Red Mage on the Icy Mountain (Storyline: First Contact)

(OOC: As a point of clarification, this is a First Contact thread to introduce the world of Crystal Chronicles to the unified worlds. Please keep that in mind if you choose to join us in the action.)

They were lost. Though how that had happened was still something of a mystery to Telira. Usually the paths between the worlds were clear and unmistakable… and sometimes they were not apparently. Soren was highly concerned about the situation as soon as the path they'd been following vanished into the grey mist of the place between worlds. This was not a good sign.

Concerned, he went below to tell Telira about the situation, even though he really didn't want to add to the stress that he knew she felt because of her pregnancy. He found her sitting in a rocking chair in her chamber, working on some embroidery. She looked up from the needlework to frown at the look on his face.

"Soren? Is aught the matter?"

He sighed. "We've lost the path, Tel. We're flying blind between worlds." It did no good to remind her how she was still getting larger and how they really didn't need to risk this with her condition. Flying blind between worlds… well, it could be moments or it could be years before they found one of the worlds or the paths between them.

She nodded slowly. She understood the risks, but she needed to see the other worlds with her own eyes, learn their ways so that she could better gauge the possible dangers to her own. "I… I understand." She put a hand over her swollen belly, feeling the child within her kick as if to say that all was going to be well.

Soren saw the move and his eyes softened slightly. As much as he still raged with fear over what he didn't know… he knew that his chosen kinswoman would be a devoted mother and that the child she carried, for good or ill, was a child of his clan. And as a dwarven man he lived and died for the good of his clan.

They were interrupted by shouts from above decks and Soren started to turn around to see what was going on when there was a horrible creaking sound and a shuddering throughout the entire airship. This was followed by a splintering crack as what looked to be a rocky outcropping broke through the outside wall of the room, right next to Telira's chair.

She started to stand up, but Soren waved her back. "No, Tel, I don't want you to fall! The floor's too unstable!"

As if to prove his words, the boards beneath their feet shuddered and splintered, breaking apart between them. Telira gripped the arms of her rocking chair, the needlework fallen unnoticed to the floor as Soren gripped the doorframe, his eyes wide with fear and determination. The gap was widening as the airship broke apart around them and Soren considered the odds of his being able to jump across when there was a blur of red velvet and fur.

The Commodore burst through the splintering door and crossed the widening room airborne to land with his arms around Tel's feet, squeaking and mrowing desperately. At that it was too late for Soren as the splintered ship scattered into pieces, the broken-off section that held Telira and the Commodore fell into the mists.

"Commodore!" he shouted, "Protect her!"

He thought he could hear the Commodore's voice answering back before there was a tremendous collision and all went black for him.

---
When Telira came to, she realized that she was incredibly cold, and sore. She blinked her eyes open to look around her and saw that she was lying on a rocky outcropping on a snow-covered mountain of some sort. The splintered remains of her room on the airship were nearby. Then she looked and saw a flash of red as the Commodore practically pounced on her, hugging and squeaking his relief.

She had to chuckle at him. "I'm alright, Commodore. But… where are we?"

"Mount Vaal, my good lady. Though, I believe 'How did I end up here, surrounded by wreckage?' would be the more pertinent question."

The source of the voice was a being Telira, to be sure, had never seen before. His garb, where it was fabric, was crimson, weaved in with gold. His armor, into which his robes were seemlessly integrated, resembled that of a war–mage, helm and all. Most bizzare was what flesh was exposed, at his arms and neck, were covered in a brown/blonde striped fur. In his massive, four-fingered hand, he carried a mage's rod.

"However, judging from the extent of the wreckage around you, and the impact that would be required to cause such ruin? You're lucky to be alive. And, judging by the size of your abdomen, in comparison to the rest of your body, your child, luckier still."

The strange man approached Telira, and extended a furry hand.

"Since you do not seem to be in immediate danger, let us quickly be done with formalities, and make your removal from this frigid peak most expedient. My name is Amidatty, Archmage of Veo Lu, and leader of the Shella Caravan. Who are you, and, from where do you hail?"

(Please excuse my brevity. I posted this at 8:00, on my3DS.)

