna here told me that a couple of you can't talk, so here I am, resident mute person translator, Zeke. I'm the only person who seems to remember that Luna's a lying coward who straight up ran away. Luna: That's called a grudge, Zeke. It's different. Zeke: *Still translating* We'll agree to disagree. Anyway, who are the mute ones? I'd like to confirm if this is working or not. *If they do speak sign language, Zeke will translate what they say as they're saying it.*
Seeker: I can see into the minds of any entity. However, I will normally leave intelligent entities to resolve their own issues. I am here if you require my assistance. Truman: Typical AI crap! Look folks, all you gotta do is knock your heels together three times... Seeker: Truman, you are not amusing. Truman: Hey! You're the one who told me to have a sense of humor!
*Baihu’s ears suddenly twitch. He glances over his shoulder as he smells the air* Baihu: He’s coming back. Qinglong: Then I guess that’s our cue. *Everyone exept Huanglong leaves.* *Huanglong closes his eyes. The antlers and his scaly skin fade away as his hair turn white. He put his hair up in a ponytail.* *Shortly after Haruka enters.* Fuu: Haruka? Is something wrong? Haruka: No. You just took so long I started to get a little worried. *Notices Zeke* And what is up with the sign language? Fuu: Two new people have come here. They can’t hear or speak. We are trying to communicate, but so far there doesn’t seem to be much luck. *To Zeke, motioning at Maynard and Carl.* Those two over there are the mute ones. *To Maynard and Carl* Now that we might be able to communicate... Hello and welcome. My name is Fuu, and this is... Haruka: I think that by now the word boyfriend is appropriate.*To Maynard and Carl* Hi, my name is Haruka. Now, who are you and what is your story?
Dubey: look at all these people talking all kinds of non-sense. . . Rathi: What kind of non-sense? Dubey: Just look asshole, just read, can't you read? Rathi: I can read just fine. Dubey: And you don't see all the crap they write. Rathi: When you don't understand something you call it crap. Dubey: Stop talking bullshit asshole! Rathi: Are you talking to yourself? Dubey: Stop this shit or there will be price to pay. Rathi gets up from his chair. Rathi: Yeah, I willing to pay. What is this price you were talking about? Dubey: (laughs) Come on, man! I was just playing with your nerves. Come, sit. They are nice people, writing nice little stories. Rathi sits down. Looks at him. Dubey: But seriously, what's with all the nymphs and unicorns and AIs? Rathi: You really want to know or is it again "trying to get to my nerves". Dubey: No, seriously, tell me, why are people so obsessed with fantasy and science fiction? Rathi: They are trying to regain the lost mystery, the lost sense of myth and magic for the entire civilization. Armed only with their imagination, these brave souls venture into unknown ter . . . Dubey: That is such a . . . Rathi looks at him with a quick sharp glance... Dubey: (eating his words) . . . an interesting thing to do. (speaking one word at a time) Rathi: You might learn some if you get off youtube and read something for a change.
