explosivecombat | 018. [Text, and one other thing.]

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018. [Text, and one other thing.]

[TEXT]

Due to various circumstances in my world of origin, for quite a while, time was immeasurable for me. It came to lack meaning. Weeks bled into months, months into years. In some ways, this world seems like that for many of us; there's a lack of structure, and the list of things that one can do with themselves before they settle into some sort of day-to-day routine is incredibly short. These creatures become a part of our daily lives; this world becomes a part of our daily lives. And before we know it, we've spent weeks here. Months. Years.

That blank spot in my life lasted for seven years, I believe. Yet with nothing else to focus on, I discovered more about myself in those seven years than I did over the course of most of the rest of my life. Spending that long in the dark - whether it's physical or otherwise - tends to teach one a lot, I believe, even if it's just where your limits lie.

You'll have to forgive me for the needless introspection; if you're humoring me by continuing to read, either you have more patience than most at half-midnight, or this is one of those messages on the feed that greets you first thing in the morning. But apparently time does have meaning to most people in this place - in which case...

Tell me how long you've been here, if you choose, and what you've come to discover about yourself in that time.

I suppose it's worth saying that personally, I've been here for a year, as of half an hour ago.

For me, it's been another year where time has next to no meaning, despite the fact that I have an easy way to keep track of it; another year with no direction, though I wouldn't say it's been spent in the dark. Whether I like what I've discovered about myself or not within that year has yet to be seen; however, I find myself content with the way things are.

While I know that I have no choice in the matter, I think I could tolerate another year.

[PRIVATE TEXT TO KATO]

I have a favor to ask of you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[...talking to this person is always been a bit of a minefield, but he's brought up something that's been getting to Kayneth recently anyway, so... perhaps it will be worth it?]

While I haven't noticed any appreciable differences in my own state of mind, I have to confess that I've also found it fairly easy to lose track of how much time I've been spending here. The realization that I will have been here exactly half a year in exactly one week caught me by surprise the other day, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it.

That is a bit jarring, isn't it? Although I've personally found that there's no point in seeing how long we've been here in a negative light; I have reason to believe that time doesn't pass normally back home while we're here. It isn't as though we're missing anything, wasting time, or causing the course of our own world to go off-kilter; I suppose it's best to think of it as an opportunity. A bit escapist, maybe, but an opportunity nonetheless.

The fact that time doesn't seem to pass normally back home is a small mercy, I agree-but I'd still rather be there than here. I was in the middle of something I was looking forward to seeing through to the end.

Forgive me my curiosity, Lord El-Melloi, but might I ask what this "something" you're referring to was? I think it's a bit of a given that we're all more or less in the middle of something; what about your circumstance is so pressing?

I was in the middle of a war prior to arriving here-one of a variety I rather doubt you'd be familiar with. I was about to confront one of my opponents before arriving here, and I have absolutely no idea when I'll be able to finish what I've started.

No offense, but you don't exactly seem the military sort, though you're more than welcome to correct me if I'm wrong; I just have a bit of difficulty seeing you on any sort of battlefield. However, you did mention magecraft in one of our earlier conversations, and the fact that you're apparently rather adept with it; I assume that's what you're referring to?

Ah, no, I'm not the military sort by any means. This war is more of a contest between seven mages, all of whom summon the spirit of one legendary hero from the past to fight alongside them. I'm aware that it seems a bit small scale compared to wars that involve actual armies and such, but when you have seven extremely powerful mages and seven heroes of legend doing battle in a single city, calling it a war is more appropriate than anything else.

Well, you're right in saying that I'm unfamiliar with that way of staging a battle, yes; we have no way to summon the souls of the dead, where I'm from. At least, not intentionally, and not in any way that won't end horrifically. However, I will say that even if the numbers are reasonably low, I can certainly see where having that many powerful people would result it flat-out warfare, yes.

What sort of legendary heroes are we talking about, exactly? I doubt they're the same, given that very few in this place seem to know about Amestris and I wouldn't be surprised if the legends we have are completely different, but we do have stories regarding the old world - kings and warriors and prophets and the like, who shaped the past/provided pathways to form the present. Is that the sort of thing you're referring to?