Mystic wandered around the cold terrain, wandering how he got here in the first place. He saw some new portal in the Universal Multiplex, and, like they say, curiosity killed the cat. Or in this case, got him lost in a snowy mountain. Mystic tilted his head, saying, "Hmmm, poopy! All I see are snow, snow, more snow, and Behemeoths (Thankfully they don't want anything to do with me). And I can't seem to find a portal anywhere! Maybe there's at least a town somewhere. Oh, I think I'm gonna freeze here!" The boy continued anyways, his robe dragging in the snow. Mystic usually didn't like his robe getting covered in rain and snow, but he'd make an exception this time, as he quickly pushed through the firgid mountain. He wondered why anyone would be here at all! It was so cold, and Mystic wasn't fond of cold. He hadn't gone to many cold places before, so Mystic wasn't sure what to do.

(OOC: Sol, brevity is okay; it's why this is a Regular thread instead of an Advanced one. Mystic... I'm not sure how to respond to your addition just yet... so forgive me if I don't acknowledge your presence right away... actually, I have an idea...)

Telira looked up to see the being speaking to her and her eyes widened for a moment in surprise. Well, okay, she'd seen stranger creatures on some of the other worlds and Crystals know that some of the nobles of Alexandria, on Gaia, were even more odd in appearance. She flushed slightly at his quick deduction of her condition.

Great Crystals, was she ever going to stop being so surprised by being pregnant?

She sighed, though, as she took his hand and struggled to her feet with the Commodore's help. "Oh, I know how I got here... I was trying to get to Treno and my airship lost the path somehow... I think we accidentally ran into your mountain because it ripped my room out of the vessel." She put one comforting hand over her unborn babe and sighed again. "I am Telira LeNaen, Red Mage of Light, of the World of One. It is good to meet you, Archmage Amidatty."

She sighed again. "I am still unfamiliar with Gaean geography. Where is Veo Lu in relation to Lindblum, Alexandria, or Burmecia?"

---
In another part of the mountain, a short, stocky form crawled out from the massive wreckage of what once was the flagship of the World of One. Soren was a Dwarf and it took far more than an airship crash to kill a dwarf. He was, though, very frightened for Telira, wherever she might be.

He prayed that she and her child were safe... or there would be hell to pay.

He'd started taking stock of the damage, and it was catastrophic, a whole new airship would have to be built, when he noticed the young mage floundering through the snow, talking to himself.

He raised a hand and shouted out to him. "Hey, kid! C'mere! You happen to know where 'here' is anyway?"

...Amidatty was baffled, at this point. Treno? Alexandria? GAIA? These names meant nothing to him. ...However, it was her mentioning the World of One that truly caught his ear.

"...Incredible... ...Then... ...You are from a world outside this one!"

His mind spun with the possibilities. The presence of other worlds, with intelligent life, was something that had been theorized about for ages. But, to actually meet such an otherworldly being... And, they seemed so similar to life on this world! Producing a small tome from within his robes, he pulled a feather from his helm, uncorking an ink well affixed to his belt, and began writing. Still transfixed by his task, he displayed his incredible ability to multitask.

"Much as I hate to disappoint you, outworlder, you are not where you think you are."

The tall, slender man continued his work. Sketching out, on one page, an image of Telira, on another, writing down what he believe to be pertinent data, he continued, still.

"Treno, Lindblum, Alexandria, and Burmecia... These, I assume, are place-names. Thus, 'Gaia' is the name of another world. I am afraid that you've missed your mark. The world you are in is known as Rebena, so named for the ancient, pangaeal empire of Rebena Te Ra."

Re-corking the inkwell, and returning the feather to his helm, he pinned open the book's pages, before hanging it from his belt, to dry the ink.

"I must say, it's an honor beyond measure to be the first to greet an otherworldly traveler." Amidatty said, with a slight bow.

His fingers went to his chest, tapping against a crystalline shard embedded in his armor.

