Happily ever after with a little flavor

[missrecalled_mods]

Sponsors for the ship? So... Sponsor'ship?

Rare had an hour seemed so long on the Isle, or carried so much hope. The King and Queen spoke to all who wished to speak with them, and to Yen Sid. At one point they even opened the barrier enough to go back to the ship where they conferred inside a silence spell with Sylvando. And once more for the King and Queen to return a few minutes later. Then back on the Isle they pulled a few individuals aside once more. Oddly, not those from the Isle this time. Aqua first. Then Lea. Then Æn'kae.

Finally the hour came to an end and the King and Queen called for everyone's attention. Mal stepped forward to address everyone.

"Alright, so here is how this is going to work," she told them without preamble, once she had their attention. The wind pulled at her purple hair, pulling it like a banner behind her. "Here are the terms by which we will take the people we will name to Auradon. Each person will be assigned a sponsor. If you want to change sponsors you may let us know once we are back in Auradon. Your Sponsor will be watching out for you. You need to check in with him, her, or them, regularly. How often that will be will be between you and your sponsor, but the sponsors will report to King Ben and myself. Behave and you'll get to stay in Auradon, and we will let you know when your probation is over and you no longer need to check in with your sponsor. Break the rules of Auradon, hurt anyone, steal.... depending on how bad the act and how many were harmed, we may, with your sponsor decide to give you a warning... or you may wind up back here. This is a chance to prove that the sorting magic was wrong, that you are good people. Or can become good people given the chance." Mal looked and sounded like she was clearly waiting to make her own judgments.

"As I list each name, please go to your sponsor if he, she, or they is here. If not, come stand with the king and I."

She took a deep breath. "Xion, your sponsor is Lea." she pointed to him, suspecting that she didn't actually have to, but it was good to set a pattern.

"Utau, you are with Sylvando, who is on the ship so come join us." Then a bit of a wicked grin. "He's also keeping an eye on Nadeshiko and Nagihiko, why not let him keep an eye on all three of you," she said, knowing she was throwing fuel on an explosion waiting to happen. But she trusted Sylvando to sort out which of the kids actually belonged on the Isle.

"River you are with Æn'ki. Hope you like animals," she said with a grin that wasn't all that softer than her last as she gestured to him.

"Morgana and Emporio, you are with Aqua," she added nodding to the woman with the blue hair. "Of course we understand if any of you want to stay..."

She turned to the Headmaster. Doctor F.... We're aware of you, and your efforts, I assure you. We'll be speaking with those heading to Auradon. But for now, stay where we can see you while the rest of you, those coming with us? You have ten minutes to get your stuff if you have any and say goodbyes to anyone if you want to. Goodbyes with the headmaster will be supervised so we can make sure he is being as good as he claims these days. Alright. Ten minutes, starting now!"


**************************************************

The gathering of belongings and saying of goodbyes was accomplished in the allotted ten minutes without much trouble. Getting everyone onto the boat, then equipped with lifejackets- thankfully the boat's owner was a bit over prepared so there were enough for everyone, if only just-, and reasonably settled for the trip back took a bit longer, however. The boat was a large catamaran, painted mostly in blue and purple pastels. The life jackets however, were the standard safety orange, and so stood out as sharply as they were meant to. The water was still rough so once everyone was equipped, Sylvando advised those unused to boat travel to settle down somewhere until they were in calmer waters.

Getting back to the mainland took time as well, though not quite as much as getting there had, as the tide was in their favor for the return trip. Still, there would be plenty of time for conversation, awkward silences, or angry glaring during the trip. And Sylvando himself wouldn't be adverse to conversation, provided it didn't interfere with the steering of the vessel. Those without their sea legs would also want to be careful walking around, as the boat-while large for a catamaran- wasn't large enough to prevent it from rocking.

Once they'd reached the harbor and the Bibbity Bobber had been secured in her berth, her passengers and crew disembarked and began the trek back up to the school. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of junk that had once been clearly blocking the road before the path to and from the harbor had been cleared. All of it was the sort of things one might expect to find in a modern city- cars, sign boards, fallen trees and lamp posts, etc- but there seemed to be too much of it for the simple vanishing of the populace to account for it all. Very odd.

