My Ghost Kain't Be Busted

[20:32:51] <Kain> It's later that night, because it was starting to get evening and I presume you guys set up camp inside or nearby or something rather than try to climb up in the dark
[20:34:49] : Amaryllis makes her way back to King Baron's chamber, one of the borrowed books in hand, the Tantarian one in fact. A few steps in, she stops abruptly and bows at the Baron, rising with a small smile.
[20:34:58] <Amaryllis> (yeah I think so - got that we set up camp inside or nearby)
[20:35:51] <Kain> The Baron isn't asleep, of course, as the dead cannot rest as easily as the living, but he doesn't seem to notice you for several seconds. After these moments pass, his head lifts, his eyes acknowledging you and his expression ever more world weary.
[20:36:11] <Kain> Baron: "The young storyteller returns."
[20:36:55] <Amaryllis> "It is when tales take life of their own that one must beware!" Amaryllis shuts the door behind her carefully before repeating the Baron's warning from the other day stepping upon a table in the room and whirling about, arms outstretched, for effect. She pauses a moment, then speaks more quietly settling back into a reserved posture. "Did you realize, or was it coincidence?"
[20:37:19] <Kain> He tilts his head. "Realize what, exactly?"
[20:38:53] : Amaryllis tilts her head in kind. "First things first, your majesty. I must thank you for this volume." She taps the book. "I have been seeking this creature for some time." She sets it down along with her bag on a table and rummages in it for her knife and lantern.
[20:39:21] <Kain> Baron: "Elusive creature it is. I never did find one in my lifetime."
[20:40:20] <Kain> Baron: "May your luck be better."
[20:40:34] <Amaryllis> "I mean no threat, merely a demonstration." Amaryllis remarks before picking up her knife. She hunches down, a bit, knife in one hand, lantern in the other, and takes a deep breath. Her eyes glow. "I am, in a way, as you are. Or were. An egg woven of tales."
[20:41:44] <Amaryllis> "Perhaps a cocoon would be more apt a comparison."
[20:41:48] <Kain> Baron's eyes take on a surprised glint. "A tonberry.,.? Are you to say you are... a new eidolon?"
[20:42:33] : Amaryllis nods and the glow in her eyes fade. There's a flicker of sadness in them as Ammy straightens up. "The others do not know, but that is the way my story is written to end."
[20:43:42] <Kain> Baron: "I feel the utmost pity for you, child... for I have often felt that man and myth should never have come together in the ways that they have at times... Odin, the Sisters, Yojimbo, and now yourself as well, hm."
[20:44:02] <Kain> Baron: "Whatever lies in your future it is certainly not an easy path you will tread."
[20:46:13] <Amaryllis> The sadness is quickly replaced by a spark of passion. "That may indeed be true. I am bound by unpleasant tales, but does tragedy not have its own place in the world of stories?" She reaches into her shirt and pulls out her necklace, 12 rusted gil coins rattling on it. "Is there a greater honor than to become one with the myths that make up our world?"
[20:46:24] <Amaryllis> "I am however, frightened by where this path will take me." She admits after her proclamation. "Or where it has already taken me."
[20:46:57] <Kain> Baron: "The Twelve Gates... I should have imagined their involvement somehow. I didn't think they survived to the present day."
[20:47:26] <Kain> (I forget, what did the i in 12gil stand for)
[20:47:36] <Amaryllis> (immortal)
[20:49:11] <Kain> Baron: "Tragedy reminds us what contrasts to our happiness. It is not until we have already lost something until we have known how precious it is. Yes, tragedy has its place in the world... but that does not mean I should wish such a fate on you, nor do I think it should end that way."
[20:49:17] <Amaryllis> "My old master, the inquisitor, indeed did not, and...I am weak." Ammy sighs. "In more ways than one, I had not learned all of his lessons before his passing. Neither his arts of combat nor whatever techniques may have existed to allow an egg of tales to overcome the call of their future Eidolon's nature. If indeed they exist..."
[20:49:39] <Amaryllis> "One does not wish for one's own fate. Or that of other's. It is merely written, is it not?"
[20:50:00] <Kain> Baron: "The strong write their own tales, child."
[20:50:08] <Amaryllis> "I suppose, however, I have come for advice. I feel this chapter in my tale requires it, and it will be a more enriching story for what you can teach me."
[20:50:22] : Amaryllis thinks on that last comment for a few seconds.
[20:51:08] <Kain> Baron: "I will give what little advice a man lost to the eons may offer."
[20:52:05] <Amaryllis> "Are not Bahamut, Alexander, and the other great Eidolons born of tales themselves? Someone other than them, even such frighteningly powerful beings that they are, must have written their tales before they existed. And so they are bound by them despite their strength. Is...that not so?" Ammy seems confident in her reasoning, but a twinge in her voice suggests a hope that she's wrong.