"Now, I trust that this climate is not to your liking. As such, I've sent for my Airship. Once I gather the rest of my Caravan, we will happily bring you to Shella, to rest"

Mystic's annoyed mumbles stopped whne he heard some shouting. He twirled around and saw some dwarf waving at him from a wreckage site of some sort. Mystic rushed towards the dwarf, happy to be met with company in this wasteland. Mystic stopped and spoke, "No, not really. I found a portal in the Multiplex and next thing I knew, this forsty mountain was here and I can't seem to find a way out." Mystic tapped his foot, a common habit. "Sheesh, hope we can get out of here. I'm pretty sure none of us like this climate much." He then saw the wreckage more clearly. It was of some flagship Mystic tilted his head and asked, "Whoa, what happened here?" Mystic, as curious as ever, kept his head tilted until a response was given.

Telira trembled as the Archmage intuited the truth that she hadn't quite figured out just yet. Hearing it stated, though, made her sigh at her own frustrations. She'd hoped that they'd landed somewhere in Gaia. That would make things easier to deal with.

Still, she was a Champion of the Crystals so, even though she wanted nothing more than to retreat from the situation, her mind started working quickly to decipher what she did know... and what she didn't.

"Dear Crystals," she murmured softly, "I go from First Contacted to First Contact... Someone must be laughing at me and it damned well better not be those interfering Seers..." She looked up at Amidatty. "I am the first Outworlder you have met? I presume there have been tales of others, though, surely?"

She blinked at his mention of an airship and smiled. "Thank goodness you have airships at least. That puts you ahead of my home world when we were first made aware of the other worlds and the Universal Multiplex. I'm afraid I had to unearth mine and work to get it functioning because the technology had been lost over time."

She sighed. "The Gaia I spoke of is also called the World of Nine. I had hoped that I had landed there because you resemble some of the peoples who live here, or so I have been told. I had not yet had a chance to see the world myself."

She knew that she was rambling and shivered slightly in the freezing wind. The Commodore saw her and mrowed loudly, scampering over to the wreckage of her room and returning with one of the blankets that had survived the crash. She had to chuckle at him. "Thank you, Commodore."

She wrapped the blanket around her as best as she could. "My home town is Pravoka, a seaport on the World of One, sometimes called Paramecia. We share the name Paramecia, though, with the World of Two, so it's usually easier to use the number... or the name of the central kingdom of Cornelia. Commodore Fluffy Paws here," the Commodore bowed at his name, "is from a place called Shumi Village in the very far north of the World of Eight, commonly called the Gardens or simply Balamb, for the educational facilities there."

---
Soren looked at the boy and shook his head slowly. "And you just walked into a portal without looking at the destination?" He sighed. "Just my luck," he murmured softly. He raised his voice then. "We had something of a crash. Lost the path between worlds and ended up ripped open like an orange or something."

He looked around. "Did you happen to pass any other wreckage? One of the cabins was ripped clean away from the rest of the ship and a friend of mine was in it at the time." He frowned, showing a great deal of concern. "A friend in a VERY delicate condition, I might add."

He was very worried. There was no telling what Telira would get herself into if he wasn't there to protect her and her child. Some of the more sordid possibilities had him on the edge of terrified rage, and that would *not* help if he didn't know where she was.

"Another otherwolder? If there has been such, then, it has not been known to any living."

Looking out over the landscape of the Veo Lu Plains, the man sighed.

"That's not to say it hasn't happened. However, if others like you came here, I am certain that the Miasma claimed their lives."

...It was still hard for him to believe. Until just a scant few years ago, less than a decade, the Miasma had covered nearly the whole world. Amidatty had spent almost a century gathering Myrrh to power the Crystals. Now, he and his fellows traveled the world, charting the unexplored expanses. ...And, yet, it was still just as dangerous. He was giving serious thought to retiring, truth be told.


==================================================

...And Bessamzan couldn't be happier that Amidatty was thinking such. He was the Archmage's apprentice, and had been learning from him for some time. He cherished Amidatty like an older brother, but, Bessamzan felt it was long past his time to shine. This wasn't jealousy, no. Bessamzan was only 220, where Amidatty was approaching 400. Caravanning was a young man's game, and a young man Amidatty was not.

...The Caravan's Airship, the Gesselchaft, was unlike most other ships of the world. Unlike the literal air-boats hewn from the wood of the Fum Forests, or the iron-clad fortresses held aloft by air-filled skins or cloths, the pride of Alfitaria, Yukish airships were different. They tapered to a point at both ends, the rear end having fletchings, like unto an arrow. On either side, there were vast expanses of steel, in which the engines were mounted. Each of the four used Crystal Power to draw in and blow out air. Their ships were the fastest in the world, but, required vast expanses of land or water to land.

