TDM #1, arc 1.0: we drift like worried fire

[lamentus]

BUFF

Bonded of The Sorrowweld will find that the NPCs are especially friendly to them this month. Seriously, they just keep trying to give you things. It might get annoying.

DEBUFF

For those who are bonded to Tarnished Az-Mehet, you keep seeing shadows out of the corner of your eye on every screen in the ship, even your datapad. Something is lurking.

At first, you feel a pull. In which direction, you do not know. When a portal of shimmering black and glittering stars appears in front of you, it only seems natural to step into it. On the journey, it is as if you see everything: ancient galaxies wheeling through space, cultures born and growing and leaving their planets, lights creeping over landmasses and them winking out all at once. You see the hungry arm of a black hole, an enigmatic smile under a mirrored mask, a fist clenched tight around an endless sword. Fangs shining in starlight, bandaged feet that have traveled so many miles and still remain sturdy, and code shattering under titanium will.

And then your feet touch solid ground again, and what you have seen is suddenly hard to recall, the merest of glimpses springing to mind when you try to think back.

All you know is that you witnessed something enormous, something you probably shouldn't have seen.

As you struggle to refocus your gaze, all you see for a long moment is white. White walls, white floor. Narrow white cots lined up against a wall, screens blinking above them in tones of soothing aqua and mint. You are in a medbay — a highly advanced one, given the lack of bulky machinery — but perhaps the most eye-catching thing about the room is a long window showing endless black and twinkling stars outside.

Before you can give voice to any thoughts, a small robot flutters toward you, and perches on the back of a chair. "Hello, Wayfarer!" the birdform chirps cheerfully. "I imagine you must have many questions; allow me to enlighten you! You have fallen victim to a quantum accident and have been pulled to another universe, but the Ascendants, in their generosity, intercepted your signal and brought you here so that you did not wind up in empty space. You are aboard the Theorem of the Astral Rose; our mission is to explore uncharted space and search for the Song!"

They pause, thinking, their little blue eye aglow, and then brighten.

"Oh! Introductions are in order! I am Starling's Lament in Flight, but you may call me Starling's Lament. I am one of the Hosts of this exploration vessel; we will do everything we can to ensure a safe voyage for you. Unfortunately, at this moment, we cannot send you home. The Ascendants have indicated that their search for the Song may play some key role in doing so." They whistle a merry tune. "Please enjoy your stay!"

REFLECT

When you manage to get your wits about you -- it's a bumpy ride between universes! -- you start to leave the medbay. Starling's Lament has indicated that you are free to explore the ship, and nowhere is off limits to you. As you leave the cool white tones of the medbay behind, a hallway stretches out in front of you. Both sides are transparent, offering a view into the long dark of space beyond. However, unlike deep space, there is currently quite a lot to see.



On the left lays the broad curve of a planet, lush green landmass and white clouds skidding across its surface. Its star is just sinking behind it, lighting up the very edge of its atmosphere in tones of engine-burn orange and ozone blue, as long shadows cast by enormous space elevators creep across the landmasses. Its most eye-catching feature, however, are the hexagonal structures webbed across its surface, connected by fine corridors with all the geometric precision of woven spider's silk. You can just barely see the tiny dots of spaceships flowing around them, docking, embarking, shuttling between them.

"That is the Redline Trading Post." You hear a tiny whisper, and look up to see another robot — a beetleform, this time, with a shiny dotted shell — watching you curiously from its place on the ceiling. In fact, there are a number of other Hosts doing the exact same thing; a snakeform coiled around a barrier rail, a catform with bright yellow eyes peeking around the corner, a chirping droneform hovering some distance down the hallway. They're all fascinated by you. "But we will be departing soon. You will not get to taste the Galactic Snowball Nova-Cream, the shining culinary jewel of Redline. Sorry. I hear it is very tasty."

You look to your right, away from the planet and the Redline post, to gaze out into the depths of space. In the distance, there is a nebula, its gasses lit up in shades of coral pink and deep purple. It is pockmarked with stars both young and old, newborn stellar entities cradled in the depths of its life-making dust. Set against the dark of space, it is a flower in bloom.



