From tls@thekeep.org Thu Aug 17 19:30:41 2000 Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 10:11:36 -0400 (EDT) From: Trisha L. Sebastian To: Jimbo Biles Subject: Hiko's Log and Diary #1 Amber Central(#3434RLJ) You stand in the middle of a huge sound stage, ready for the action to begin, but currently devoid of anything but sound and lighting equipment, a gaming table, and a snack bar. [Exits: Out. ] Contents: Scriviner, and Akemi. Fuyutsuki says, "OOC Once we do you, I'll just have to do Timerunner." Hiko the Firechilde says, "You can do me anytime, baby..." Hiko the Firechilde grins. Nagisa eeps... Hiko the Firechilde says, "Out, Scriv." Nagisa says, "Aheh... just lemme find the exit..." Scriviner has left. Hiko the Firechilde says, "Right... how do we start?" Hiko the Firechilde says, "OH, and I'll have you know that I'm going to do the IC log, too. I found a way to do it easily." Hiko the Firechilde says, "The IC diary, I mean." Fuyutsuki says, "OOC Okay!" Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "JOhn?" Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "How do we start?" Hiko the Firechilde wakes up from a fitful sleep. Her dreams are disturbing. There's that castle again, and the light. She doesn't like it very much. Taking care to refresh her racked spells (Cloak of Shadows, Sniper's Flame, Fire Shield), she reviews her defenses and her larder. Hiko the Firechilde realizes that she has to go out to forage, which she hasn't done in two days. The area around her is almost depleted of animals to kill. Reluctantly, she sets out for the nearest town. Foxtrot stops prodding and says, "I did, but only once. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but as I wasn't a PC, it was no big deal. He'd done the stats for me." to The_Prof Fuyutsuki says, "OOC Sorry, had to consult something." You head down the road. Some people are busily sowing seeds in the fields; hopefully the crops won't come up twisted and bent this year. The village is home to some five hundred people, ruled over by a force of six of the cyberwarriors, who consider themselves nobility. You head into the store where you always buy food, and grizzled old Hiroshi, his face still marked by a long diagonal scar, nods at you. "Looking to buy?" he asks. Hiko the Firechilde pulls her cloak around her tighter and hurries through the streets to the least dilapidated shop. Hiko the Firechilde says, "Whoops... backtrack." Hiko the Firechilde nods. "Staples. Bread, water, meat... enough to last two weeks. Sorry, make that two months." Hiko the Firechilde thinks to herself, "Don't need to be in town more than needed." The man nods, and begins going about loading what you want into some boxes. "Been a busy day, today. Some old man came in here looking for his great-granddaughter. " Hiroshi starts putting loaves of bread into a bag. "Said she was the Child of Fire or some such thing." Hiko the Firechilde is disinterested, but polite enough to ask, "Really? I'm surprised if she'd still be around." She thinks, "Child of Fire.... that sounds familiar in some way." Out loud, she asks, "Know where he went?"" Hiroshi pauses before going back to the back room to get some casks of water. "Apparently, he was thinking someone was going to try to kill her if he didn't find her in time. I think he's over at the Inn now." Hiroshi then vanishes into the back to get water. Hiko the Firechilde tosses some coinage into the basket he keeps for paying customers and calls out to him, "Wrap up everything and I'll come back to get it." She doesn't wait for his response, but strides out in the direction of the Last Inn. Foxtrot stops prodding and says, "Which Power Words did I buy?" to Akemi Akemi pages, "Burst of Strength, Magic Negation, Trump Disrupt" to you. The Last Inn is pretty slow at the moment. Two old men sit at one table, getting drunk. And at the bar, an old man in the nicest clothing you've seen in years sits, talking to the bartender, Ugly Old Tom. The old man has neat white hair and wears a dark blue jacket and navy blue trousers down to his boots. He's awfully clean, too. Hiko the Firechilde sits down at the bar and orders a lager, surveying the crowd. The two old men she recognizes, the neatly dressed man she doesn't. She brushes a slight mental contact against him to get his surface thoughts. Fuyutsuki says, "OOC You will need to either cast a spell to open the link, look into his eyes, or touch his flesh to do that. " Hiko the Firechilde scoots closer a bit and eavesdrops on the man's conversation with Ugly Old Tom. The man says to Ugly Old Tom, "I am from the City of Amber." UOT replies, "Never heard of it." "It's far away from here," the old man says. "How long have these cyberwarriors ruled this land?" Hiko the Firechilde jumps slightly, as the name "Amber" brings up a certain feeling of nostalgia