Transcript (Elpis)

[filikos]

Bold: Main voiced cutscene

Italics: Non-voiced quest dialogue

Small italics: Optional dialogue

Index;

• Hope Upon A Flower
• Petalouda Hunt
• In Search Of Hermes
• Ponder, Warrant, Cherish, Welcome
• Lives Apart
• Their Greatest Contribution
• Aether To Aether
• A Sentimental Gift
• Verdict And Execution
• Travelers At The Crossroads
• A Past, Not Yet Come To Pass
• Witness To The Spectacle
• Worthy Of His Back
• A Flower Upon Your Return
• Hunger In The Garden
• Words Without Sound
• Follow, Wander, Stumble, Listen
• Caging The Messenger (pre-dungeon)
• Caging The Messenger (post-dungeon)
• Thou Must Live, Die, And Know

Comments

Travelers at the Crossroads

[filikos]

Emet-Selch: ...I don't know what answer he's searching for, or if it is within our power to give it. But I believe he would make a fine Fandaniel, and that if he rejects us out of hand, we will all be lesser for it.

Hythlodaeus: Where to now? If there is anywhere you would like to visit before we visit, I should be glad to show you the way...

Emet-Selch: Hermes has not yet outright refused his position with the Convocation- merely postponed the decision. As such, I may as well resume my assessment. If we cannot accompany him, then I will content myself with questioning his colleagues.

Hythlodaeus: Ever the pragmatist. Then allow me to remain your humble guide. And what of you, [NAME]? Will you continue along with us? Wonderful! Our fellowship travels on unbroken. I say we explore another part of Elpis, and see what new encounters there are to be had. If you would follow me, we will first head back towards Anagnorisis.

Emet-Selch: Didn't we part ways with Hermes not far from here? Given the size of Elpis, I expect our paths will cross again before long...

Hythlodaeus: From here, we follow the path northwards to Notoneus. There we will find one of the neus which facilitate travel between the islands of Elpis. First-time travellers must be accompanied by someone with the requisite permission- which I have previously been granted. We only need use the device together once, and henceforth you will have leave to use it freely. Shall we?

Emet-Selch: Unless the need is pressing, I won't be tracking Hermes with my aetherial sight. 'Tis poor manners to spy on someone's comings and goings in such a fashion. So don't ask. Social conventions notwithstanding, perceiving aether requires deliberate and intense concentration, and we otherwise keep our eyes on the corporeal world.

Hythlodaeus: Here we are: Notoneus. This neus will take us to Kallimelios Zephyros, the western island. That's it right there, looming large over us. Step this way, and we can soon admire the view from above!

Hythlodaeus: I present to you Kallimelios Zephyros. Here you will find a number of testing facilities as well as the observation hub of Poieten Oikos. Right, then. Let's begin by- ...hm? Well well, an oreias. How delightful.
Emet-Selch: And what, pray tell, is that...?
Hythlodaeus: Ah, that's a new species of shark. We approved the concept but a few days ago. Sharks are among the most popular sea creatures. Rare is the day when someone does not submit a new concept.

Hythlodaeus: At first, they were largely orthodox. Consideration given to such things as size and environmental impact. And then a whimsical someone thought to bestow it with flight. Another, superior intelligence. And then the floodgates burst. Concepts with multiple heads, or arms, or legs, or arms and legs... and so on and so forth. It was getting absurd. A part of me wanted to tell them to go away and find something else to create, but in the end, I couldn't deny their passion... and here we are.

*The shark charges him, but a white-haired woman stuns it.*

Venat: That was too close... are you unharmed? Well now, if it isn't a pair of familiar faces...
Hythlodaeus: Venat! That we should meet you here!
Emet-Selch: As I mentioned earlier, the better part of the Convocation holds that when we retire is when we return to the star. Well, she is not among said majority. Even after stepping down, she carries on with her work. Venat is her name, and she is the previous Azem.
Venat: It has been a while, Hythlodaeus. You look well. Less so, Emet-Selch. I daresay the lines upon your brow have both deepened and doubled in number. A shame for one so young. You must make an effort to frown less often.
Emet-Selch: Easier said than done thanks to your unruly successor.
Venat: How is she, if I may ask?
Hythlodaues: Incorrigible as ever. Rushed headlong into a volcano on the brink of eruption just the other day. I should be glad to share the tale in its entirety later, if you are so inclined.
Venat: You know I am! Now then, you are...? I say... have you perchance come from the future? I do not believe we have ever met, yet I sense my magick upon you. Therefore if I wove the enchantment, I could only have done so at a later point in time.
Hythlodaues: What manner of magick is this, if I may ask?
Venat: A traveller's ward, of course. It prevents the corruption of one's aether.

