⏳ THE SCORCHING ISLE: Oracle Event One ⏳

[beleos]

ARRIVAL

All Bearers have heard whispers of them - the Oracles. Mysterious and unknown entities of an abstract nature, they serve as the heart of each faction’s cause - both as a means to an end and a very real stepping stone in achieving their objectives. To claim an Oracle means growing ever closer to victory: to see your homes restored as they were, or to herald in a new one of your making.

So you go.

A Cornerstone has been set up for each faction; one for the Zenith and one for the Meridian in Yima’s manor and Heliopolis, respectively. They warn you that upon transportation, your safety cannot be guaranteed and there is no telling what waits for you beyond - to be prepared. To make sure you have whatever you deem necessary with you before you go, as there is no telling when - or how - you will be coming back. CONTINUED HERE...

NOTES

Upon your arrival, you woke up with an HOURGLASS NECKLACE. Please refer to the Time Mechanics on the OOC Summary and bottom of this post for details on its usage.

The COURTYARD is frozen in time. Player Characters and the Great Tree are the only signs of moving, free life in the courtyard. During the intro, time magic does not work.

Characters are free to investigate but cannot move beyond the courtyard if you choose a prompt during the intro. You may mingle among your fellow Bearers or speak with [MR. TIBBS] if you so choose. (Also? LOOK AT HIM HELP)

Iconoclasts and Stargazers will notice Aspect benefits/detriments now.

All characters will be weak for the 24 hours - think like mild flu - and unable to leave until Mr. Tibbs has dispersed them. This is the time in which any threads with the NPC will be carried out.

The INTRO concludes with said dispersal of PC’s once interactions concluded. They will be sent to a location around the castle of your choosing; they are free to move about freely from here. Your prompts can start with you waking alone or in the presence of others - whatever you’d like!

Your character will innately understand how to use time magic from this point forward. It will come naturally to them, like a skill they were born with.

CASTLE: OVERVIEW (p a s t)

The Scorching Isles is home to the Atirat, a people of sea-dwellers who have the ability to walk on land. (Think mermaids with the ability to shift back and forth between human and mermaid forms.) As such, much of the Scorching Isles is covered in large bodies of blue water and glistening pieces of ice to accommodate their lifestyle.

THE CASTLE, however, is what dominates the landscape and it's where the Shard-Bearers will be spending their time. The white castle with colorful glass windows is obscured by a thick layer of clouds and fog. Nearly every location on the island has a thin layer of fog that rolls through it, which gives the entire Island an inescapable chill. The castle has artfully built rooms with a CAVALCADE OF DECORATIVE ICE, lavish mirrors, and white plants accented with blue decorations. Several portions of the castle are submerged due to the aquatic nature of the native residents.

And everywhere you go, you find them - STATUESQUE BODIES FROZEN mid-movement. They are haunting reminders of the power in your Hourglass - the very real power to decide their fates.

The castle has many winding paths to explore, as castles often do. There are sleeping quarters, HALLWAYS, a wine cellar, and a few large rooms presumably for diplomatic affairs. Players can use these rooms at their own leisure for whatever purposes they see fit. (Exploration, combat, or supply gathering.)

However, many of these rooms will require some strategy to access their full potential! Atirat were much more comfortable being underwater than many Kenosians may be. Therefore, rooms of higher importance may be COMPLETELY SUBMERGED or require swimming through an underwater pathway to reach them. Very minimal supplies will be kept out in the open for all to reach. More desirable supplies - such as warm clothing, small weapons, treasure, and the like - will be located past or within one of these flooded areas.

Players may gather supplies within and preserve their Sand or use their Sand to make other rooms accessible and gather whatever lies within! The larger the asset you attempt to unfreeze, the more Sand it costs - and the more drained/vulnerable you will be as a consequence, so choose your path ahead wisely.

Currently, a pervasive fog is preventing you from wandering beyond the Castle's limits. Should you try to venture past it, your Sand will rapidly be stolen and you will find yourself suffering the same fate as the islanders if you don't move back to safety quickly... However, if you ask Mr. Tibbs what lays beyond the mist - he will tell you about the thriving farmland, the once-bustling village surrounding the castle, and the beautiful coral reefs beneath it. Sadly, they're beyond your reach - but maybe if the Bearers decide to unfreeze them when the week is up...