That would be exactly what I'm referring to. It would be difficult to find an exact matchup, given that I'm unfamiliar with your world-but really, anyone who managed to make their way into legend as some sort of hero would be fair game for this conflict. They're far stronger than practically any modern human could hope to be, as well-so there's still the potential for things to end horrifically there, but there are a great deal of safeguards to keep things in check.

[That sounds...

...

...rather stupidly awesome, he has to admit, uh.]

Might I ask what the purpose of this war is? Given that it's happening in a single city, as you said, that has a great deal of safeguards in place, it doesn't seem like something that would happen for...well, the reasons that most go to war - reasons like responding to some sort of uprising, financial gain, or expansion of territory don't seem like they would apply here.

Some enter the fight purely for the glory of battle, but there's a much deeper incentive for joining the war. The victor wins the Holy Grail, an object of indescribable magical power that can grant anyone's deepest wish. That is reason enough for many people, I'd say.

And which is it for you - the glory of battle, or to have your deepest desire fulfilled?

Should you win, Lord El-Melloi, what would you ask for?

Edited (WORDS...) 2012-10-08 04:00 (UTC)

I'm in it for the glory, of course. I'm quite capable of obtaining anything I desire under my own power, and there's very little I want in my own world that I don't already have.

[...at least, that he'll admit to, anyway...]

Well, consider me surprised - it seems I've found something that I can actually agree with you on.

Is that so? I must confess, I'm a bit surprised to hear that from someone outside of the sphere of mage society-mostly on the basis that I doubt most people would understand it.

[...okay wait what

tell him he misinterpreted that, because otherwise that is quite possibly the most arrogant thing he's heard come out of anybody's mouth]

Surely you don't think mages are the only individuals who are capable of understanding glory for glory's sake?

I'm simply saying that it's quite uncommon in the age I'm from. It was quite common in the past, but you simply don't see that sort of mindset anymore.

[STUPID WORLD WAR I, MAKING THE INGLORIOUSNESS OF WAR APPARENT TO LITERALLY EVERYONE WITH A BRAIN!!!

...mages, man...]

[...mages.]

Your world and mine seem to differ quite a bit in that regard, then. I wouldn't say it's immensely common, but we do understand the concept and recognize it as valid, even if some don't agree with it.

Your world must be far more palatable in that regard than mine, then. Granted, there seems to be something of an emphasis on that here, even if the stakes are not quite as high.

[ACTUALLY, THEY'RE KIND OF BACKWARDS FROM WHAT HE UNDERSTANDS, BUT SURE, "PALATABLE" WORKS TOO]

I've discussed that with several people here, actually - the fact that this world is built around a sort of battle culture, though admittedly a far lighter one than what I'm accustomed to.

I've found that others are generally unwilling to think of it that way; they seem to associate these creatures as being pets and/or companions first, weapons second. I suppose they have some sort of point, but since my Pokémon also my primary line of defense, I can't say that I agree with those that say that.

I've met plenty of these people myself, and I find them quite difficult to understand. Given that these things seem to respond well to being used in battle, it's rather pointless to act like they're simply pets.

[oh my god kayneth

stop being likable right now

stoppit]

Perhaps you're more interesting than I thought, Lord El-Melloi.

Admittedly, the repression comment still stands, but at the very least your views on battle are something I can agree with.

[nope.

he will have his moment of likability goddamnit

also of course he's interesting, and he'll pointedly ignore the 'repression' angle...]

Well, I suppose I should be glad about that. Really, though, it should be common sense.

Tell me something, if you don't mind - have you been involved in any kind of war before, or is this your first time doing anything like this?

This would be my first time participating in something of this magnitude, yes. I've dueled other mages before, but that was strictly one-on-one--that, and I have reason to doubt that they were as skilled as the majority of the participants I'll be facing.

018. [Text, and one other thing.]

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[text] god i htmlfailed all over that last one, sorry orz

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[text] bane of my existence tbh

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