Restoration...maybe
with Jigano
Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
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#1

Odd is using 500 MP for an ascended upgrade (once we get down to the shrine)



After their rather harrowing adventure together, Remi and Jigano had decided to venture down towards the shrine the alchemist had helped uncover 1 week after they had left the maze. It gave the alchemist time to prepare and to create, though given what he was attempting, he wasn't entirely sure that he could do this alone. Very likely he would require more than the...goddess's? approval in order to make this work. The question of whether or not Sam would actually use the device wasn't on Remi's mind at all. Whether he did or did not was entirely up to him, which was one of the things Jigano had said that he alchemist had most taken to heart.

The choice.

The alchemist would not be offended if his friend turned down the gift. Indeed, though Remi could understand why Sam would want his senses restored, the alchemist worried that whatever sense of normalcy the ascended wanted given back to him...this wouldn't strike at the heart of it. The Ascendeds were fundamentally different, but that didn't make Sam any lesser. But the alchemist was no good with feelings and changing hearts and minds, but he could do this for the man.

At least he thought he could.

With a lantern and his usual assortment of charcoal and parchment, Remi stood waiting at the mouth of the underground for the bard to appear. They had decided to go at night, if only because that seemed to be the 'time' best suited for the ascended, and the hope was it would also be the time best suited to have their god appear.

Time would tell if that assumption was correct.
REMI
How do you steal what you really want
When what you really want is free?



Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#2
After his delving expedition with Bastien, Jigano now made sure to bring a rope and a small lantern along on any potential underground adventures, along with his usual rapier. He wasn't sure how easy or difficult the path to the underground shrine would be, but he figured being prepared was better than the alternative. It wasn't a long rope - he didn't want to wear himself out carrying too much extra weight - but it would suffice, he hoped, for getting into or out of any strange holes sporting suspicious statuary.

Remi was already waiting, and Jigano picked up his pace as he came into view. He had hoped to be a few minutes early, but the alchemist had arrived earlier still and the bard gave him a wry smile as he caught up. "Do you have any offerings?" he asked curiously. There was a chance this would all be for nothing if the god(dess?) didn't appear, and the bard wasn't above bribing the gods to drop in for a chat. Still, this was Remi's idea and his mission, and Jigano was just along to support him - or run for help if things got out of hand.

It would be really, really nice if that didn't happen for a change.
Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
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#3

At the sight of the bard, Remi pushed himself off of the wall he'd been leaning against and smiled at the man sunnily. During their last meeting Jigano had given voice to the ... rather unsettled air between the two men. Not quite friendship, not hatred, but sifting somewhere in the middle. Honestly, Remi rather thought that it was anyone's guess as to where they ended up, as if fate would decide what fell through and shaped what they thought of each other rather than anything about the two of them. Misunderstanding and hasty assumptions seemed to colour their interactions. Even so, Remi was relatively un-bothered. He was subservient and eager to please that was true, but not much of Remi's confidence or personality hung on what others thought of him. Still, it was nice to be liked.

"Offerings?" Remi asked with a small smile. He knew nothing of religion given that it did not exist in Northaven, and so far all he'd learned was that most of the gods liked sex apparently. Shrugging his shoulder slightly, the alchemist shook his head no. 'When the gods have appeared to me before they have done so without offerings...and this one did as well. Besides, I would not know what to bring. I suppose I could make something on our way, if you really think it will help?"

With a clumsy and boyish smile, Remi turned and lit his lamp. "When we came down here before my magic did not work, nor could I shift, so we will want to see if that is still the case. At one point Sam and I broke through a wall and ended up caved in, but we managed to find out way unharmed through the tunnels." So saying, Remi twitched his lips. "It was relatively uneventful actually."

Hopefully it would stay that way.

REMI
How do you steal what you really want
When what you really want is free?



Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#4
He was a little surprised to hear that Remi hadn't considered offerings before, but then, he had a point about having too much to do with gods. What did the alchemist need offerings for? Darkly amused by the thought, Jigano prepared his lantern as well, giving his companion a light shrug. "I don't know anything about this one, and little enough about the rest, really. Since you've met her before, you have a better idea what will coax her out to speak. Though I suppose it would be better if one of us was Ascended. Still," he shrugged again. "We won't know unless we try, and hopefully all it will cost is a little sleep tonight." One way or the other.

Jigano still wasn't sure how he felt about Remi making Sam a concoction - invention? - to return feeling to the Ascended's skin. On the surface it seemed like a wonderful idea, but there were almost certainly going to be consequences none of them could foresee. Still, Remi cared enough about the timid bookseller to try, so the bard had decided to offer what help he could.