[20:55:30] <Kain> Baron: "You place emphasis on 'writing', but even word of mouth may suffice. The way of it usually does not dictate as much as you might think, however. Eidolons are rarely created intentionally, and though it may be true that those who are will be bound to their ways tighter than not, but I do not think it is as hopeless as that." He thinks a moment, before beginning to continue.
[20:56:22] <Kain> Baron: "Do you know the origin of 'Bahamut'? Not the tale, exactly, but the name, the meaning, and what came before the eidolon and the myth as it stands today."
[20:58:36] <Amaryllis> (do I?)
[20:58:42] <Amaryllis> (I'm assuming no, so he can storytime)
[21:00:56] : Amaryllis shakes her head slowly, pulling out her journal and a quill pen. "I know tales, but the exactness of what you describe, no."
[21:03:52] <Amaryllis> "I am eager to hear, however." Quill in hand, Ammy looks up at the Baron.
[21:05:39] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "The word 'behemoth', describing a great four-legged beast, was once the dragon king's name. The creature people today know as a Behemoth is quite a different animal entirely. The name Behemoth eventually became corrupted into Bahamoot, then talking about an enormous fish with the world upon its back. How do you suppose then, that the Bahamut we know of today is not beast or fish, but
[21:05:39] <Kaingaskhan> king of dragons?"
[21:06:49] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Are people as quick to forget or alter tales such as that? Or perhaps did the king of eidolons desire a more prestigious story?"
[21:08:36] : Amaryllis takes a time to pause and think. "Tales do change over time, as storytellers such as myself add their own embellishments, their own twists on a story, perhaps to compete for interest among their audiences. However...Perhaps the latter could be true as well."
[21:09:32] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "I would suggest somewhat the latter in this case. Eidolons may be bound to their summoner's will, but little other should they truly desire it."
[21:10:19] <Amaryllis> "But a Tonberry is always a Tonberry. A powerful beast may take different forms, but in the end it is still a king of beasts. What form does a murderer take, even a righteous one, that is not a murderer?"
[21:10:48] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "An avenger. A protector. A knight."
[21:11:10] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "These things may not call to mind 'tonberry' when you think them, but who is to say it can't be so?"
[21:11:50] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "The few remaining tonberries in this world live the last of their days in this very castle, and soon will vanish entirely into your myth."
[21:12:52] : Amaryllis sets down her journal and pen, to think and absorb more than simply transcribe, at this last bit. "The few remaining...? Then they will perish? That is not the end I had envisioned for those who I owe my being to." She deflates a bit.
[21:13:35] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "And yet when faced with reality, myth oft fades away. Their parting is what gives you that form."
[21:13:57] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Would you write them a new fate?"
[21:14:17] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Would you continue their tale, possibly at the cost of your own?"
[21:14:34] : Amaryllis is silent. She doesn't really know the answer to those questions yet.
[21:16:01] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "They are normally hostile when adventurers pass through, but hesitated to engage your group, and now I believe I see why. I at least think you should meet with them sometime."
[21:17:02] <Amaryllis> Finally, after a period of consternation, Amaryllis takes a deep breath and slowly responds. "Yes, I shall. I had worried about my friend as she passed through ahead of us. The young noble girl. But it seems they had left her alone as well."
[21:17:38] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Yes, but that was probably more due to the companion she arrived with."
[21:17:59] <Amaryllis> "Companion? A serpent of some kind...?" Ammy recalls the scales and trail.
[21:18:32] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Yes, a terrible serpent indeed, though a fickle one. It's possible your friend amused it."
[21:18:57] <Amaryllis> "She walks that thin line well."
[21:20:27] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "It is said to have once coiled around the roots of the Iifa Tree, and slithered along its trunk. A few names it's had. Jormungander, midgard sormir, Terrato... but what it IS is a masterless eidolon that does as it pleases."
[21:20:52] <Amaryllis> "Oh?" Ammy's eyes fill with surprise.
[21:21:01] <Amaryllis> (hah, called it! :D)
[21:21:24] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "As I recall it uses the tunnels made by the Iifa Tree's roots to slither underneath the seas and to new places it calls home."
[21:22:35] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "I think we're getting terribly off subject, however."
[21:22:39] <Amaryllis> "Do you believe its disposition would lend it well to my cause?" Amaryllis speaks cautiously, lifting her necklace up in one hand? "We are scattered and lost, and even he who kept me anchored to this world when I awoke as an egg of tales...I rarely see anymore. A new ally..."
[21:22:59] <Amaryllis> "It would hold new possibilities, at least."
[21:23:05] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "What cause is that, exactly?"
[21:23:53] <Amaryllis> "To bring back the tradition of summoners, in a form that celebrates the oldest tales and myths of the world, rather than abusing them for power."
[21:24:12] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Mm. In an ideal world..."
[21:24:26] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "But no, I doubt it will lend its aid to such a cause that easily."
[21:25:09] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "And now it is my turn for questions, for a moment."
[21:25:13] <Amaryllis> "A fickle and free spirit may not, I suppose. I apologize for the tangent."
[21:25:19] <Amaryllis> "Of course, it is your right."