As he approached the icy Mount Vaal, the remains of a Clavatian-style Airboat were obvious. Tapping the crystal in his armor, he contacted Amidatty.

========================================================

The Archmage jumped, startled, as Bessamzan's voice rang out from the crystal on the Yuke's person.

"Amidatty, we're gonna be late getting back. I've identified an airshipwreck."

...Amidatty looked up to the sky, puzzled. He couldn't see the massive airship they used.

"Bessamzan, I think you're talking about us. I'm near a shredded cabin from an airship, with a young woman."

"Well, then, this must be the rest of it." Replied the apprentice.

Mystic tapped his foot, but still listened to the dwarf's explanation. Mystic's eyes widened at the words "delicate condition" and it managed to make Mystic stop tapping his foot. He was worried. Very worried. And Mystic was going to do something. he looked around, but he couldn't see anything in the snowy fields. The mage worried and said, "Oh I hope she's alright, then. I didn't see any other pieces of rubble on the way here, and I came from that way," Mystic pointed the direction he came from, which was the east, "And I only turned left once because I heard a loud roar and didn't want to get into trouble, but I still didn't see anything." Mystic tapped his foot again in a worried pace, looked at the rubble, then the dwarf, then just looked at the ground, thinking of what to do.

Telira looked curious. "The... Miasma?" She sighed sadly. "I believe that many of the worlds recently suffered terrible events and are beginning their recoveries. I think that the trains of the Universal Multiplex wait for the peace after such turmoil before they connect a world to the others." She shook her head. "It is sometimes difficult for a world to recover from one seeming catastrophe, if narrowly averted, only to be struck by the arrival of strangers from further away than any could have imagined. There will be cultural strain, at the least."

She sighed. "And I fully expect that not all will be as overjoyed as you are at the prospect of aliens from other worlds arriving and wandering around, ignorant of many things which you take so for granted that their questioning seems absurd. I know for I see it every day on the World of One."

She heard the exchange with the voice that came from Amidatty's crystal, something that fascinated her to no end and looked curious. "You found the rest of my airship? Is Soren alright? What about the rest of the crew?" She found that she was very concerned about them, and her worry had her children bouncing around inside her as if fighting to make their way out. It took a great deal of effort to calm herself enough to calm them down again.

--- --- ---
Soren sighed to himself. "Well, she fell away from the rest of the ship before it landed here, so there might be some distance..." He growled in frustration. "Damnit, I don't even know what *direction* to go to find her... the Commodore better be looking out for her though."

Just then there was a sound up in the air and he looked up to see the distant approach of a flying vessel. "Oh thank the four Crystals... an airship... they'll have the ability to search large areas, at least... if we can get their attention then maybe they can help us find Lady Telira..."

He nodded to some of the crew members, one of whom was mostly mobile with a nasty bruise on one eye and a smeared trail of blood down the side of his face and watched as the young man shimmied up what remained of the central mast to raise a distress flag. Hopefully it would catch their attention.

"Not much I can do for the survivors from here. I'll have the Skybuoy dropped, and I'll meet you on that mountain lake we found." Bessamzan said into his crystal.

As he flew over the main wreckage, Bessamzan cast a Firaga in the air behind him, as a sort of signal, letting them know help was on the way.


===========================================================

"That should be fine, Bessamzan. We'll be waiting."

Tapping the crystal to close the line, Amidatty turned his attention back to Telira.

"...I believe you're mistaken. The clearing of the world is very much fresh, but, the Miasma was, and, in ways, still is, a very ancient threat."

Walking slightly past her, to look out at Mount Vaal's expanse, he continued.

"Miasma is a very toxic vapor. Incondensable under normal circumstances, and inherently destructive to known forms of animal life not belonging to a genus of Monster. It was once a blight which consumed the whole of the world."

...He still had very bad memories of those times. His had been one of the caravans which had arrived at Tida too late. He'd seen, directly, the lethality of Miasma, in the corpses of the villagers. ...It'd very nearly made him sick.

