World Tree MUSH

    Some Time Later, The Seat of Divine Foresight.

    After the battle with Phantylia, Fu Xuan called for Starskiffs and sent everyone back to Exalting Sanctum. However, the full picture of this incident still eludes reason, so, there is only one place to go looking for answers.

    Qingzu greets the group as they approach. "Please wait a moment, the Master Diviner will be here shortly... she has taken over the general's responsibilities temporarily while he undergoes treatment for his wounds... before meeting with you, she must allay public concerns and fortify their spirits."

    It takes about half an hour, before the diminiuative Diviner makes her way in, sighing softly. "I doubt I will ever get used to this... it is a pleasure to see you, my friends." she says, curtsying politely.

    "It's nice to see you, too!" Jessica greets. "And I know the feeling, it's really hard to get used to, isn't it?" She sighs, splaying her ears and... looking over to Bi De.

    "It's so weird not being the shortest person in the room, isn't it?"

    Clara has recovered! Getting hit by Phantylia's attack did not do her very well at the time but she's better now. Though the silver-haired girl seems a bit sullen and down since she learned of Grey's heroic self sacrifice self-destruction.
    "Oh..." So they have to wait for the Master Diviner now. That's fine. Clara doesn't have anywhere else to be right now.
    Then freaking JESSICA.
    "J-Jess!" Clara squeaks helplessly.

    "The pleasure's all ours, Qingzu." Talia bows her head, smiling tiredly. Stars, it's been a long day or so. "Hopefully his recovery will be quick." As the tiny Diviner arrives, Talia bows her head again just as politely as before. "Much has happened in so little time, I can understand."

    Jessica gets a sidelong glance from Talia. "Not the time for jokes, I think."

    Bi De does a quiet bow. "The pleasure is ours." He clicks his beak closed. "If only it were not so grave circumstances." He straightens up, sighing. "How long before we will know-"

    Jessica points out he's the shortest one here.

    "... I do not think that was a joke."

    "Collating casualties and losses, dispatching forces, rounding up remnants... submitting battle reports to the Six Charioteers..." Fu Xuan sighs. "Now I know what Jing Yuan meant when he said 'The highest throne faces the strongest winds.'"

    "Generalship is no trifling matter, - it is a duty one must bear."

    March asides to Stelle, "I think she actually enjoys it."

    Welt then asks. "Have you summoned us to sigh and complain, Master Diviner?"

    "Quite the contrary, Mister Yang. I am eager to thank you all in my official capacity as acting general of the Luofu. Now that things have drawn to a conclusion, it is time to reward you."

    Oh a reward. That's nice. But...
    "Um." Clara purses her lips.
    "About the automaton that was with us..." She says, prompting Svarog to glance down at her.
    "Would it be possible to rebuild him? I don't need much else." The girl says quietly.

    There's no surprise there. Talia can understand what that duty entails, it's brutal on the mind and soul. "Reward?" She asks, in surprise. Such things aren't exactly what Jedi strive for. "I only ask for fuel and ration supplies for my vessel. Upkeep is not exactly easy on the checkbook."

    Jessica does like money, but she hear's Clara's request and does have something to add. "If it isn't possible, could you maybe get his um... mind or something so she can put it somewhere?" She doesn't know a TON about how robots work, but there's that much.

    "Hmm. I am not certain what reward would be fitting for me," Bi De admits. "If what I can contribute would help with Clara's request, feel free to do so. I have little need for money."

    "I will have to speak to the Artisanship Commission about that." says Fu Xuan to Clara. "They may have a backup of its mindstate on record, though I will make no promise as I may not be able to keep it." Her voice is softer... the girl in red is clearly feeling the loss of a friend, no matter how short a time, nor how different the life function. Jessica's suggestion is caught in that same response, but the catgirl gets a nod from the small pink Diviner.

    "Fuel and supplies are a given, Miss Kyras, you already have several days worth of both waiting for you in the stardock... there must be something you may wish for."

    With Bi De also asking to resurrect Grey, the Diviner sighs softly. "I will make arrangements with the Artisanship Commission immediately."

    The missives are sent, replies return, and two hours later, an unpainted Aurumaton comes striding into the Seat of Divine Foresight, escorted by a full squad of Cloud Knights. It's weapons are peace-locked, and its scanner eye lands on Clara.

    It walks over, kneels down and very gently pats the girl on the head.

    "This, and discussions with the Six Charioteers have granted you the status of Ally with the Xianzhou. WIthin the Luofu's jurisdiction you are to be treated with the highest standard of diplomatic protocol." Fu Xuan says, "And now that thanks has been expressed, I sill have something to discuss with you all. Please, this way." she gestures over to the large holopit that at rest, houses a giant chesssboard... now, it has a holographic representation of Phantylia leaning on her elbow like when she first manifested.

    Clara nods, still a little quiet. Robot or not, Grey's help was indispensable in the whole situation that this place had going on, and Clara bonds more easily with robots than she does with people.
    That's a problem for Big Sis Stelle to help her grow out of later.
    But it is in fact a problem for later when the unpainted machine emerges-- pats her on the head-- and then gets a bug hug around its leg.
    Svarog is silent for a beat, looking to refurbished Grey.
    Before Svarog nods his head once, approvingly.
    On to the chessboard.
    "What's this?" Clara asks.

    Talia looks puzzled. Shit, she really does have to wish for something doesn't she? It seems Grey's restoration is well underway now, so there goes that. Talia thinks for a good long period, and she's quite puzzled. It's such a foreign concept, Talia doesn't really wish for things like this. She shouldn't, Jedi have a vow of poverty, only taking the bare necessities to survive if not outright living off the compassion of strangers sometimes.