LIBRARY (s a f e z o n e)

The ROYAL LIBRARY - A treasure trove of knowledge, history, and glimpses of a fractured past scattered throughout. The lower floor of the Library is void of much reading material and contains several intricate-looking art pieces on decorative pedestals.

A spiral staircase dominates the center of the room, with its once delicate structure overtaken by sheets of formidable ice; it leads you toward the upper levels where a sea of books awaits. There are isles and isles of books, most perched on intricately carved shelves. Many books lay in piles or are discarded onto the floor, and scattered papers are common throughout.

Curious Kenosians may pick out books from the shelves and read on various topics, but players may also pass through this room on their way elsewhere. This area will function as a safe haven where violence and the taking of others' Sand is not allowed; do not disturb the books or Mr. Tibbs won’t be happy!

NOTES

Characters who wish to receive a book with lore specific to the island may comment [HERE]. You will be RNGed a book from a pre-written list of topics. The books may give you a deeper look into the island, its inhabitants, and its history! (Only 1 book per player! Please assume all other books they read are about commonly-available topics.)

THE EATING PARLOR (p a s t)

There are no basic amenities on the island. No hot water, no warm beds, and no salacious magazines (that you know of. heh heh). That would make the Eating Parlour a wise stop for anyone. After all, this could be the perfect chance to procure some provisions!

The EATING PARLOUR has all the equipment one would need for meal preparation. Dried plants hang from the ceiling, and the walls are lined with mason jars filled with every strange manner of presumably edible thing (Is that a head over there? Hmm… maybe you should check).

The parlour also comes with a garden under a massive windowed dome so that the inhabitants could have fresh produce at hand. Many plants have withered, but there are some salvageable plants if you know how to look for them. But beware… Some of the plants have a strange blue glow. These plants can spell potential disaster.

If someone should make contact with these glowing plants, they will crumble into glass shards - glass that will quickly burrow its way under the skin and curse that person with Blight. Blight will make all resources within that person's vicinity slowly age and eventually crumble to dust. (Which I relate to on a personal level tbh.) Iconoclasts will be immune to its effects.

NOTES

Please see the "Blight" section below for more information on its effects.

TREASURE ROOM (f u t u r e)

Faint singing can be heard coming from this room. Once you hear the song, it dulls your senses and leaves you in a haze. There is no stopping your feet from guiding you to it through the doors and into the Treasure room. The door slams shut at your back, sealed with a wall of ice and magic.

Players will find themselves lured to an icy chamber bordered by a ring of cold blue fire. There is a deep pond that surrounds the platform you’ve found yourself standing on. Beyond its glassy surface and crystal clear water, one can glimpse all manner of treasures - from crowns, jewels, ornate statues in various statues of repair, scepters, spears, and books that seem impervious to the water's cold chill.

As you come to your senses, you will find yourself frozen in place and at the mercy of a large statuesque being before you. This beautiful and horrifying figure in a perpetual song is the SIREN, the only Atirat you’ve seen in person. She measures nearly 20 feet (6 meters) from her head to the tip of her long-finned tail. She cradles an icy shard in her arms, singing to it as if it were a child.

She sits serenely in front of a large hourglass filled with white sand, which is bordered by a spear and a lance. Emblazoned in faint text at the base of where she sits reads: “The future lies in our hands.”

NOTES

Welcome to the Siren’s Chamber! Players must use their wit, charisma, or some good ol' fashioned elbow grease to escape the room or break the Siren’s magic. The Shard that the Siren holds contains dormant time magic that players may activate by using the Sand within their necklace. Players can access the future in 5-second intervals and use whatever they find in that time period to escape their predicament.

For example, if they activate the shard by using their time magic, that shard will begin to glow blue. The room around them will shift, and it could change to a point in the future where there is a sword nearby. If you can grab it, now you have a weapon! When the 5 seconds are up and time returns to the present, you will still have that weapon on your person. You may also try verbal communication if you’d like. If your character is someone who would try and talk their way out of a situation diplomatically, they may give it a try!

It is up to player discretion/creativity to think of a scenario you’d like. Each “future" does not have to be the same across player encounters! What one group experiences may be tailored to the player wants (because branching timelines exist). Let your imagination run free!

HALL OF MIRRORS (p r e s e n t)

Should you reach the rightmost wing of the massive castle Library, you will find a door hidden in the very back of one aisle against a wall; it looks as though the door used to be concealed by magicks that have since dissolved.