"Only the light of the Crystals can ward off Miasma, sparing beings like us from its highly corrosive burn. ...If outworlders had come to this world, before, they likely found themselves dying, painfully, the moment they arrived. ...Death by Miasma exposure is a slow, gruesome thing."

Turning back just in time to see the large basket of the Skybuoy dropping into the snow from the plane, and the Gesselchaft flying off into the distance, he nodded in approval.

"Luckily for you and your crew, you arrived after Sol Jashy performed his miracle."

Quickly heading over to the odd basket, Amidatty activated a Crystal Reactor, causing a tied round of material to shuffle loose its tyings, and unfurl.

"Well, we have to wait for the balloon to fill... Is there anything you'd like to know?"

Mystic stayed worried while he thought about the poor woman. Mystic just moaned, "Oh, what do we do?" Mystic didn't think that anyone else would be crazy enough to do something like get themselves lost here. Why would anyone be here looking for them? Suddenly, out of nowhere, he saw a fireball launch itself in the sky. "What the heck!?" Mystic stammered, but he soon guessed what he was thinking, "A signal? Like a signal flare? Somebody found us! Woohoo!" Mystic started up, but somethign stopped him. "Question is, are they friendly or not?" Mystic tapped his foot, still worried over multiple reasons.

(OOC: I'm putting this thread *after* the Shumi Village one in the timeline, so the bombshell dropped *there* will be known *here*. Just letting you guys know.)

Telira sighed sadly at Amidatty's description of the Miasma. "More than one world knows a similar tale, though not all are cloaked in choking, deadly mist as you describe. There was a mist on the World of Nine, but it was not nearly that damaging to be lost in. At least, so far as I am aware. Almost universally, though, the cost of freeing the world... is the sacrifice of its heroes." She paused for a moment and then explained with the best example she knew. "The World of One was caught in a time loop without end. There was no future that did not return to the past. The only way to break that loop was for four of us to break it by self-destruction. The Crystals summoned us. The Crystals manipulated us. But still, we walked that path by our own will. It was the only way to save the world."

She sighed sadly. "I lost the love of my life when we finally broke the loop. I don't know how many times we'd walked the path, weakening the chain each time. Each time I found the one who completed my soul and each time we met our end with the destruction of our enemy. There were six of us, but never more than four at one time. One for each Crystal."

She lifted the crystal shard that she carried. "I am the only one the Crystals have called back and I am alone, but what choice do I have other than to carry on and do as I am commanded?"

She sighed again. "As for the timing of our arrival... well, I have no doubt that such a hazard would have to be cleared before the InterWorld Trains would enter this place. I can assure you, though, we are not the last. That is a certainty. Now that we have arrived, others will follow. I pray that your world has the strength to survive the culture shock to come. There has been conflicts already on the World of One between the people and the 'outworlders'."

She thought about his question, though, for a moment. "I am curious about so much that I don't even know where to begin. Is there anything that you would think that I would need to know right away? What kinds of people do you have here? What nations, what cities? Is there any sort of centralized government that might serve as a point of negotiation with other worlds?"

---
Soren saw the signal from the airship as it flew overhead and nodded to himself. "Well, at least we know they saw us. We'll find out their intentions when they circle around. Hopefully we won't have to fight them because I really don't want to have to do any fighting that I don't have to do with Lady Telira missing."

He was very concerned about her and her condition, particularly with her unborn developing the way they were. He knew the warning made about the impatience of twins, and the last thing he wanted was for that impatience to become a factor in this unknown environment. Particularly since their airship was unable to deliver them to Balamb or the World of One.

To distract himself, he started ordering the crew to begin salvaging what they could from the wreckage in the hopes of making a rebuild easier. If they had to make a whole new airship, at least he knew that the technology was available in this world.... provided they didn't end up in unfriendly hands.

"A centralized government? Not quite so, though the Alfitarian Empire believes it is as such."

Ushering Telira into the boat-like basket, and taking to the air, the wizened mage continued.

"There are many hundreds of small towns and villages throughout this world, but, they all are, more or less, managed by a handful of central cities."

With a wide wave of the hand, Amidatty gestured at a light in the distance. It was faint in the evening sun, but, it seemed to be the center of a city.