Once they arrived at the school, they were led past the pretentious sign and statue of King Beast and directed into the lobby. There, they were issued phones and information sheets. On account of everyone being exhausted, no formal welcoming ceremony was planned for that evening, and those staying were directed to the dorms to get showered and settled in. Since that was sure to be a process in itself, Ben, Mal, Sylvando, the other sponsors, and anyone who still had the energy would likely be around for all that as well until everyone got settled. Thankfully the exhaustion had been anticipated, and it was announced that there was soup in the kitchen's refrigerator that had been premade and portioned out and needed only to be reheated for supper at each person's leisure.

The next morning however, proved that Auradon was still Auradon and couldn't really go without some kind of official welcome, as those who came down to the lobby would find a simple but tasty breakfast of muffins, fruit - provided by Malia-, tea, and coffee waiting for them along with the eternally chipper Sylvando, ready to answer any further questions they might have.


****************


Professor Yen Sid and the Headmaster stood and watched the ship through the barrier until they could no longer see it. Then the headmaster, looking bitter, turned on his heel, stalked back to the school, muttering under his breath about needing to speak with someone. He did not say who, but it did not seem like it was likely to be a pleasant conversation.

Yen Sid, on the other hand, turned to those who chose to remain. “Shall we get these supplies in before the humidity destroys them?” he asked, gathering his things into his bag before grabbing it and one of the boxes.

Comments

[elvendryad]

"You are not who you were. You are not who you are yet to be. I know that you have the capacity to do better."

Another glance over at him, wondering about all of this. It seemed to have been prompted by another conversation Foulques had had with that human, Ben, if he took his words for what they were. But even then....

"...And you seem to feel a need to confess. If you truly did not care, it would not weigh on you so."

[mist_the_point]

But why do you CARE? The driving question behind much of this conversation echoed in his mind, yet he didn't dare speak it. He thought he had known, thought that Chell desired his company because he mistakenly thought them kin, yet that didn't seem to be the case. But if not that then what? He wasn't especially pleasant or a good conversationalist. He wasn't ugly, but nor was he especially attractive, if such things even mattered to one of Chell's race. He had little in the way of unique skills to offer, unless Chell wished to learn the lance, and no more in goods or wealth than anyone else on the Isle.

So why did the strange tree man continue to seek him out? Why did it matter to Chell what became of him? "I felt the need to be certain you weren't spending time with me due to a simple case of mistaken identity," he said. "You seemed to believe me to be one of your kin, when I'm nothing of the sort; I dislike operating under false pretenses and prefer to speak plainly." A brief pause, then he added, "As do you it seems."

[elvendryad]

"I do prefer so, yes... but...." Hmm, well, it came back around to an earlier question, didn't it. "You speak as though you think we couldn't possibly have anything in common."

He frowned a little, more thoughtful than anything, and... then quite obviously looked Foulques up and down. "I know how I appear. ...Is that it?"

[mist_the_point]

He actually looked a bit surprised at that and shook his head. "No," he said. "Though your appearance is certainly... unique to my eyes, you're hardly the strangest looking person I've ever laid eyes on, nor are you the first spoken seedkin. Indeed, were it not for your manner of speaking, I might have taken you for some sort of greatly overgrown Sylph at first."

"But I assumed that you would come to realize that I was not what you initially assumed me to be, and that once you realized this, you would no longer have a reason to seek out my company. As you hadn't yet realized it, I felt the need to enlighten you. Your reaction to this revelation was... not what I expected."

[elvendryad]

Was that... actually a laugh that he was failing to keep silent? Yes, yes it was; something about this was actually funny to him. "And here I thought you already knew. Well... I can confirm that my appearance is unique... at least, as far as I am aware."

He tried to quit smiling, to at least seem a little more serious. The effort was only partially successful. "I suppose it was never common practice to replace so much of one... but it did happen, and several times over, in fact, until this one. It is built of the ents, which talk of those fruits reminded me, and thank you for that... but I was born of the elves, brother. Not grown on some branch."