that she can't fathom, as she's never been there before, either. Ugly Old Tom counts on his fingers. "Ten, fifteen years maybe?" Hiko the Firechilde internally snorts. The Old Man winces. "If only she'd told me sooner she had a daughter. Although given the circumstances of the conception, I can understand why she couldn't keep her. I have to find her and soon. Her mother never told the rest of us about her, you see." You feel the whispery touch of magic, although it's pretty clear no one in the room is doing any spell casting. [Examines contact] Hiko the Firechilde OOCly is playing this like a true schizoid would. ^_^ You call the Broken Pattern to mind and gaze upon the spell. It's a location spell, intended to find something, and it is closing in on you. Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "What have I got that can deflect it?" Hiko the Firechilde drains her glass quickly, and scuttles out of the Inn, making her way out of town. OOC Well, you didn't rack any counter magic spells. You could try whacking the spell with a Broken Pattern Tendril, though. Hiko the Firechilde whacks at the spell with a Broken Pattern Tendril as she walks, building a magic spell as she does so. Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Estimate time of completion?" Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Make that counter magic spell." Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Wait... do I know how to do BP tendrils?" As Hiko rises to go, she can see Old Tom and the Old Man through the Broken Pattern Lens. Ugly Old Tom is just a mundane, but the Old Man glows with some sort of awe inspiring power, more than you've ever seen before. Fuyutsuki says, "OOC You bought Adept, so yes you do." There is an image branded into the Old Man. It's the most awe-inspiringly beautiful thing you've ever seen. For a few seconds, you can't even look away from it. Fuyutsuki says, "OOC I assume you're building a Counter Magic spell?" Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Yep." You whack the Spell with the Tendril. The Spell dissipates. Hiko the Firechilde wants to talk to the man further, but her innate need to 'Not Be Found' overcomes any desire to linger as long as someone's looking for her. The Old Man turns and gazes at you and his eyes widen. "You. You're the one I'm looking for. Juri's daughter, the Child of Fire." Hiko the Firechilde stops, turns slowly. "What do you mean?"" The Old Man says, "I have a grand daughter named Juri. She was raped a long time ago, and then the child she bore was stolen from her, and vanished in a puff of flame. This is Juri." He holds up a card, which shows an orange-haired warrior woman with a nose just like yours. You've definitely seen that face before, but it was long ago." The Old Man says, "My name is Fuyutsuki. If I am correct in who you are, you would be her long missing daughter." UOT looks at Hiko in surprise, but she ignores him. "How do you figure that? My parents are dead." UOT snaps his fingers. "Hey! You're that bastard child of Old King Ranma's!" Hiko turns and glares at him. Fuyutsuki says, "You were adopted, were you not?" UOT looks more and more interested in the exchange. Hiko turns to the man. "If we're going to talk, let's talk somewhere else. Follow me?" Hiko the Firechilde KNOWS that this old man knows something she doesn't... this is not a Good Thing. Fuyutsuki nods. "Yes, that is a good idea. If you are indeed my great-granddaughter, there is a madman stalking you; best to be unfindable. Lead on, ma'am." Hiko the Firechilde takes his arm lightly to show him to the door, and establishes a slight mental contact to verify his identity. His name is Fuyutsuki. His mental defenses are...open. He leaves his mind open to you in a nigh-unbelievable show of trust. Do you wish to probe deeper? Hiko the Firechilde probes deeper, seeking more information about Amber and this Juri person. Fuyutsuki says, "OOC Now that you have psychic contact, you can use raw mental power to enter his mind." Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "I wanted to check which spells I had racked. Cloak of Shadows won't work well in the daytime, ne?" Hiko the Firechilde takes the time to throw her cloak over the man's neat and clean uniform and plunks her own hat on his head. You see a city of shining beauty at the foot of a mountain. Above it stands a castle, and above that...the castle in the sky you have always dreamed of. The view zooms downwards to the courtyard, where seven men and six women are posing for a group portrait. Fuyutsuki is painting it. One of them is the woman he called your mother, Juri. Fuyutsuki thanks you for the loan. Hiko the Firechilde says, "Let's go." They walk back to the castle ruins, and she sends the probe deeper. She remembers a dream once, about a woman crying and a fire. Hiko the Firechilde wants to see what he knows about it. Then your view zooms in on her, and you fall into her eyes. Images flit by; most of them seem to concern Juri beating the snot out of Amber's enemies, but there are also images of her with one of the other women from the portrait, with several other women who were not in the portrait, and of her with a blonde woman who is clearly her mother, named Haruka, and her father, a man named Gendo. Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Focus in on the memory... The fire and the woman.... what happened?" And then there is a sudden shift. You see Juri in a birthing chamber, in the agony of labor. She gives birth to a baby. It's hard to tell if the Baby is You, because like all babies, she's a wrinkly prune. Foxtrot stops prodding and says, "Is Ludovicus my dad?" to Akemi Hiko the Firechilde also keeps an eye out for people who are following them as they walk. Juri hugs the baby, then a woman who stirs faint memories, who has honey gold hair, takes the baby and gently washes her. And then there is a flash of light, and a dark skinned man with pale purple hair appears, along with twelve demonic looking creatures. They overwhelm the two women, taking the baby. The man walks over to Juri and holds a ring on a string before her eyes, and tells her to forget everything, that the baby was stillborn and they buried her. And then he sits and writes out a scroll and rolls it up, and tosses the baby and the scroll into the fire. There is a flash of light, and the baby vanishes instead of burning. The purple haired man seems satisfied and vanishes with the demons. Akemi pages, "You hit the nail on the head." to you. Hiko the Firechilde shakes herself free from the contact. "I believe you. How did you find me?" Juri and the blonde cry over a doll, then the blonde takes the doll and buries it. Hiko the Firechilde is REALLY interested in how she was found... it must not happen again. You try to drop the contact, and then you realize...you're not sure if you can. You try to get out of his head, but it's like trying to get out of the Grand Canyon when you're halfway fallen into it. Hiko the Firechilde glares, bringing up the BP. "Get away, old man!" He's not obstructing you, but you're starting to find it hard to tell the difference between his thoughts and yours. The Broken Pattern fizzles. The Old Man's eyes widened. "Damnation...I'm sorry." Hiko the Firechilde panics. She pushes hard as strongly as she can. Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Which thoughts do I get before we break?" There is an audible pop. You feel confused for a moment...are you Hiko or are you Juri or are you Fuyutsuki or maybe your name is Anno or Corrine or Shinobu or... Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Er, pushes away as strongly as she can." And then you are yourself again. Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "That's the last time I try examining an Elder. ^_^" Fuyutsuki says, "I'm sorry....I have a lot of memories, and it's easy to get lost in them. I get lost in them a lot." Hiko the Firechilde narrows her eyes. "I can tell." She decides to sort the memories out some other time. "How did you find me?" Fuyutsuki says, "I found you by walking the Pattern and telling it to send me to Juri's Child. It's aim wasn't so good as I had hped, though." Fuyutsuki says, "Which Broken Pattern have you been initiated into?" Hiko the Firechilde says, "What pattern?" Fuyutsuki says, "The one you see when you look at me through your Broken Pattern." Hiko the Firechilde knows what she did to repel the man (or at least tried to do) but damned if she knows how she does it. She just DOES. Hiko the Firechilde says, "Listen, old man, I have no idea what you're talking about..." Fuyutsuki blinks. "How strange. Let me start from the beginning. When you look at me, you can see a sort of spiral image superimposed over me, correct? When you call up your special sight?" Hiko the Firechilde nods cautiously. "...yes...." Fuyutsuki says, "That is the mark placed on me by the Pattern when I walked it. Now..." He pulls out a mirror. "Use your special sight to look at yourself in this mirror." Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Examine mirror." Hiko the Firechilde takes the mirror cautiously, turning it over and looking at the back. It looks like a perfectly ordinary mirror. There is no magic whatsoever on it; it's just a piece of silvered glass set in a silvered frame that is probably actually iron under the silver. Hiko the Firechilde does as the man instructs. Hiko the Firechilde OOCly :giggles. "Yeah, I'm paranoid... what can I say?" You can see an image superimposed over yourself. It looks like someone took the one that is imposed on Fuyutsuki, except that someone erased a large circular blot on the right side, leaving a large hole. It thrums with power, but not as much power as his. It's not so beautiful as his. Hiko the Firechilde says, "What the felk is that hole?" Fuyutsuki says, "It is the difference between the Pattern, and a Broken Pattern." He gets a stick, and draws the Pattern in the dirt. It glows brightly, even though you're sure he didn't use any magic on it. Hiko the Firechilde hunches down to look at it, still wary of anyone watching them. You're out in the woods by now. Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Doesn't hurt to be paranoid in this Shadow." Hiko the Firechilde stares at the pattern, and moves to trace where the hole is. "Now, this is the Pattern in its most perfect form. Those who walk it from here." He points to the outer edge of the spiral. "To here," he points to the center, "Gain power over Shadow. They can learn to see magic, to find things simply by desiring to find them, even the power to travel between universes." Hiko the Firechilde says, "Between... universes?" Fuyutsuki nods as Hiko traces the break in her pattern. When she does so, that section of the Pattern turns black and the lights go out. Fuyutsuki says, "Yes, Hiko. There are millions, billions of universes, and those like you and I can walk between them all." Fuyutsuki says, "Didn't the person who trained you tell you anything about this?" Hiko the Firechilde says, "No." She recalls her tutor, Lord Ryouga. "He taught me spells, but that was about it. I've never seen this Pattern you speak of until now... and when I use it." Hiko the Firechilde shakes herself again. "Tell me about this madman." Fuyutsuki frowns. "How strange that you cannot remember...you must have walked a Broken Pattern to gain its power. Ahh yes, the madman. You see, I drew the Pattern with my own blood. Any of my descendents' blood can be used to erase it. You are my great-granddaughter, and he wishes to use you as a living eraser." Fuyutsuki says, "You see, there are many universes. Some of them are much like Amber, the one I live in, but warped and bent. Fuyutsuki says, "In those universes, live warped and bent versions of those who live in Amber." Hiko the Firechilde shudders. "Nobody's taking my blood." Fuyutsuki says, "From their perspective, those of us who live in Amber are warped and bent." Fuyutsuki says, "One such world is so bent, they seek to destroy the others." *Amber*. The name of the place fills her with longing again. Suddenly, she wants to go see this place. Perhaps once. Hiko the Firechilde scowls inwardly. Is there some magic at work? When has she ever felt strongly about going anywhere? Fuyutsuki says, "To do that, they need to use someone of my blood to erase the Pattern." Fuyutsuki says, "Not realizing that would destroy everything, for you see..." Hiko the Firechilde says, "So who is this guy?" Fuyutsuki says, "I know only his face. [He pulls out a card and hands it to you. It shows the man who took the child who may have been you away from Juri.] But not a name. He is the Lion of Chaos. " Hiko the Firechilde takes the card and puts it in her pocket for examination later. "So, what can I do? How do I hide from him?" Fuyutsuki says, "He seeks to destroy Amber, to open the Gate of Revolution, so that he might have the power to revolutionize the world." Fuyutsuki says, "If you come to Amber, we can protect you, and you can meet your mother. Or I can try to teach you how to better use your Broken Pattern powers to protect yourself. But if I found you in only two days of searching, I suspect you will be unable to hide from him for very long." Hiding is good. Hiding is very good. And this man was so willing to let her into his mind... he must be crazy, or damn confident in himself. The strength of his mind overwhelmed her.... maybe he would be able to protect her. Hide her. Hiding is good. Hiko the Firechilde nods, straightens up. "I'll go with you. I think I'd like to meet this Juri woman." Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Examine him again," Fuyutsuki says, "OOC Examine him for what?" Hiko the Firechilde puts her hand on his shoulder, turning him towards her 'home'. "Let's go." Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Checking surface thoughts again... she always does this. Always wants to know what peple are thinking regarding her." Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Part of the paranoia/schizophrenia, you see." He is forming the image of that city he showed you in his mind. And then the sky rips open, and a circle appears, and you can see the city through the circle of flame. You can see the courtyard of the castle down the slope, and the blue sky hanging overhead. "Here it is," he says. "Pass through, Child of Fire. It's very tiring for me to do this for long." The Sign of the Pattern burns around him like a flame, though it does not burn you. Hiko the Firechilde is scared, and she doesn't have her box! She backs away. He says, "Oh, I take it you needed to gather your possessions first?" Hiko the Firechilde nods. "There's a box. I have my sword. That's it." He lets the circle collapse. "Let us get your things, and then I can do that again." Hiko the Firechilde nods, leading him off to the ruins. She disengages all the traps, then leads him into her house, disengaging the last trap. She takes an ornately decorated box out of a deep hold and wraps it in a cloth. Patting the sword at her side, she takes an extra cloak and hat. "Ready." He then opens the circle of fire again, and you step through onto the slopes of Kolvir. The scent of flowers strikes your nose, and you can see the city spread out far below. A little ways down the slope is Castle Amber; you stand on a staircase running up from the backdoor of the Palace to a set of steps high above you at the peak which run up into empty sky. The gulf of Amber stretches eastwards and you can see the sun rising above it. It's a beautiful sight. The air is clean, without the stench of decay. The waters are a clear blue, not muddy or bloodied. Already, Hiko knows that she loves this place, and hates that she loves it. Fuyutsuki says, "You gaze now upon Amber the Beautiful, the Eternal City, which stands at the center of all of creation. It is ruled by my grandson, King Tylor I. The Pattern sits in its chamber below the castle. Some day soon, perhaps you'll be ready to walk it." Fuyutsuki says, "OOC And we stop here; I have much driving to do tomorrow and I have already stupidly stayed up too late." Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "Right. Thanks, dear." Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "I forgot that you're three hours ahead." Fuyutsuki says, "OOC No problem. Mail me the log when it's ready for reading." Fuyutsuki says, "OOC And now I go die and vanish from the 'net until Friday or Saturday" Hiko the Firechilde OOCly says, "When's the best times? when are game times?" Hiko the Firechilde says, "Bye, John! " Fuyutsuki says, "OOC Once I get back to Kansas and set my schedule, we'll work out a more formal gaming schedule." Vixxy says, "Okay, we're done. It wasn't bad... only had to kill five people." Fuyutsuki comes up for a minute or two before I go to bed. Hiko the Firechilde says, "That wasn't so bad." Fuyutsuki says, "If you keep up the habit of invading people's minds, sooner or later you'll get a spanking in Amber, though :)" In a page-pose to you, Akemi nods. Hiko the Firechilde says, "Hey! You let me..." Hiko the Firechilde says, "But thanks for the warning." Fuyutsuki says, "I will never forbid you to do something unless it's impossible for you to do it." Fuyutsuki says, "But I will make you live with the consequences of your actions." Hiko the Firechilde smiles. "Right." Fuyutsuki says, "It's hard for Amberites to die...but it's easy for them to get in serious trouble." Fuyutsuki says, "Hiko is probably used to being so vastly superior in Psyche to everyone around her that she has never gotten caught invading their minds." Hiko the Firechilde nods again... "And that's very true. Maybe an object lesson needs to be taught?" Fuyutsuki nods Hiko the Firechilde nods, cringing. Fuyutsuki says, "If you try to pull that with Kozue, or Nanami, they'll kick your ass." Hiko the Firechilde says, "Right." Fuyutsuki says, "Except for the royal family of your Shadow, you've probably never met anyone with better than Amber Psyche." Akemi pages, "Rule #1 of Amber is that if the GM tells you something is a bad idea, unless someone is controlling your mind to make you believe that, it usually is the GM's desperate effort to keep you away from suicide. Rule #2 is knowing when to take the risk anyway...:)" to you. Akemi pages, "In your case, remember the rules for initiating psychic contact (requires Trump, a spell, touch, or gaze), and that you don't want to let enemies get close enough to touch you if you can help it." to you. Akemi pages, "Rule #3: Trust no one. Rule #4: You have to trust some people, because going it alone is usually suicide." to you. Akemi pages, "And Rule #5. If you're even slightly unsure about if you can do something or what's going on, ask me, as incorrect assumptions are a quick road to annihilation." to you. Diary: Day 892: Got up. Went to get food, met an old man instead. He said he was my great-grandfather, which is stupid, as my great-grandfather was killed by Belanthizar the Dragon. Showed me pictures of women who look familiar, showed a baby being born and disappearing in fire. I could be his great-granddaughter. Not entirely sure. We're in this pretty-pretty place now. Amber. Reminds me of home, 'cept this is much prettier. Need to find out more. And also find out why I was able to fall into his mind, and how he found me. I can't ever be found.