"There, for example, is the capital city of my people, the Yukes. Shella is, like most of our settlements, based along the coast of Lake Shella, a massive natural reservoir that serves as the source of life for much of the southlands."

Stopping his explanation, he engaged the small engine on the craft, trying to reach the remnants of the ship. Keeping hold of the rudder, he continued.

"To the south of Shella are the Plains of Fum. The Clavats, a people much like yourself, dwell there, living from the bounty of the earth, and the animals that roam it. Further south still are the island domains of the Selkies. For the most part, they are not well-trusted by the other peoples of the world, and tend toward self-preservation."

Before he could finish, however, he had to violently wrench the small air dinghy to the side, to avoid a massive dirigible going by at high speed.

"...It would appear the fourth people of this land are aware of your companions." he said, a touch of venom in his voice. This was followed by him screaming at the airship which quickly vanished around the far side of the mountain.

"CRAZY ONION PILOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

=========================================================

The same black airship quickly settled into a hover above the wreckage. Ropes unfurled as small figures in black and silver armor slid down, deploying into the area, accompanied by ones wearing tight-fitting uniforms of white and red, their backs blatantly displaying red crosses. The white-robed ones immediately made for the crash site, and the crewmen, as a specific armored man, his accents gold instead of silver, approached Soren and Mystic.

"Captain Alan Doyle of the Freedom's Progress. What's the situation?"

Mystic just saw it all happen in no time flat. All he knew was that some guy came from an airship and he was being asked what was going on. Mystic just answered quietly, "Well, I got lost, found this crash site, found out that this isn't all the ship and all the people, and we're just stuck here." Mystic's words ceased at that point, staying cautious about the newcomer to the group. His gaze sometimes went towards the dwarf's direction, in case Mystic needed to catch on to something.

Telira had one hand resting over her belly and the other holding on to the Commodore's paw as she followed Amidatty into the basket that would carry them to his airship. She never failed to be amazed at the wide variety of airborne conveyances that the different worlds developed and invented for their use.

The sudden arrival of the speeding dirigible, though, had her clutching to hold on to the basket so that she wouldn't be accidentally tossed overboard. The Commodore squeaked in surprise and clung to the side of the basket as well.

Once they were still again, he promptly squeaked and growled at Telira, sniffing with a distinctly worried expression. She had to smile at him to reassure the Moomba.

"I'm okay, Commodore. We're all okay." She looked up at Amidatty curiously. "So they are the fourth people? Why would you call them... 'onions'?" She looked at the quickly traveling airship and sighed. "I hope that, whoever they are, they don't make Soren worse than he probably already is worrying about me."

---
Soren saw the arrival of the obviously militaristic group and lifted curious eyebrows. At least they were efficient, seeing to the wounded and such as he was approached by... well, his best guess was that this was the one in charge. A guess that was quickly confirmed by his introduction.

"I'm Soren of Mt. Duergar on the World of One. I'm the one in command, of sorts, of... well, this used to be an airship. I don't know that there's any salvaging it, though after we had something of an unexpected collision with this mountain after losing the path between the worlds." He took a deep breath, trying to calm his raging worry and concern. "Captain, we were accompanying a diplomat of extremely high standing and even more delicate condition. She was lost in the crash and we aren't certain where to look to find her." He pressed his lips together to keep from barking in useless anger that he knew was only the result of fear.

Damnit, why hadn't Tel settled on Balamb two weeks ago like he'd begged her to? Why'd she have to go on one last worlds tour before stopping her travels until her twins were born? He'd never forgive himself if anything happened to any of them.

"Lady Telira is accompanied by a Moomba wearing a military coat who answers to the name of Commodore Fluffy Paws," he grimaced at the absurd name, "I would appreciate your assistance finding her... hopefully before some harm comes to her."

He wasn't at all certain which world he'd landed on as Mystic's simple "I found a portal and walked through it" explanation hadn't included much in the way of details, but he hoped it was one that understood the words "diplomat" and "delicate condition".

Amidatty looked at Telira with what she could only assume was shock.

"...Oh, my. ...My apologies. The fourth tribe are the Lilties. Proud, stout, strong people, who rule more than half the world. 'Onion' is, to them, considered to be a terrible slur, for their heads somewhat resemble the vegetable. It's tantamount to making light of their short stature."