It's beautiful, except—

The longer you look at it, the more something nags at the corner of your mind. A memory glances across your thoughts, unbidden. Something you hoped for, maybe; or something you fear. Whatever the memory, as you gaze at the nebula, a small piece of it curls, shaping in response to your memory. It is your face, reflected perfectly. Smiling, or howling in anger, or weeping.

Eventually, the nebula will go back to normal. But for now, it reflects the fears and triumphs of the new Wayfarers, a mirror held up in the darkness of space.

IMBIBE

Once you make it into the bulk of the ship, the Hosts inform you that as they have just restocked all essential supplies, they will be throwing a party in your honor, and they hope you will sample the food.

Maybe you're incredibly dubious about this. Maybe you're starving after your long journey. Either way, you find yourself in the mess hall. It's less like a traditional mess hall and more like a park full of food trucks with seating in the middle. The food trucks are bright and eye-catching, Hosts serving huge heaps of food from their interiors, as their signs advertise everything from Earthen Ancient Egyptian food (As Close As We Can Reconstruct It!) to Raxalar Black Stew (New and Improved: Now Free Of Grit!).

Real grass is underfoot, and the picnic-style seating in the middle appears to be real wood. The lighting is a myriad; whimsical string lights strung between the trucks, floating globe lights playfully dancing like fireflies, and the luminescence of a dogform's patterns and a droneform's enormous eyes and a flyform's glittering trail. The Hosts are clearly excited.

And if the food happens to have... some kind of effect?

Well, the Hosts say, that's only to be expected! The attention of an Edict may, for a nano-second, turn toward the start of this voyage, and that's bound to make anything go a little wonky. Also, they've used some ingredients from the local system, and it's only customary there to share some thoughts and ideas and memories when you eat together. How else can you properly get to know each other?

RED BUFFALO SHANK WITH SPIKED LOTUS

This may or may not look appealing to you depending on your sensibilities, but it does smell incredible. Soft, savory red meat paired with the fragrant, earthy scent of the vegetable. The Red Buffalo is perfectly seared, and if you poke them cautiously, you'll find the spikes are entirely edible, as long as you chew well enough. If Wayfarers eat this, they will find themselves sharing a memory with the nearest person, a vision of the last time they were truly happy.

UPSIDE-DOWN PLUM SPARK-WINE

It seems the Hosts aren't quite sure of the appropriate alcohol content of substances, as this will burn all the way down, chased by a cool, sparkly feeling all the way down one's esophagus. It tastes of sweetly sour plums, and a potential hangover tomorrow morning. Wayfarers that imbibe this alcohol beverage will start overhearing the thoughts of those around them, as if they are perfectly in tune with everyone.

GOLDEN BUNS WITH SPICED HONEY DRIZZLE

Ah, a perfectly homey looking meal, sweet and savory, gently steaming. These are a must-try for any Wayfarer with a sweet tooth, proudly boasting of the agricultural and apiary skill of a nearby alien culture. The buns are perfectly fluffy, the spiced honey is warming. What's not to love? After eating this, Wayfarers will find themselves and the nearest person sharing a vision of themselves as they might have been had they gone down the worst possible path in their life.

CHERRY COLA!™

This isn't the Cherry Cola! you may or may not be familiar with, but it's interesting that whatever alien came up with this came up with the same Earth word. Or maybe the Hosts got it from Earth? Either way, it's fizzy, it's sparkly, it makes you feel like you're floating on rainbow bubbles. Upon drinking this, imbibers will telepathically project outward a vision of the most beautiful thing they've ever seen.

A CAKE. MAYBE.

Dear god. What is it? Who came up with this? Who is even brave enough to try this? It certainly… has a taste. It… has an appearance. Whether either of these things are good is in the eye of the beholder. Wayfarers adventurous enough to put this in their mouths (or other eating appendages) will find themselves uncontrollably speaking aloud of the thing they long for the most.

INITIATE

Eventually, it comes time to launch.