[21:25:43] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "You are, as you say, what is to become the eidolon tonberry, yes?"
[21:25:47] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "In which case..."
[21:25:52] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Why are you human?"
[21:27:40] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "You said you were as I was. Am I to ascertain there was meaning to your being before you became what you are now?"
[21:27:58] <Amaryllis> "I was once a human, just as I appear now." Ammy spins around slowly. "Perhaps my hair was not green, however. I died, and instead of returning to the crystal, my soul became one with all the tales of Tonberry. It was the machinations of the Gates, of course."
[21:28:11] <Kaingaskhan> He closes his eyes a moment.
[21:28:24] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Truly a pity."
[21:29:05] <Kaingaskhan> He opens them again. "You may owe your second chance at life to this, but do not squander it by letting it be your whole being, young one."
[21:29:06] <Amaryllis> "Is that so? Better to be reborn a legend than die a miniscule and forgetable tale, is it not?" Ammy tilts her head.
[21:29:51] <Amaryllis> "I...will try not to." Ammy speaks hesistantly.
[21:30:26] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Do you think so? The subject of that legend can be quite harsh. An invincible warrior who cuts down all foes before him without mercy. I am thankful that I did not become Odin, in all actuality."
[21:31:47] <Amaryllis> "Even if it means..." Ammy cuts herself off before remarking about being forgotten in a dumb old castle instead, but the way her gaze floats around the dusty room completes her sentence nonetheless. "....I apologize...I..." She steps back, not sure what to say.
[21:33:09] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Your eyes say what your mouth cannot. Yes, I am forgotten, but I would rather be than to write such a story. And even in this state I have lingered far too long, but I cannot yet rest. Not even if I wished it to be so."
[21:34:00] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Not while my blade fights with my hand that is not mine, performing unclean deed."
[21:34:31] <Amaryllis> "I am not unknown to that feeling." Amaryllis shivers.
[21:35:09] <Amaryllis> "And I fear it will come many times before I....gain the strength to...write my own tale." She speaks the last bit with a jagged rhythm, as if she can't quite bring herself to believe in its possibility.
[21:36:39] <Amaryllis> "Do you linger because of the Mist? It would explain much for me if the Mist is a vessel for carrying forth tales that have passed their time."
[21:38:20] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "The mist is one part, my lingering regrets another."
[21:39:40] <Amaryllis> "Then, in that case, I must repay you for what you've taught me." Amaryllis steps forward again. "What can I do to complete your tale? Is the return of your sword enough? Or do you have else to do to settle your last anxieties with the world?"
[21:40:11] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "If you can... defeat Odin. I expect you may have to in order to reclaim my sword in any case."
[21:40:28] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "But those are not words I can say lightly."
[21:40:44] <Amaryllis> "The Burmecian would see to the end of that legend herself, if she has her way."
[21:41:33] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Not all beings created by the crystal belong in this world. As the crystal gave birth to life, which bears good and evil, the same is within the crystal itself."
[21:42:09] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "To that end I feel Odin must be defeated, then somehow discorporated or banished. And let him no longer stain the pages of history."
[21:42:55] <Amaryllis> "If Odin does not exist to bring tragedy to the people of this world, another force will take his place. But I understand. Old tales must die before new may be born."
[21:43:21] <Kaingaskhan> Baron smiles a moment, then stands up, approaching you.
[21:44:01] : Amaryllis looks up at Baron but remains standing in her spot.
[21:45:34] <Kaingaskhan> He then places his hand softly on top of your head. "Forgive me. For a moment you reminded me of my granddaughter. A bit of a pessimist, or a realist as she said, but she always tried her best regardless."
[21:46:02] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "You're still young, but I think great things will come of you and your companions."
[21:47:04] <Kaingaskhan> He removes his hand and goes back to sit on his throne.
[21:47:05] : Amaryllis opens her mouth to explain her perspective but decides against it, simply saying "Thank you."
[21:47:54] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "Anything else I could ask you to do would probably no longer have meaning in this world."
[21:48:20] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "My descendants would be far too removed to be traceable, my kingdom is long buried I'm sure, along with most any relics from it."
[21:48:46] <Amaryllis> "Nevertheless, I will not let your tale end in vain. And when I return, you shall tell me the story of this granddaughter of yours."
[21:48:59] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "I certainly will."
[21:49:34] <Amaryllis> "Then, I shall take my leave of you. Thank you, for all of your advice." Amaryllis bows again and grabs up her belongings.
[21:50:51] <Amaryllis> "One more thing," She looks up at the Baron before exiting. "Please, do not tell my companions of who I am, neither my nature nor my associations. I do not know if it is yet a proper time for that."
[21:51:52] <Kaingaskhan> Baron: "I see. Very well, then."
[21:52:40] <Amaryllis> With a swish of her cloak, Ammy turns and leaves the room.
[21:53:05] <Kaingaskhan> Baron watches you leave, slowly sinking back into the sort of weary stupor only a ghost may enter.