...Something made him think he knew what the Lilties were doing here, though. Pulling the engine to the side, he had the small craft make after the massive airship.

"...It would be best to find your friends, before the Caravan acts on the Empire's so-called foreign policy."

===========================================================

"...Between worlds?"

Alan Doyle quickly understood what he had encountered.

...This was not the first time he had encountered outworlders. The general policy of the Empire was that outworlders were violent, conquering peoples. Encounters were to be made as brief and clinical as possible. Interation was to be as minimal as could be helped. Whistling loudly, the White Mages quickly got the message, pulling back away from those injured who were not endangered by their wounds, only providing additional aid when asked to do so.

"...We will find your diplomat. And, when we do, we shall do our best to set you on your way."

Even as Alan Doyle dealt with Soren, other soldiers were moving into action. They spread about the area, wary.

They were expecting trouble.

But, then, Liltian Marines were always expecting trouble.

Mystic's head hung down, not knowing what to truly do. He had to resist a chuckle when he saw that the people were onion-headed (He wasn't paying attention at first). Mystic simply just stayed silent and watched the soliders surround the area. Mystic had to speak up then, "Um, are all these soliders surrounding us really nescesary? It's not like we're going to be wailed on by a behemoth anytime soon, right?" Mystic tapped his foot and lifted his head up a bit, trying to figure out what this man was truly up to.

Telira turned bright red with embarrassment when Amidatty explained the word that she had so ignorantly repeated. "I shall... remember that." Then she sighed. "They sound very much like the Dwarves of home... other than the ruling-half-the-world part. The Dwarves generally keep to themselves and their clans. They're great craftsmen and miners."

Amidatty's words, though, made her frown slightly in concern. "What do you mean about the Empire's foreign policy? Is... is there likely to be trouble?"

She felt her children start moving within her, as if they fought, either against each other or against their confinement, she wasn't certain.

---
Soren looked at the captain, rather astonished that there was a warrior shorter than he was, not that he presumed for a moment that the man wasn't fully capable. Heck, dwarves were shorter than humans and were better warriors than most of them. He nodded to him.

"Thank you for your assistance, but I don't know how quickly we'll be able to leave. I hope there's no damage to the engine, but we'll likely need a whole new ship to put the engine in." He frowned for a moment, a terrible suspicion rising in his mind. "Which of the Thirteen worlds is this? I've seen quite a few, traveling with the Lady as she, rather stubbornly, insists on visiting each one personally, and I've never seen a people quite like yours, and that includes the Shumi of Balamb's world and their relatives the Moombas."

He looked around at the others. "But I have to echo the concern of our friend here. What, exactly, are you suddenly concerned about? I haven't seen any significant monster presences since we crashed."

"To be frank, outlander, we're concerned about you and yours."

Alan's hand was away from his side, ready to go to his lance in a moment. He was aware he could be lighting a powder keg, here.

"The last outlanders we encountered were hellbent on taking our lands and sovereignty from us. The Holy Alfitarian Empire would rather speed outlanders on their way."

Several of the Marines who were not occupied with the perimiter approached the wreckage, their mighty poleaxes cleaving apart the wood. Once inside the ruin, chains were brought in, and the drum to which it was connected spun, dragging out the engine of the craft. Alan nodded to the Marines, who saw to getting the device on board the massive airship.

"You will be provided with an Airship from the Empire, which you may modify as needed. Once these modifications are complete, it would be best for you to leave."

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Amidatty sighed.

Much as he didn't want to worry this woman, there was reason for her to be.

"Well... Some time ago, beings called 'Judges' came to these lands. I had originally thought them from a yet-unknown continent, but, it is entirely possible they were Outlanders."

As the small balloon came upon the crash site...

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The Liltian Marines, and Alan Doyle, were instantly aware. A pair of otherwise unoccupied Marines guided the craft to a stop. Before he could get a word in edgewise, Alan spoke.

"You may leave now, Amidatty the Strange. Outlanders are the concern of the Holy Alfitarian Empire, and, I'm certain you have better things to do."

...Amidatty was not a man of venom. But, the Lilties of Alfitaria had, of late, become more trying than usual. Alan presuming he had some sort of jurisdiction in the wildlands, on top of everything else that had been going on, was more than he could stand.