"Curious... the goddess's power interfering with your abilities, perhaps? Or just a quirk of the place itself, to dampen magic?" he mused, latching onto the mystery eagerly. "I wonder if any items that already have magic in them would still function? Or if they'd lose their abilities... and whether that loss would be temporary or permanent?" Was the magic being suppressed, or drained? The bard eagerly pulled out his little journal, nearly full now, and jotted the questions down in tiny, cramped writing as he sought to eke as much space as possible from what was left. As soon as he was done he glanced up, giving Remi a nod.

"Lead on, I'm ready when you are."
Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
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#5

Remi nodded in dark agreement. Hopefully indeed.

Flickering an ear back with a slight tilt of his head, as if he possessed the large ears of his lion form, Remi shrugged. "Well—" Holding up his hand, a small stick of charcoal appeared. "—apparently whatever was dampening it is no longer. I suffered no ill-effects after we left the shrine, and things seem to be working as I would expect them to now." He did not want to rehearse all of his magic at this very moment to see, but a quick introspection made Remi quite certain that nothing else felt off.

Continuing onwards, the two would find their journey uneventful, and so Remi made idle smalltalk as they went. Conversation normally came easily to him, and if the bard would allow, he'd elaborate a bit on the strangeness of Northaven, the wall and the lack of birds, the village beyond the wall and the tribes that lived there that he'd only encountered once. Remi recalled the two pathways ahead and though he'd taken the one on the left with Sam, today he chose to go right. It had been the unimpeded pathway after all, as he'd come to learn later on. Quickly they would find themselves in an open-round recess, with a bowing female figure at the centre. The root-like tentacles that protruded from the statue hummed faintly and electricity buzzed in the air.

Taking a breath, Remi made and unmade a fist several times before reaching into his bag to bring out the item he'd created. A patch which could be affixed to the skin to restore purpose and sensation back to the skin and other sensory organs. He held it gently in his hands, before glancing up at the face of the young woman. "Voice?" He called out, voice gentle and low. "I...ahh—" He thought about saying we but did not want to lump Jigano into this plan should the goddess be displeased with it. "—I have created something for one of your ascended. I wonder if you could...look at it? To ensure it will work properly, but also to give your approval?"

So saying, uncertain if more should have been said or less, Remi fell silent.

REMI
How do you steal what you really want
When what you really want is free?



Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
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#6
Jigano itched to take his journal back out and write more, but he wasn't going to stop in the dark and set his lantern down to do it. Instead he nodded thoughtfully. "I'll feel better knowing you can shift to a hawk if we need to run, or a lion if we need to fight," he agreed, taking Remi at his word that he would be able to do so.

He was, indeed, curious to hear more about Northaven and the strangeness both within its wall and beyond it. Having no idea where they were going he was content to let Remi choose the path, and he wasn't disappointed when they had a delightfully uneventful trip that ended in a shrine unlike the two he'd seen before. He let the alchemist step forward, remaining a little ways back towards the entrance, though his fingers itched to examine the tentacles and try to trace the electricity he could hear and feel in the air. Cassandalee? He called softly in his thoughts, even though he knew it was impossible for the Iron Goddess to be here. He kept her holy symbol with his other relics safe in his den, but perhaps he should have brought it with him tonight, for good luck...


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#7
the VOICE
In reality's shadow the blind see best
"You call, but not for yourself. I answer."

The light in the recesses of the ground pulsed and crackled, filling the chamber with an eerie light. Static, too, covered the statue of the young woman, but there was no figure emerging this time, no warm welcome, no pleasure in their visit. They were lost and incomplete and would be for always, unless they made considerable efforts to change.

But the spoke of her Ascended, they spoke of Samuel.

And so the Voice listened. And there was much to hear, it seemed - when she spoke again it was more gentle, curious even. "You created something for him," she repeated. "What does it do, pray tell? Step closer."
Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
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#8

That the holographic representation of the deity did not emerge, immediately worried the alchemist. Though one encounter was not enough to extrapolate from, similarity would have soothed the already agitated alchemist. Her Voice sounded exactly like what he saw: something only half there, static-y and complicated. Swallowing Remi nodded as she spoke again her voice softer somehow and in his mind he imagined how it had been and how she had looked when she had appeared before.

Obediently, Remi moved forward. From his pocket he pulled what appeared to be a strip of cloth that was stiff somehow. Turning it over, there appeared to be some sort of network of wires on the back of it. "I know very little of your creations, though with Isla's help I have been trying to understand. I believe that the lack of sensation that the ascended feel is so that they are not hindered by what their bodies are capable of?" His voice had grown slightly more confident as he went, though his posture and lowered gaze was still entirely submissive and respectful. It was a posture that the lowly commoner knew well.