A little hesitation, the smile returning as he rolled his eyes at his own statement there. "Ah... well... not originally."

[mist_the_point]

If Chell expected that to clear anything up, he was going to be sorely disappointed. If anything Foulques now looked thoroughly confused. "You replaced... what?", he said. "And what do you mean 'this one'? That sounds rather like a Sylph, but are you saying that your body was... built? Like a building or a piece of furniture, but from the wood of treants like your... companion? And what in the Twelve's name are 'elves'? The word sound somewhat like Elezen, but it's not one I've heard before."

[elvendryad]

"Perhaps the word you know is different from the word I know... but I looked like you, and the appearance the Wine Fairy has taken on. And yes, built... many centuries ago now. If I recall correctly, it was why I learned to carve in the first place... so that I could maintain it myself. But... things happened. Things changed. ...And hardened, dead wood does not heal. Living wood does." That smile was disappearing again, though he held onto some of it. "So a friend asked the ents a favor and guided them to grow for me what you see before you now."

Clearly, he was oversimplifying and glossing over things, leaving something out; shouldn't he sound a bit happier about it, given his amusement a moment prior? "I barely remember anything of those times, it was so long ago, but... I remember that I kept my appearance largely the same. The same shape, at least. I never really minded the colors. But this one is very much alive. And exactly like the one I sent with the Wine Fairy, but for having a mind of its own. There is only mine here in this one."

[mist_the_point]

So the woman who looked to him rather like a Wildwood Elezen was of Chell's people? That explained a great deal about the initial misunderstanding, at least. But centuries? Was that the result of being built of wood, or...? He frowned, trying to get his mind around what he was being told. "So you're a... mammet of a sort?", he said. "But one of wood, not clockwork?" The frown deepened; no that wasn't quite right either. "No... a treant into which someone placed their mind and soul... somehow."

"But how could such a thing be done? And perhaps more importantly, why did you do such a thing? I have heard of people having a wooden- or in rare cases, metal- limb made for them to replace one lost to injury or illness, but those are simple constructs, nothing more. Certainly not alive, nor something one would choose to do. And replacing one's entire body, or having one grown for them to step into as if they were having clothing tailored is unheard of."

[elvendryad]

"It was not at all unheard-of, among my people, though it was more common to use crafted bodies for new souls... poppet is the word I know for a being with such an origin. And the very reasons you cite are likely the reasons it was done with me, when I was a child." A slight hesitation as he thought on it, "Though I suppose... whether I was born, or a poppet myself... it would make no difference at all. My parents would be my parents, either way. And it was my grandmother, if I recall, who was the one to carve my earlier doll bodies, and help with the ones after, as I grew up.

"But living on my own, in the wilds...." A little more of a frown, trying to remember... or maybe just remembering something he didn't like? He was quieter again. "Where would I get the materials? The tools? So my previous was replaced with this one." He looked back to Foulques again. Did it make more sense now?

[mist_the_point]

The reason why he'd chosen his current body was clear enough, yes. The rest, however... Foulques' frown deepened. "I understand why choosing such a body as you currently have was a wise decision," he said. "What I don't understand is how a... 'poppet', you called it?... is given life at all. You speak of transferring a soul from one body to another as if it were no more complex than repotting a plant. A soul is bound to a body at birth, and so far as I'm aware, can only be unbound from it in a single and rather permanent fashion upon death."

"And how would one give life to such a being when creating one from the beginning? Don't tell me your people can create souls at will? Or do they perhaps simply pull them from the aetherial sea? ...And I say 'simply' as if plucking a soul from the aether is any less remarkable. Or as if creating someone a living child out of wood would be considered anything more than a children's tale in my own world. I know the Timbermaster would likely give his left arm for such a gift, if he didn't declare the idea utterly mad at first pass."

[elvendryad]

He was silent a little moment, trying to figure out how to answer again. "My previous... I would replace it piece by piece. Not move from one to another. To take this one... I stood against some ents, with someone helping use magic, to make it all grow quickly. The new pushed away the old parts, until it was all replaced.