The stairwell leads down and into darkness. Once you reach the bottom, shimmering light cast from an unknown source beneath sheets of glistening ice will illuminate your new surroundings; you are in a maze of mirror-like ice. This labyrinth is silent save for the quiet creaking of shifting ice that may disquiet you and leave you uneasy regarding the stability of this area… but it holds beneath your feet.

Mr. Tibbs had told you that the “Kaleidoscope” - where your Sand is counted - rests through here, so eventually, you must brave the journey. Is it a trick of the light? Maybe the product of an especially active imagination…?

Did you just see one of your reflections move without you?

NOTES

Please refer to the OOC Summary for details on the Hall of Mirrors!

THE BLIGHT and TIME MECHANICS

BLIGHT

Blight is an infliction that will age supplies and infect people with a creeping disease that steals their Sand. For objects, this includes weapons, food, and items like cloth. It will take a few days to deteriorate things beyond use - so watching your supplies and acting accordingly is in your best interest. Generally, it will make it more difficult for PC's to get by given that their already scarce resources will dwindle and deteriorate - especially since it's 'contagious' through touch.

The Blight will not act quickly enough to severely hamper infected persons, but repeated exposure will cause effects to a person's body - notedly protruding VEINS in the face and extremities, a lower body temperature, and increased agitation. These effects start out mild and grow more severe with each 'dose.'

Characters must touch an object/person that is Blighted to become inflicted with Blight themselves. When that happens, it will become easily identifiable as Blighted from the faint blue, shimmering outline around the infected subject, as well as the WITHERED, FROSTBITTEN or ashy appearance it takes as it progresses.

However, there is one single perk with Blight. (Or is it a perk?) Players will feel reduced impact by the cold surroundings, making the climate around them somewhat more hospitable. Beware of falling victim to a chill you can't feel...

TIME

To use your Sand, each character is granted access to and innate knowledge of a spell they channel from their Shard that automatically manipulates their Hourglass. This allows the remote control of Sand (aka gathering and dispersing), as well as the ability to pull Fragments of time from Shards.

Fragments are literal pieces of you taken from your Shard. They manifest as memories or images displayed on little shards of broken glass (think of the memory being played out in real-time on the mirror's surface), and can be crushed to convert into Sand automatically, either voluntarily or by force. The only stipulation is that the parties must be close to one another, and the Fragment must be exchanged while both Bearers are still. This means someone has to give it to you, or you need to immobilize them before you take it - one way or another.

Once the Fragment is crushed, the memory and associated time of that person's life is lost and your character will suffer amnesia until the Oracle is claimed. How deep this goes is up to you; they could lose a large chunk of time - even all their memories surrounding a person or place for a big payload of Sand, or they could lose very little for a meager net gain.

Sand is automatically gathered or distributed by your Hourglass and added/subtracted to your running total. No need to micromanage. Convenient!

Please note that using Sand to unfreeze anything (resources, a door which can be then opened, etc) is an unpleasant experience. Each time you use Sand in this way, your character will be left feeling weakened and flu-like for an hour or two, which will leave them vulnerable. This effect stacks and scales up to outright KO-ing them for a few hours if they go crazy, so unfreezing too large of an area is off the table!

NOTES

• An OOC POST will be coming shortly explaining how Sand is going to be tallied and the Oracle claimed.
• Should your character attempt to unfreeze any NPC's, please respond [HERE]. NOTE: unfreezing NPC's may result in physical violence with CW's for severe mental instability/illness and a potential reference to self-harm.
• HAVE FUN!!!

CODING

Comments

Cid Garlond | Zenith | Savant

[youngprodigy]

I – Library
[That the library is safe. He knows that much, thanks to Mr. Tibbs. So Cid spends considerable time here, flipping through books trying to find something that can help him understand the situation the people of this island are in. Unfortunately, he’s not able to, and after flipping through the third book he picks up off the shelf randomly, he sighs.]

Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.

[It’s muttered to himself as he gently puts the book on its shelf.

With his back to anyone who approaches, he looks almost vulnerable, were it not for the cat-sized robot perched on his shoulder, looking in the opposite direction Cid is. Anyone who approaches will get an incredibly neutral, but cordial]

Greetings.

[from the robot.