"With Isla...you gave her something to help her. To make her see in a way which will make her a better medic, but will also make her happy, and so I had thought that perhaps you would allow me to do the same for Samuel." Holding out the strip of cloth, he pointed out where the adhesive was, nibbling gently on his lip. "It would restore sensation and functionality to the parts of Sam's system that no longer require it from a preservation point of view. He does not need to drink to survive, but he misses the taste of tea. He does not need to feel the warmth from a fire, or the texture of his books beneath his fingers, but he wants to. "

Wanting to glance towards Jigano, but still not wanting to include the bard in this should it go wrong, Remi took a steadying breath. "I realize that, when he falls instead of physical numbness, he will now feel pain. He can be wounded in ways my body could not survive yet his will, and with this, he would feel that agony. The decision will be his whether or not he wishes to have this...but he speaks as his ascendency as if he was something not normal, as if he were something wrong. I think that this might help ease whatever distance he believes exists between his kind and the rest of us."

REMI
How do you steal what you really want
When what you really want is free?



Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
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#9
Light and static, but no young woman, real or illusionary, came out to greet Remi. Jigano tilted his head, wary but curious as the voice - the Voice - slid throughout the little shrine. Despite the tweaks of technology and echos of automation, the voice sounded almost gentle as it spoke to Remi, an emotion the bard was not used to hearing from constructs, or even artificial intelligences.

He let Remi speak uninterrupted, paying alert attention but trying not to distract either the alchemist or the goddess from the transaction taking place. A brow did rise at certain phrasing, however. Sam's system? Functionality? For all that the young man claimed he didn't think of Sam as a thing the words he spoke certainly indicated otherwise.

Blue eyes narrowed as he craned his head to see what was being offered to the goddess for inspection. Not a salve or temporary application after all, but a... was that a circuit on the back of the cloth? The lorekeeper frowned, brows beetling as he considered what that could mean. His own world was largely ignorant of such things, only the Northlands, where the Rain of Stars had happened, had any real contact with advanced technology and machines. And even then, aside from the League and a few outliers who had survived contact with terrifying alien and technological horrors - and wonders - the knowledge was vanishingly rare. For Remi to be able to reproduce something, even if it was only similar, was a clue that perhaps Northaven hadn't been quite what he'd been led to believe.

Mind racing, he missed some of what Remi said, but he found his attention caught once more when he heard the alchemist casting Samuel in a light that the Voice might not appreciate. Wincing, the bard crossed his arms to keep himself from stepping forward to shake the lad. Telling the Voice that one of her creations thought that he was 'not normal' or 'wrong' didn't seem like the way to get her on their side, and he could only hope, desperately, that the consequences for Remi's rash words didn't fall on Samuel instead of the alchemist.


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#10
the VOICE
In reality's shadow the blind see best
She listened, and whilst the statue gave no indication (of course) or expression of hearing the words, the lights around them began to pulse stronger, warmer, until they were illuminated softly within the chamber. "What is not needed is removed," she murmured. "Pain is a distraction. Physical pleasure equally so. A scan of their body would show if there had been an injury without the barbaric sensation of pain." Her tone was quiet, simple, almost righteous.

He spoke of the newest spark in a chain of bright ones, and the Voice warmed further to him. "Happiness was a byproduct of the transaction, yes. There is no need to remove emotion or morality yet, so the process made her... happy," she confirmed. "But you would do the same for Samuel?"

Now the Voice did emerge, stepping from the statue to stand inches away from Remi, radiant and youthful with eyes like static. She examined the object he held out for her, but she did not need to touch it - it simply rose and turned this way and that in the air between them. "Never have I witnessed a mortal creating something like this," she remarked, lifting a finger - the object sparked and morphed, as if the Voice were tweaking it or testing it.

She froze, however, a fraction before Remi spoke, realising what it did. "You would have me introduce a flaw into his system?" she inquired. "You would have me tarnish perfection."

A sigh escaped her, sounding much older than her appearance would suggest. "I am aware of his conundrum. He attempted to commune with the heretics, but they would not hear his plea. I would have, if he had asked. But I was not truly here, when he Ascended..." Glancing up once more, she took the device from the air.

"A physical flaw to repair a mental one. It would not affect his ability to repair himself... I do not see why not."
Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
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#11

Remi nodded immediately. Isla had said something similar, but he and Vai had pieced together as much as well. Though he'd never dare to disagree with a god about what was necessary, internally the held on to his spark of disagreement. Something about it felt right. Or perhaps that was simply his humanity speaking.