"That sounds rather like the blessing of Light..."

Venat: I see you are not ignorant to its presence. And while there are many protective spells, the one you bear is unmistakably mine.
Emet-Selch: Hold on- from the future? That's absurd.
Venat: What is it? Are you unable to speak of the matter?

*Memory of Elidibus telling the WoL that she cannot change the past*

Venat: So, your actions here will not change your history... but they may yet affect the course of ours... how very exciting. I'm quite fond of delving into the unknown- and there's naught more unknown than the future. Until a moment finally arrives, we cannot know for certain what will come to pass- regardless of our supposed foreknowledge. So you needn't worry for us. More importantly, that you should go to such great lengths as to travel unto the past bespeaks the gravity of your quest. Will you not reveal it to us? Mayhap we can be of aid to your cause.
Emet-Selch: If this is true, then you've been keeping quite the secret to yourself. As a representative of the Convocation, I will hear it all. Your identity, purpose- everything.
Venat: Why don't we move to a place more conducive to calm conversation. I've been working here for some days now at an old friend's behest. If it is agreeable, we may make use of my accommodation at Poieten Oikos. ...We were meant to meet, I am certain of it. Else I wouldn't have marked you so clearly and sent you unto myself in the past. It is precisely the sort of mischief I would get up to- and quite inspired, if I do say so myself.

Hythlodaeus: The future... our future. I am deathly curious to hear more.

Emet-Selch: And here I thought you were a harmless stray familiar... as far as I'm concerned, this nebulous talk of future this and changing history that can wait. First, I mean to find out exactly who you are and what you hope to achieve here.

Venat: My apologies, but before we move along, a colleague has tasked me with a matter which I'd rather not leave unresolved. It involves finding a certain concept-engraved crystal... and the quick-fingered oreias which made off with it.

Hythlodaeus: An oreias, you say? I think we might have seen the culprit before being distracted by that business with the shark. Would you like us to follow its aetherial trail? That would, of course, only lead us to the oreias- there is no guarantee that it hasn't dropped or stashed away the crystal you seek.

Venat: Please! Even that much would be enormously helpful. While you are hunting down the thief, I can follow behind and scour the forest floor just incase. Could I ask you to join the search? I would appreciate another pair of eyes to cover the land to the west of here... many thanks! There's a small bridge leading into Poieten Oikos- let us meet up there once we've exhausted our efforts.

Emet-Selch: The problem you present is vexing enough without adding the old Azem into the equation. *sigh* And she wonders why these lines upon my brow grow deeper, when she herself wields the hammer and chisel...

Hythlodaeus: The Azems, both mentor and student, are a force to be reckoned with. I find them a delight, personally, but they have a habit of making Emet-Selch look as if he bit down on a sour grape.

Venat: Our last searcher returns. I am afraid the oreias no longer had the crystal, nor was I able to find it as I followed in its wake. I don't suppose you fared any better...? The crystal! Well done! Wonderful! Now I can focus on your tale without that missing concept nagging at my mind. Have you always had a knack for finding things?

"Traveling and searching go hand in hand."

Venat: You travel often, then? It seems we have something in common. Long ago, when I held the seat of Azem, I was forever trekking back and forth across the star in search of answers to people's problems. Naturally, the need for such journeys has lessened considerably since I entrusted the position to my whimsical successor... yet I am still eager to come running should an old acquaintance or new interest require my personal attention. That is what brings me to Elpis, in fact. Many times has my presence been requested; my opinions sought concerning the habitat of this or that creation. Agreeing to help locate that missing crystal was a minor distraction... which now promises to become a major revelation! How strange and wonderful it is the way one thing leads to another. Wouldn't you agree?