It’s enough to get Cid to turn around, an acknowledgement. Someone he knows, an unattuned, or a fellow Zenite will get a] Staying warm? [from him. Anyone sided with Meridian will get a slightly more guarded look, but he’s still friendly enough.] This library is quite impressive, though I’ve had little luck finding much about this world.


II – Castle
[It feels a bit like he’s aimlessly wandering about the castle. Cid spends most of his wanderings entirely on-guard until he enters an enormous study.]

Incredible…

[Even with the eerie frozen look of the entire room, it’s obvious that at one point, the study had been someone’s personal refuge. All one has to do is look at the countless books on display to know that. And while the collection isn’t nearly as impressive as the library, it’s obvious it was important to the person whose study this was.

Cid doesn’t immediately gravitate to the books, however, instead looking over the personal affects strewn about the desk, frozen in time. As he explores the room, he murmurs to himself.]

Whatever happened here… it must have been sudden.

[There are no frozen statues in the room, but all that means as far as he’s concerned means that whatever happened, the owner of this room was out.

So long as no Meridian shows up ready to fight, he seems content to explore the room, though he does look rather jumpy about the state of the place.]


III – Mirrors
[The moment Cid steps inside the hall of mirrors, he feels like he’s made a mistake. He needs to look, but at the same time the sheer amount of mirrors makes him feel on-edge. There’s naught here but reflections. It means if someone were to enter the hall with him…

Well. He summons his familiar to be safe, telling it to take its perch to look behind him as he makes his way through. The halls are quiet for hardly any time at all before the familiar pipes up.]

I detect an anomaly in the mirrors.

[It doesn’t seem to be indicating anyone who has entered the halls with Cid, at least not immediately.]

What do you mean?

[Cid brings a hand to his mouth with a frown. He looks around anxiously, but all he can see is an uncomfortable amount of reflections of himself. He’s no combatant, but one of his fists clench all the same, ready to defend himself.]

III - Mirrors

[lachtara]

Perhaps entirely on cue, they could hear the 'tip, tip, tip' of footsteps from somewhere inside the hall. The sound is slow but crystal clear among the quiet. It's not clear where it's coming from since all the mirrors still reflect their own images, but someone has certainly entered the hall with them.

The feeling of the Hall of Mirrors turns oppressive. What magic that has resided here changes when someone else enters - and suddenly all the eyes in the mirror's reflections turn their head to Cid with a disapproving glare.

[youngprodigy]

The familiar doesn't have time to respond, because both look around wildly for the source of the noise. Cid exhales, his breath visible in the cold air. He's no combatant, he shouldn't have come in here without the familiar giving the go-ahead.

He can't very well head towards the source of the noise, but that doesn't matter when he sees every one of his reflections in the ice turn straight towards him. "W-w-what the hells?"

This is quite a bit more than an "anomaly".

[lachtara]

There's a cavalcade of voices that waft through the air as the footsteps grow closer. 'Tip, tip, tip'. Emet-Selch rounds the mirrors as he follows the sound within. Someone is certainly making a racket with their reflection.

"Did you think you could save them when you're so full of hesitation?" A voice calls throughout the mirrored hallway, in a voice Cid may recognize. The 'Cid' in the mirror points accusingly, "You could do it. You could save them with technology in our grasp. If only you had the courage."

[youngprodigy]

Cid's eyes go wide, terror immediately welling up inside of him. As 'Marques', he'd been a shell of a man, blaming himself for things he couldn't even remember. Spending his days wondering why the pious of Eorzea would both with being kind to a Garlean like him.

Trying to figure out what direction to flee to isn't doing him any favors at the moment, disoriented as he is in the room full of reflections glaring right at him. "I... I can't not alone." It sounds weak, even to his own ears.

[lachtara]

"There is that doubt." The reflection says sharply. "The doubt that saw to the ruin of the world. All because you 'can't do it alone'."

The images in the mirror shift, and now the reflection wears the tattered clothing from a ruined future. The fabric frays, the soot marks streak across cloth which used to be pristine white, and the faint spatter of blood on his sleeve which is made clear. "One by one they fell. The very person who stood by you was the first sacrifice to your inhibition."

Emet-Selch finally rounds the corner and the sound comes to a stop. He looks at the reflection and then to Cid before folding his arms. "What did you do now?" He asks, flatly.