But you would do the same for Samuel? "Yes." Remi answered immediately, his voice as confident as it ever had been.  "Please." He added hastily, eyes lowering.

Quickly though they were raised back up by the sudden appearance of the goddess. Inhaling, Remi's lashed fluttered as he took her in, a startled look on his face. Like a lamb before slaughter, he swallowed. She was so much closer than she'd been last time, and now her attention was focused upon him as it had never been before. The hair on his arms rose and he felt his heart quicken. Unsure whether her statement was a compliment or a criticism of just how poor his work was, Remi merely nodded uncertainly.

"A f—" Quickly he clamped down onto the words, though his expression was one of torment. Disagreeing with the Voice was surely a bad idea, and yet...yet Sam was not flawed, nor would he be even with this. Looking down, quite sure that what was about to leave his lips was probably inadvisable, Remi was helpless to leave a defense of Sam unsaid. "Not a flaw." He whispered. "Surely a creature who enjoys what they are, is more perfect than one which does not? And if these sensations are merely superfluous to your design then—" Abruptly the alchemist fell silent as she started speaking again, though this time her words coaxed hope into Remi's pale eyes.

Listening and holding his breath far longer than he should have, Remi released it in a shaky, relieved, and joy-filled laugh as she agreed. "Thank you. Thank you so very much." The gushed boyishly, the delight on his face so obvious and apparent as he tried to steady his breathing.

REMI
How do you steal what you really want
When what you really want is free?



Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
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#12
Pleasure, a distraction? Well... for a machine, it probably would be. Hence why the ability to feel it had been taken in the first place. But then the Voice mentioned removing 'emotion and morality' as an option - not yet but that still meant maybe later and the bard drew in a sharp breath. The underground might have kept away the worst of winter's chill, but a trickle of ice made it way into Jigano's chest anyways at the implications.

The Voice was pleased with Remi's intentions, and his work, however unsettled Jigano was by it. He took in her appearance - pleasing, nonthreatening, perhaps deliberately so? - but tensed when she reacted as he had to the alchemist's phrasing. Would she be angry with his criticism of her work? Dismissive of their task due to his ill-chosen words?

But... no. She settled and, moreover, agreed, in spite of the young man's stumbling attempts to recover his momentum with her. Inch by inch the bard relaxed, letting out a soft sigh of relief as it seemed Remi would get his wish after all, and without losing a memory or being dragged into life-threatening peril.

Heretics, though? What an interesting way to refer to fellow gods...


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#13
the VOICE
In reality's shadow the blind see best
"A flaw," the Voice insisted. "But it is not his fault - which is why I will grant you your... upgrade, if it must so be called." From her tone alone she clearly saw it as more of a downgrade, though as she turned the device over in her hands it would appear more... sleek, somehow. More fit for Samuel in particular. "Do not thank me. Send him to do that," she said, allowing the object to weave its way back through the air to Remi.

"Be warned, however. Destroying nerve endings and replacing them once more is not an easy feat. I do not know what the outcome will be, and I cannot guarantee that he will not suffer adverse effects. Whatever happens, though, will be irreversible. I will not cater again to a whim dictated by an imperfection."

So if Samuel went from feeling nothing at all to living a life of constant pain... they had made that choice.

Providing there was nothing further, the Voice would retreat back into the statue, and the lights would dim once more.
Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
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#14

With a pained expression, Remi listened and nodded. Quickly he fumbled for the notebook he kept, scratching at it with his stick of charcoal to take down the Voice's exact phrasing. With every word he wrote he felt his adrenaline spiking.

Irreversible

Adverse effects

With a shaky inhale, the alchemist nodded, folding the book together and offering the deity a grateful smile. "You who have made them to be perfect...thank you for understanding. I will indeed mention to Sam to see you, even if he does not accept."

Watching as her body was recalled into the stone, Remi let the last of the air into his lungs and leaned forward wearily with a hand on the statue. Quickly though, realizing what he'd done, he jerked the limb back and stared at if as if expecting to be burned. Spying Jigano out of the corner of his eye, Remi turned suddenly, a shaky and crooked smile on his lips. He looked worried and elated and nervous as he lowered his eyes to stare at the upgraded piece of material in his hands.

"Adverse effects." He whispered to the bard, closing his eyes as if in physical pain and letting the arm holding the upgrade drop to his side. He couldn't give this to Sam now. Not without knowing what it would do. The alchemist felt tears prick the back of his eyes, but instead of swiping at them, Remi merely lowered his head defeated and sighed.

REMI
How do you steal what you really want
When what you really want is free?



Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.


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