"And...." He looked to be trying to remember, frowning as he thought. "...Er...." A bit more of a frown, still uncertain. So many questions all at once...! He understood the curiosity well enough, the excitement of finding out about something new and wanting to know more... but the memories were from so very long ago, and had become entirely difficult to dredge up. And where would he even begin? But he may as well try, at least? "...My grandmother taught me to carve, I'm certain of that. But... she never taught me to create life for it. I don't remember who did that part, for the poppets she worked on. It may have been her... but...." He frowned more, still hesitant. "It could easily have been someone else, too. I believe it is simply more magic, though? It is a soul's strength...."

A glance back to Foulques, but... given what his friend didn't know and was asking about, he really ought to... not leave it there. Probably. "Our magic comes from living," he said. "So... why should it not follow that one could use it to give life, as well?"

[mist_the_point]

Chell's original bodies being replaced gradually rather than all at once made a great deal more sense than what he'd previously been imagining. Though that still wasn't saying a great deal, as the whole business sounded rather bizarre and arcane to him. Had he been a more religious man, he might even have said that some parts of it veered dangerously close to blasphemy.

"I'm aware that the soul, like many other things, is a form of aether," he said. "But one cannot simply... create life as one pleases. The nearest thing I've heard of to such a practice is Summoning, in which a beast tribe sacrifices great hordes of crystals- or occasionally less savory sources of aether- to give their Primal deities form. Such a practice brings naught but suffering and destruction, as the Primal will bleed the land dry of aether to sustain itself if allowed to remain, wreaking havoc and warping the minds of those unfortunate enough to encounter it all the while."

[elvendryad]

"Mmmm... no... that... does not sound like what I'm referring to. Poppets are little different from you or me." He had just said that the chance of himself being one was actually nonzero, hadn't he? "Souls are much alike, no matter their origins. Some hold onto the magic they make, others do not and cannot use it -- like humans -- but all make it. Like... like fire. Fires make heat... and enough heat, handled correctly, can make a new fire. How it grows is up to those that tend it. But that holds true for any creature." He peeked back over at him again at that.

"And so, even a poppet would produce more magic potential. One need not consume others'; every creature living has an excess, if none is spent. Mine...." He hesitated, barely shifting to try to peek over his right shoulder, looking for something lower, but the way he was holding the boxes made it nigh impossible, clearly enough, and he made a slight face. "...I can show you later, if you have interest. I store mine within me. It helps, when a monster would do harm... it means I may heal others far more than I would be able to if I hadn't it at hand. Or can aid the ents in fending them off. Or call forth a feast without tiring myself. ....When this place isn't disallowing it.

"For a creature to only take... I am sorry to hear that their makers had such ill intentions. And for the creature itself; it need not have suffered such a hunger."

[mist_the_point]

He gave Chell a curious look. "You're quite likely the first person ever to express pity for a Primal," he said. "The beast tribes revere them as their gods incarnate, though how much of that is genuine and how much is the doing of the Primal itself warping the minds of its worshipers to produce fanatical faith is difficult to tell. Most others justifiably fear them for the inherent destruction and suffering they cause."

"...In fairness, however, few beast tribes resort to Summoning lightly or out of pure malevolence. Though some do have aggressive ends, primarily, their motivations are desperation and fear, which has only become greater since the Calamity. No group involved is wholly innocent, but as things stand, it is a problem with no clear solution. A Primal, once summoned, must be slain, often at great cost, lest its hunger and aggression wreak untold havoc. Yet doing so only drives the beast tribes further into fear and despair and thus provokes further Summonings, often of ever strong incarnations of their Primals. Tis a cycle that feeds on itself, with no end in sight, despite the efforts of wiser men than I."

"And forgive me if I misheard, but did you say that you mean to show me your soul? To peel back the layers of your wooden flesh and show it to me directly? Souls are, so far as I'm aware, entirely incorporeal by their very nature, so I'm not certain that such a thing would be possible, even if I thought it wise to attempt."