The Hosts are a blur of activity, some of them packing up more delicate equipment in case of errant gravity waves during initial propulsion, some of them herding the Wayfarers into a seating area reserved specifically for the safety of its occupants during launch, deceleration, and rare turbulence. You are informed that engine flare will be so bright it will rival a star for the next twenty-five hours of engine start-up burn, but you will only need to stay strapped in for half an hour or so.

As the Theorem's enormous engines start cycling, the entire ship seems to hum in melodic song. And after everybody is strapped in, that's when the intensity starts. Gravity seems to want to push everything toward the stern, and Wayfarers are pressed hard against their seats with the inertia. After half an hour, the Hosts cheerily announce that everybody is free to get up and move around — but you might want to stay near a window, as they will be doing a low dive through the nearby planet's second moon's atmosphere, and it will be quite the sight.

Soon enough, the moon becomes visible. It is of unbroken crimson red, though subtle shifting in its surface lets you guess that it's water rather than earth. And then, as the Theorem rolls gently to the side, the view in the windows nearly perfectly split between moon and space, that's when you see them, swimming through the atmosphere.



To call them fish would be inaccurate — they are not in an ocean, or any body of water — and yet, that will be the word that springs to mind for most Wayfarers. Some of them are sleek and small, schooling in packs of shimmering white and ochre. Others are long and pointed, appendages pointed backward to exude a bright pink gas that propels them forward and which trails after them like oil slicks in the air. The locals call them x'enuda, the Hosts tell you, a combination of words that mean to fly and cunning prey.

They swim closer, swarming outside of the window. Some of them swim through, phasing through the shielding and windows alike, to dance gently in the interior of the Theorem, darting to and fro. If any Wayfarers find themselves curious enough to reach out and touch these creatures, they will find themselves similarly phased, capable of passing through matter for the next few minutes before the shared electrical field wears off and returns them to normal corporality. The external shield will catch you if you phase right through the ship's floor, but you may need to swim back up. Others may find themselves suddenly craving company, as if the x'enuda's instinct to remain safe in a school is catching.

FOREWORD

"All Wayfarers, please report to the docking bay!"

As you filter into the enormous cavern that makes up the docking bay of the Theorem, you see rows of smaller spacecraft. Some of them are sleek and light, like they'd be as free as a feather during aerial combat, while others are bulky and spacious. Many of them have designs in alien languages on them, or bizarre looking mascots, seemingly for good luck. As the occasional screen informs you, you are free to claim any one of the ships as your own, but first, Starling's Lament would very much like to give a presentation.

Past the rows of ships lays an expansive opening in the side of the Theorem, many stories high and wide, a shimmering forcefield the only thing between you and space. Beyond it, you can see the quickly fading shape of the planet and moons you left behind as the Theorem continues acceleration. It is in front of this that Starling's Lament has set up a large hologram of a star map.

As they start to explain once everyone is gathered, the map currently shows the region of space you are in. It is an enormous quadrant of multiple galaxies, some pinwheeled in shape, some circuler or tube-like. A line arcs across it, heading into what is clearly less-explored space, beyond the area colorfully marked as Alliance territory. Eventually, that line stops at a star, which then magnifies to reveal a six planet system, the second planet from the star circled.

This is your first objective: designation Epsilon-355.

There are many stories of which planets the Last Pilgrim has set foot upon, and yet, nobody has ever verified any of them. This, the Ascendants claim, is the closest match they have found for one of those planets in a scrap of story: a land of golden sand and shimmering glass, where pilgrimages track their way across the Golden Barrens desert. The planet is small and unassuming in the hologram, and the details next to it are scarce: relatively normal gravity, breathable atmosphere. More details will become available as the Theorem gets close enough for in-depth scans.

If there any notes of the Song to be found, they may yet be found in the Last Pilgrim's footprints.

Presentation nearly over, Starling's Lament directs you a series of tables that have neatly assembled packages of gear. Once you have picked your Division, you are welcome to claim the technological tools of its trade. You can also look at the spaceships available to claim, or even just watch out the docking bay door as you leave the planet behind and head deeper into space.