"Well, Commander Doyle, we are not in the Holy Alfitarian Empire, nor is my head a shallot. So, remind me, what authority do you have, here?"

Several of the nearby Marines immediately turned hateful eyes on the Yuke. Alan waved them off.

"Amidatty, I would suggest you leave. I may be more tolerant of temporary insanity, but, my men are not. I am responsible for them, but, I cannot say I would disagree were they to expend their rage on you."

Mystic tapped hsi foot while listening. The idea of a ship out of here was great, but something they said seemed fishy to the thief. Stuff went crazier when a balloon went flying towards them. Apparantly, these marines didn't like the oncomer, and this tighten up Mystic's nerves a bit. "Now, now, there's no need to fight. no one's done anythign bad. Yet," Mystic said, adding the last part with a minor growl in his throat. He was at a blank on what was going on.

Telira felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. Their first contact with the outside worlds had been with the Judges of Archadia on Ivalice… it couldn't get much worse than that.

She stumbled to her feet, following the Yuke into the confrontation, heedless of the somewhat delicacy of her condition. Her magic was unimpeded by it, that much she knew, and she'd do what she had to.

"Will all of you please stop it with the damn testosterone bath? Seriously, I'm pregnant and I’m the most clear-headed person here!" She turned to look at the, presumably, leader of the Lilties and bowed her head to him. "Forgive me for not giving the greeting which is due, but I'm afraid I can't bow very well right now."

Then she took a deep breath. "For one, I and my companions are not going anywhere, so you can just cut that nonsense out right now. We aren't here to steal your lands away from you, but we are going to open diplomatic channels if it's the last thing I do, and don't think that I won't call down far more fearsome creatures than even the Judges of Archadia, who I have also had run-ins with and so I fully sympathize with your natural instinct to protect your sovereignty."

She glared at both sides equally. "Also, be warned that should I choose to call one of your people an Onion Knight that I am bestowing an honor akin to being called a Warrior of Light. I am such a Warrior, chosen by the Crystals of my home world and bound to the protection of the land and the people. I sacrificed my life and my memory to set right a loop in time and earned the title Red Mage of Light. Four youths on the World of Three were called similarly by their Crystals to combat the hazards of Darkness grown too powerful and they are remembered, with honor and respect as Onion Knights. And more, there are similar tales on all worlds, of heroes called to sacrifice for the greater good and to save their worlds."

She looked around at them. "Yes, we are Outworlders, not merely Outlanders and we aren't going anywhere. You can take our presence as you will, but we are merely the forerunners of a much larger presence, and all the people of your world deserve the right to decide for themselves how they will interact with these strangers, who bring new magics, new technologies, and new ways of thinking. Trust me, the World of One, which is my home, was not prepared for the sudden arrival of the trains of the Universal Multiplex. Half of what I do is work to maintain a balance between the factions."

She looked at the Lilty full in the eyes. "Now, as for your previous experience with the Judges of Archadia… they are not allowed to ride the trains because of their expansionist ideas. That I have from the Owner of the Multiplex Railway System. However, anyone with an airship these days has an engine capable of traveling between worlds, and that means that even if you block the Trains, even if you don't want them, Outworlders will find their way here, in ever increasing numbers and if you try to blockade yourself away, they will come with weapons the likes of which you cannot even imagine in your nightmares and they will force those walls down and you will lose that sovereignty."

She glared at him. "Whether you and your government like it or not, you only have one choice if you wish to maintain your independence, and that's to accept that the Outworlders are going to be a part of your future. Thus far the only faction I am aware of that would be a threat to you is the Judges of Archadia on the World of Twelve, also called Ivalice. And, sadly, they are the ones most likely to try to use force to open up your gates, will you or nil you. Your only protection against them would be alliances with some of the other worlds." She paused, "And a solid world government. However, given the fact that there seem to be lingering resentments on multiple parts… I don't know as your Empire is the best one equipped for the role. If you had a Hero, a Warrior of Light who had served to save the world as a whole, one who had the respect of all parties involved, that would be your best bet."

She looked around. "So, how'd you manage to get rid of this Miasma that you were telling me about?"