[elvendryad]

"Animals do not lash out entirely for no reason; people certainly do not either, even if that reason is that there is something broken inside of them. All things have reasons of some kind." Another glance back to Foulques... yeah, he was well aware that what the other told him a bit earlier couldn't be the whole story. "And magic is guided by its user. To create a soul that causes destruction... it would be like blaming a rock for rolling down a hill and hurting someone unaware or destroying a garden on its way down. The blame would lie with the one who put it in such a position, who sent it down the hill. Perhaps it would be different, if the creature had been brought forth with better intention -- without fear, without the expectation of disaster... or intervention after, to divert its growth in that direction, just as with a born child. The few poppets I knew... they were the product of love and care, and reflected such. I may not remember their faces any longer, much less the time spent with them... but I remember how much I treasured that time. The result expected matters.

"And... no. I store my excess in a stone, but I have no idea if it would be apparent here in our... more common circumstances. And to be honest, I am curious if it would be."

[mist_the_point]

It wasn't the whole story, no. The whole story was too long to reasonably wedge into the conversation, but he would be willing to tell it at a more opportune time, should Chell express an interest. He made a thoughtful sound. "Though the analogy is somewhat complicated by these particular 'stones' having a will of their own, it matches what knowledge I have of Primals," he said. "Rammuh, the Primal of the Sylphs, while still undeniably dangerous, is considered to be notably less violent than his brethren. The Sylphs themselves- while sometimes mischievous- are by nature a peaceful lot, generally keeping to themselves in the East Shroud. Rammuh has been summoned only once in living memory, when the Twelveswood was in danger of being overrun by Garlean warmachina."

"...And a crystal makes far more sense than my original assumption, yes. Now that I know you would not be baring your soul to me in the most literal fashion, I find that I'm curious as well. I don't doubt that it would retain its aether, though whether that aether would be in any way apparent is another question entirely. As is whether or not it's aspected. Given your nature, an earth aspected crystal seems most likely, but it could very well have multiple aspects or none at all.""

[elvendryad]

"Every soul stable enough to be independent of its maker has free will," he said quietly. "That does not mean that its makers have no responsibility, regarding their influence on its creation. And that holds true, whether one is made or born. Such is the role of a parent -- of everyone of influence in that younger one's origin and upbringing. ...And it sounds like that holds true for the ones you speak of, even with the belief in their being dangerous. I dare say that if that belief were changed, so too would their nature be. Perhaps one could be summoned, some day, that harms none?"

He was less sure what to make of the rest of that, though, funny enough. "And it... is merely a form of rock. Or do you mean the differences between those? That some are forged in fire, and others found in rivers, or...?"

[mist_the_point]

"Perhaps," he said, though he didn't sound especially optimistic about the prospect. "All I know about Primals is largely common knowledge. Someone wiser and more learned than I may one day learn to negate that which makes Primals an inherent threat. But until such a day, grimmer methods must continue to be employed in containing them."

"I was referring to the crystal's elemental properties. Whether the magic it contains corresponds to one of the known magical elements- earth, fire, wind, water, ice, or lightning-, or perhaps multiple of those, or none at all. Crystals containing one or more of those elemental magics are commonly used in both crafting and more complex forms of magic in my world."

[elvendryad]

Fair enough, as to the Primals he spoke of; he didn't really know well enough to say more. And they weren't even in the same world as them anyhow; would it really matter?

But elemental what? It was only making less sense the more he explained, rather than clearing anything up, and it surely showed on his face.

"....It... is a rock."

Foulques clearly knew far more about this than Chell did. Given that it was probably already long evident that their areas of expertise didn't have complete overlap, well....

"I think I may have taken it from the monsters, ages ago...."

[mist_the_point]

He gave an amused smirk at Chell's confusion. "Clearly my world's magic make as much sense to you as yours does to me," he said. "Which is to say next to none at all. Though there are also certain types of fiends in my world known to consume or horde crystals, magical or otherwise. Spriggans in particular are almost never seen without one; they can be quite the menace to miners, as I understand."

It was only then that he recalled something from earlier in the conversation. "Unless of course, you're using 'monsters' in a more metaphorical sense, less fearsome or troublesome beasts, and more ignorantly or deliberately cruel men."