[youngprodigy]

Cid stares at his reflection, transfixed, his mouth hanging open. "That's not," he begins, even though he has no idea what he's protesting. Some part of him thinks it must be true, that the Seventh Umbral Calamity had already been his fault. That he should have done more. That other him from the Eight Umbral Calamity... he'd lost so many people. Some Chief he'd been.

It takes him a very long moment to even realize he's been addressed as he pivots to look at Emet-Selch, his eyes wide. "I..." he begins, without having a clue what he's about to say. Behind him, something changes in one of the mirrors, like a planar fissure to the Void opening as a lone figure emerges: a man in dark robes with silver-white hair and golden eyes that seems to grow from neutral to angry in an instant, scowling at the sight of Emet-Selch.

i

[sharmat]

(there's just something about robots. the dwarves had countless to serve and defend them and they were constructing more daily. voryn, privileged in his access to dwarven society and technology, studied them tirelessly before their disappearance.

this construct, however, is different. it speaks, is courteous, and its design is unique. and uniqueness, to voryn, is magnetic.)

Well, you're not cursed, as I also have encountered little success. Of course, I used my sand on a book about otters, (he greets them back, sending mister tibbs a tired look. though voryn understands that his mood isn't its greatest, he is hyperaware of the fact that their circumstances are a bit funny.) Regardless of our findings, I suppose we shall read more simply because they are there.

(a hand raises, palm out to indicate his peacefulness, then is gestured at cid's companion.)

Did you make this?

[youngprodigy]

[Cid laughs a bit sheepishly.]

The most relevant I found was a girl's private story hidden inside a different book. I'm not sure what it was doing here, to be honest.

[He's already wasted enough sand on the books, there's no point in looking for more.

As for the question...]

I did, but perhaps not in the way you're thinking. It's a magical construct; a familiar. I didn't intend for it to look the way it does, exactly. It resembles something I encountered on my star, though it's significantly smaller.

[sharmat]

Thrilling.

(it is decidedly not thrilling, though he's rarely spent time with young girls—and this sounds like the journal or fiction of a child. growing up in a household with seven brothers does that to a man.)

Magic is far more interesting. I am no conjurer myself, but I have heard of and seen spells such as this cast... It is a clever design. (the construct continues to hold his attention, but voryn must ask a broader question first.) The celestial bodies in my realm are intrinsically different, I suspect, than what you're referring to, but I find myself curious nonetheless. How does one live on a star?

[youngprodigy]

[The find had been extremely awkward, so he can't exactly say he disagrees with the man's sentiment.]

Before coming to Kenos, I had never dreamed I would one day be using magic. It's an impossibility for Garleans.

[He says it excitedly, but then the man asks him that question, and he looks completely thrown, and more than a little confused.]

The... the world? The land and the peoples on it, the lifestream at its center.

[sharmat]

Ah, the world—your world. This is the word we share in common. (the difference is of great interest to voryn who cares to know about all things. he gestures up, up toward the ceiling of the library.) We call it a "planet," and our star is a hole in the fabric of our realm through which light and raw energy escapes.

(large earrings make soft noise as his head tilts with his next line of questions.)

You say that you are a Garlean. What distinguishes your kind from others? Is it simply your lack of potential for magic?

[youngprodigy]

[The explanation seems to further confuse him, if anything. But at the very least, his confusion turns to fascination only a moment later.]

I am going to assume our definitions of "realm" are different, and you do not mean there's an enormous hole in the middle of a nation that radiates light.

[At the question, he gestures to the third eye on his forehead.]

I'd say its our third eye that distinguishes us, mayhap more than our inability to manipulate aether. There can be individuals of the other races who are unable, but it's not entirely the same. Most of my people actively fear magic.

II – Castle

[sharethememory]

[ Like a moth to a flame, this nerd is subconsciously drawn to the study and its many frozen wonders. It's much more interesting than the other rooms he had passed anyway (and he wasn't quite sure if anyone was napping in that bedroom a few doors down. Best to let them sleep if they were.)

Without thinking too much of it, he unconsciously answers Cid's question. ]

Quite so by the positioning of the denizens of this place. I can only imagine it was a sudden burst of energy - either divine or perhaps arcane in nature.

[ Only to realize a moment later that perhaps that was not the wisest thing to do because now it looks like Zhongli was stalking the poor man. Not a good look at all. He holds his hands up and out in a gesture of peace, smile slightly sheepish. ]

My apologies. Am I interrupting?