Welcome to the mission, Wayfarer.

(CODE)

Comments

reflect

[victus]

You recognize them? [ Viktor can't help but notice their staring, and he follows that gaze to fix upon the so-called Hosts. They weren't like anything he's seen before, though he can at least theorize on their construction. It isn't like Viktor didn't have half-formed designs for their own automaton, and he considered turning himself into one, though he never got quite far enough in planning that beyond the ideas stage.

Leaning on his crutch, he watches the way the cat-like Host appears to be drawn to this person. That's certainly worth noting. It could simply be a preference for those who resemble their form, or it could be something else entirely. Viktor is too curious at heart not to find this puzzle distracting. Truly, this is what happens when you let a scientist loose in a place like this. They need bells on. ]

[solless]

( yi studies viktor curiously. he has realized very quickly that he, as a solarian, is in the stark minority here—most of the other “Wayfarers” appear to be apemen, or at least species that resemble them. they had a far more observably varied phenotype than those creatures that had been kept in Peach Blossom Village in the heart of New Kunlun as livestock; understandable, given the solarians had seen over their proliferation for several hundred years, ever since they had taken them from the Pale Blue Planet. whatever assumptions yi might have had about apemen, he had found challenged and ultimately shattered by his friendship with the boy that had pulled him out of Fusang’s roots; shuanshuan, who he feels confident is even more brilliant than he had been at his age. a realization which had brought with it a terrible pain of guilt, given what yi himself had done to their people.

he finds himself somewhat awkward around them because of that, even though he had never felt the same around shuanshuan. after a moment’s scrutinizing, in which he takes in the man, his stature, the crutch that he leans on… well. they are not so different after all, then, give or take centuries of technology and innovation. he recalls nuwa and the deformity to her feet which had caused her to rely on technology to let her hover.

it hadn’t stopped her and her brother from killing him several times before he’d finally put an end to their negligent depravity and claimed their Sol Seals for himself. )

The automata? No.

( the catform Host has crept forward, perhaps feeling part of the conversation. yi stares at it critically. )

My people have developed such devices, but we designed them with far more efficient forms.

( one might not think it looking at him, given his short height, small stature, and the yellow robe he wears, but yi is a Fangshi—a warrior, yes, but he is foremost a scientist. he can’t help some of his former haughtiness from creeping into his tone.

his gaze slides back towards viktor. ) Surely you, too, would be unnerved to find a facsimile of yourself crawling around on all fours like an animal?

( uh, oh. someone’s really going to have to tell him about cats )

[victus]

[ There are more than humanoid life forms living in Runeterra, so Viktor simply looks upon this individual as he would anyone else. If anything, the mention of their technology surpassing that of the automaton before them causes Viktor's expression to color with surprise, his gaze sparkling with immense interest. ] Have you? What is their design — larger? Broader, I would imagine. [ His mind is filled with possibilities, all dependent upon what might be most useful to everyday people.

After a moment, though, Viktor realizes he's letting his imagination run away with him, and he exhales a soft breath, vaguely embarrassed. ] Ah. I apologize. I am a scientist, and this area of invention has eluded me for some time.

[ Eyeing the cat-like device again, Viktor makes another noise, this one in contemplation. ] If it was useful ... eh. [ He inclines his head. ] You make a fair point.

[solless]

( Penglai didn’t have nearly so diverse an ecosystem, let alone such a diversity in sapient species. and they had only found apemen because they had searched hundreds if not thousands of hospitable planets for life with the specifications they had needed for the Eternal Cauldron Project…

he sees the interest that sparks in viktor’s eye. it’s something he feels like he recognizes. )

That would depend on their function. ( the yellow sleeves of yi’s Fangshi robe fold in front of him. ) Our assistive robots share a similar height and form to my own. That way, they can be trusted with the same tasks one would trust another solarian with. ( a beat. ) Though… their heads were designed to be rather fishbowl-like.

( that quality had just been for the aesthetic charm. yi hadn’t been consulted; it wasn’t really his field of interest. but yi is also a guy who had both named and designed the artificial intelligence he'd created for his own assistance after himself.

at viktor’s admission, yi seems to brighten up a little. ah, so he’d been right! ) I am a scientist myself. ( a passion which had ruled him from a young age; his parents, devout Taoists, had tried to forbid him from practicing it, but that had only made that fire burn brighter. ) I would be interested to learn more about your own “areas of invention,” if you would be willing to share.

( it’s a good thing that viktor concedes that last point. yi doesn’t comment on it, but it probably saved the both of them him pointing out some ape-like Host and asking him what he thought about it. casual racism, averted…! )

[victus]

Of course, [ Viktor mutters, half to himself, gaze unfocusing briefly as he imagines all these new possibilities. He itches for a pen and paper, anything to jot down the designs forming in his mind. ] Too large and it might counteract the intended benefits, but too broad ... [ He trails off, catching on to the fishbowl head comment belatedly. A tiny smile tugs at his mouth, eyebrows raising. ] For water resistance? [ Partially a guess, partially an attempt to tease.

For all they've come a long way from their respective homes, it's gratifying to find a likeminded individual even here. Viktor brightens in genuine excitement. ] My partner and I are engineers specializing in techmaturgy — the balance between technology and magic. Not always a harmonious one, but we aim to change that. [ It really is a shame he doesn't have their lab here. A problem for the future: establishing themselves.

As someone who endured his fair share of casual microaggressions both for being from Zaun and someone with a disability, Viktor would be a hypocrite to judge others for anything they couldn't change. ]

[solless]

( yi huffs a single, faintly derisive laugh. ) Doubtful. ( he shakes his head. ) The aesthetics never made sense to me.

( truthfully, the bowl-like heads were screens which displayed fish-like avatars to interact with because… cats like to watch fish swimming around in their bowls. but that’s so patently unscientific, so yi doesn’t even bother giving voice to it.

he listens thoughtfully to viktor’s explanation, though his brow furrows somewhat at so easily he introduces a concept like “magic” into the research subject of two self-proclaimed engineers. honestly, he probably shouldn’t be so critical of such a thing. his life is preserved by Fusang’s roots, entangling through a portion of his heart. it had allowed his body to regenerate within its root nodes more times than he could count—including from an explosion in his youth that should have been lethal. he fights with qi shaped into a blade and talisman. he’s fought and killed an immortal. he had even entered the Limitless Realm, a place beyond time stored within Fusang’s roots, to develop the Fangshi combat arts along Lear—a man who had lived centuries ago. heng had always tried to explain to him that there were things in their world beyond science’s exacting explanation; that they were all one in the Tao, which allowed for fantastic, wonderful, and sometimes terrible things. he had never wanted to listen. he had wanted to believe that she and his parents were wrong, that there was a reason and a purpose and a meaning to everything. qualitative, quantifiable. calculated. something he could touch and prove.

if yi were still the haughty Sol of Innovation that had devised the Eternal Cauldron Project, perhaps he would have sniffed at such an idea. but… time, and his winding journey through revenge and redemption, have tempered him. he reins in his prejudices, attempting to foster curiosity instead. )

I will admit, it’s strange to hear you mention magic in the same breath as technology.

( anyone who watches yi might might challenge him as a hypocrite, but in his mind, he doesn’t think so. the manipulation of qi is not “magic” because they have distilled it down, through experimentation and comprehensive understanding, to a science. )

Some even say that “magic” is simply a word attributed to forces that science has not yet explained. Is what you speak of different, then? Is it something quantifiable, or are you attempting to harness something you don’t understand?

( darkly, he thinks of eigong and her experiments for immortality. )

[victus]

[ Charmed by that response, Viktor snorts. He doesn't offer any further comment, but he's tucked this information away for later. Perhaps, with luck, he might be able to entice his new companion by a collaboration. Or at the very least, a reviewer role. They would need more opinions on their work now more than ever.