[youngprodigy]

[Cid noticeably starts, but he looks up and relaxes.

No, this man doesn't look like he's about to attack.]

Not precisely, no. I was thinking aloud, wondering if aught here was worth unfreezing.

[He sighs.]

I'm not unconvinced that talking animal had something to do with it.

[sharethememory]

At the very least, he has more knowledge about what happened here than anyone. And it was a story that he did not feel particularly inclined to share while we were all confined to that courtyard.

[ Zhongli keeps what he hopes to be an unthreatening distance as he approaches the frozen bookshelves. He squints at the spines, attempting to read the titles through the thick sheet of ice. ]

Is there anything in particular you are looking for?

[youngprodigy]

Nothing in particular, no.

[It's admitted with some hesitation.]

For the people who call this island home, more than just their lives must needs be saved. Their culture, their history— that is something I wish to help preserve.

But it's nearly impossible to tell if anything of the sort is inside of these books, and I've not the Sand to unfreeze all of them. I was considering instead looking for personal items.

[sharethememory]

[ Cid has every right to be wary, meeting a new face in alone somewhere with the maze of castle rooms. But Zhongli replies wholeheartedly without reservation as if he is used to just spouting his own brand of logic and people generally following his lead. Why should this place be any different?

(There's dozens of reasons, he's just not paying attention to any of them.) ]

Then you and I are of a similar mind. We lack the resources to support everyone if we were to unfreeze them all, so I believe it is in ours and their best interest to preserve as much of their civilization as possible. But as our host has also pointed out, we have no way of restoring time to people or objects based on anything more than our best guess work. Unfortunately, chance has never been a forte of mine.

[ There's a slightly disappointed look to have such a vast study with unfortunately no occupants. That would have been a good place to start gathering information (should the Atirat calm down enough for conversation). ]

I, myself, was hoping to find someone who looked like a scribe or attendant. Someone whose duties heavily involved observation.

[youngprodigy]

As an engineer, I've never been the sort to leave anything to chance.

[He brings a hand to his mouth, frowning.]

The odds are certainly against us. There's no telling how the people of this island will even react to what we're doing. If we leave too much frozen, they won't be grateful, I know that much.

[He nods at the comment about looking for a scribe.]

I thought similarly. The closest I found was someone who appeared to be heading this way. They ran off, though. Didn't even stop to speak to me.

[Cid genuinely feels bad for that.]

It's... difficult. We know scarcely anything about what happened here.

i

[hurricaneofblood]

[ Flamebringer smiles at him, seemingly pleased with the guarded look that he is given. ]

That's good. [ His eyes flicker to the robot that is perched on the man's shoulder. ] How strong would you say that is? Would it be able to protect you in a pinch?

[ Well, the library is being treated as a no-combat zone right now. If he breaks that, he'll probably end up getting an earful, but that doesn't mean he can't be a little irritating. ]

[youngprodigy]

Uh.

[The threat isn't lost on him. But he does look stunned at how overt it is, especially given the neutral ground they're in. The momentary surprise]

Speak up, I can't quite hear you. I think our mutual friend would be very interested.

[He glances pointedly in Mr. Tibbs' direction, though the otter currently seems preoccupied with... whatever it is he's doing to entertain himself.]

[hurricaneofblood]

'ch.

[ Flamebringer actually clicks his tongue. ]

You're a smart one, aren't you? [ Usually, this kind of bullying would probably end with the bully kicking over whatever books are stacked next to their intended target. However, Flamebringer merely laughs to himself. He accepts that he has lost this match. ]

You Zenith lot are supposed to be assisting us, right? How do you feel about that?

[youngprodigy]

[Cid's brows raise at the question. He still looks less than pleased, but his response is courteous enough.]

The people of this island are my priority. I'll gladly work with Meridian if it means saving both them and their culture.

[hurricaneofblood]

That so?

[ He tilts his head slightly, thoughtfully acknowledging the answer. ]

A lesser man would ask you if you know who you're saving. But that's just me playing devil's advocate. [ At least he admits to being annoying? ] For me, it doesn't matter if the land or people are saved.

I'll do whatever the person ahead of me suggests. [ Hm. ] So, I find your convictions to be interesting.

[youngprodigy]

[Cid frowns. It's not quite anger, but it doesn't seem to be too far from it.]

I'm not the sort to insist on people following me blindly.