He's fully in agreement about their discussion on magic and technology, though, with Viktor already nodding. ] Yes, precisely. It is simply another form of scientific study — and biological in nature. It evolves. [ He's a bit more animated now, a bit brighter. This is clearly Viktor's niche interest, or at least, it's Jayce's, and he's inherited that infectious enthusiasm, so to speak. ]

Unfortunately, there are few where I come from who are willing to study it at all. We've changed that in recent years, but it's been ... eh. Progressing slower than I'd like. [ He thought of Heimerdinger, the Council, Sky —

Viktor waves a hand, dismissing that line of thought. ] Forgive me for the lecture and lack of introduction. A habit, I'm afraid. My name is Viktor.

[solless]

( yi is similarly charmed, though he forces himself to remain impartial and wary. the exuberant excitement he sees in viktor now is a familiar sight—he’d both embodied it and seen it in the others as they worked together in trying to save their people from the Tianhuo virus, throwing themselves bodily into the project that he himself had proposed. the reason he holds back now is because he knows how all of that bright-eyed enthusiasm and optimism can end. so many of those friends, collaborators, benefactors, mentors, colleagues… he’d ended up having to kill them by his own hand to wrest control back. he’d seen the dream of hope crushed under the oppressive weight of reality; it had drug them all down into dark, silent depths.

the former Sol of Innovation had always been brilliant—at his worst, that had soured into arrogance and dovetailed into hubris. he can see that now. it was a quality that he had shared with his mentor, the woman he believes had saved his life. her own pride in the face of what made them solarian was what had given them the Tianhuo virus in the first place.

she had been fumbling around with powers she didn’t entirely understand as well. that’s why, as much as he wants to feed positivity back into this excitement, to not stand as an interposing force like what viktor briefly describes… he feels that faltering in his heart.

he breathes out a short sigh. still, ) …I am familiar with the feeling. Both the impatience and the irritation at those who would push back against progress. And no forgiveness is necessary. I did ask, after all.

( that’s what his “Eternal Cauldron Project” had been all about, after all. buying them more time. )

Viktor. ( he give a short nod in greeting. ) I’m Yi.

[victus]

[ Viktor isn't bothered by the cool response. Recent events have tempered his fire somewhat, or at least given him serious pause in terms of what should and shouldn't be done. Not all paths are ones worth treading, and his guilt burns hot under the glove currently hiding the mark of that mistake, the skin underneath now changed beyond recognition. He wonders if this is the precursor to far worse for the trajectory of his health. He wonders if he should care.

So Viktor inclines his head in acknowledgement, letting the subject pass. Another time, perhaps, when they aren't all attempting to find their bearings in so strange a place. ] My pleasure, Yi, [ he says with full sincerity. Then, ] I hope our paths cross again. [ It still isn't entirely clear to him how many of them are newcomers and where they'll all be assigned, but with luck, this isn't the last they'll see of each other. ]

[solless]

( in a way, they are cursed—they are sapient, but they are also ignorant, so they are fully aware of just how much there is out there that they don’t know. the siren’s song of knowledge and its comprehension did not capture the attention of everyone. hell, there were many yi had known for whom he’s not even sure they heard it. his parents had been disproving of his scientific exploits at best and actively admonishing at worst. and heng… she had always loved to listen to him explain the complex and interlocking series of natural systems that guided their world, and yet she had decided to remain upon their dying planet. “I can’t imagine my life ending anywhere other than on Penglai.”

the pursuit of knowledge had burned through his veins like a fever. but now, having passed through the ruins of his own failure, he finds himself in a similar state as viktor does now. the weight of guilt and consequence to those haphazard pursuits can be both heavy and harrowing, indeed.

he nods, similarly willing to let the conversation pass. given the change in all of their circumstances, he doesn’t doubt they will have ample opportunities to speak at length later on, when things are less overwhelming. )

Until next time, then, ( he agrees, almond-shaped eyes narrowing in what must be a small smile. ) I would be very much interested in learning more about this “techmaturgy” of yours.

( bidding the man farewell, yi moves to one of the wide observational windows to stare out into the depths of space, searching the constellations in vain for any that he recognized. after a moment or two, the catform Host pads over to sit down at his side, joining him. )