    Then she thinks of the horrific dreams she's had, seeing Serissa with that hateful, yellow glare, and Angither's blade cutting through the man she called a father and teacher, the way Bojun slashed through her lover, and Nagan's mocking laughter as he struck her over and over with the lightsaber set to leaving painful welts, like beating her with a cane.

    "...I wish I could sleep peacefully for once." She finally settles on. "Just one night of sweet dreams."

    "Is this another... hmm. Did you notice something in the fight?" Jessica, for all that she seems innocently oblivious at times, is immediately wondering about the image. She steps closer, looking it over from top to bottom.

    She glances at Talia, but doesn't say anything. It sounds like there's not much she could do.

    "Perhaps with time, you may," Bi De notes quietly. "There are many ways." He doesn't know the precise problem, but encouragement is good.

    He clucks as he hops up to look over the image. "How did you get this? Did you retrieve it from a crystal nearby?"

    "There are a few things that are out of my power to grant, Miss Kyras." remarks Fu Xuan. "However, I will ask the Alchemy Commission, once their ranks are cleared of the Disciples influence, if they can offer any kind of service in that regard." She looks up at the Mirialan. "If nothing else... please know that your efforts here have saved countless lives, not just on the Luofu, but on all Xianzhou ships, and many worlds that a corrupted Alliance vessel may have visited."

    As people gather around the hologram, Fu Xuan speaks up. "This is not another mission... however, the Stellaron Crisis, the Disciples rebellion, the Arbor's resurrection, not to mention the Antimatter Legion infiltrating the Luofu... all of these incidents need reporting to the highest levels for investigation..." she looks from the hologram around the group. "It's just, having been at ground zero, for lack of a better term, I am struggling to keep an accurate perspective." she gestures. "I would appreciate if you could go through it with me, so that I may reacquaint myself with the details." To Bi De she explains, "General Jing Yuan had a recording device that he dropped just before the battle started... you can see his foot just in the lower left of the image view." she points to the barest tip of his boot.

    Stelle gently rests a hand on Clara's shoulder, nods to Jessica, then says. "We'll go over Phantylia first... work our way backwards from there." the greyhaired Nameless points. "She's clearly the mastermind behind this whole thing, taking the guise of Tingyun... how was she even able to do that? What was that weird fire that she turned into?"

    Tingyun... That's right. Even with Stelle's hand on her shoulder Clara tenses at the memory of the foxian.
    And that hideous bone-snapping noise.
    "... Was... Was she always Tingyun or?"
    Clara leaves the rest of that statement unsaid:
    Did Phantylia ever REPLACE a real Tingyun?
    A real Tingyun who may very well be a corpse in a ditch somewhere at this point.
    She doesn't want to dwell on it.
    But Clara is kind of dwelling on it.

    Talia seems to accept this. Some herbal tea might be acceptable. And the thought of saving lives does help ease Talia's concerns. "All that I ask is that I may be able to help." She says.

    Stupid Jedi modesty.

    "How long did she keep up the charade is my concern, assuming there was ever a Tingyun to begin with?"

    Jessica nibbles on her bottom lip. "She was acting a little weird. Are we sure that the original isn't somewhere else? If you remember she was being a little strange about following us despite warnings."

    She huffs softly. "I guess we should have asked her more about why she thought she'd be okay."

    The question of Tingyun's veracity is better leveled at Madam Yukong. The Amacassidor was under the Helm Master's perview, though from what little information I have available, Tingyun has been an active member of the Sky-Faring Commission for several decades... if Phantylia had been an impostor amongst our ranks for that long..."

    Fu Xuan shakes her head, "The Ten Lord Commission would be able to confirm, but I believe that Phantylia is a Heliobus, a kind of malevolent spirit-creature that can possess other beings. Again my details end at that, I will petition the Ten Lords to send a representative later to discuss this in more detail."

    "I'm afraid we may never truly know what happened with Tingyun... However, That a Lord Ravager managed to slither in unnoticed, plotted and surreptitiously bestowed a Stellaron upon the Disciples, and thus instigated an uprising aimed at luring the Luofu into self-destruction, must not be overlooked... This danger clearly demands a re-evaluation. Caution is advized."

    "What about the Disciples?" suggests Stelle next, giving Clara another gentle pat on the shoulder after the tensing.

    That's too bad. Clara will never know if Tingyun really existed or if Phantylia actually went and murked someone.
    Clara bites gently on her lower lip when Stell pats her.
    This is really tearing her up!
    "Yeah." She does finally move on though, reluctantly, "What's gonna be done about those Disciples?"

    Jessica listens, and winces about Tingyun. She is quiet for a lot longer than usual, considering all this and scratching the base of one of her ears during the discusion. There's a lot to go over, and the kitty is not very happy about it.

    Finally, she says the only thing she can say.

    "Should we.... shoot them?"

    Bi De listened, watching the display for a while. As everyone else debated, he considered, then looked up quietly. "Will everything else be able to be settled now that she is no longer manipulating events? Or is there a chance she had a plan that could survive her own defeat?"

    A mystery to be sure. "We can't be sure she's gone for good, but if she does return, you can count on us." Talia says, glancing at her compatriots as if to say 'Right?'

    Fu Xuan nods. "When the Ambrisial Arbor was severed by the Reignbow Arbiter(Lan, The Hunt) thousands of years ago, the Abundance(Yaoshi) became a taboo. Those within the Alchemy Commission-the original master of the so-called 'Way of Immortality'-were ruined at a stroke. The commission became a shadow of its former self." she begins, "Presumably, from that moment on, the seeds of discord for the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus had already been planted... some of them were willing to work with the enemy, acquiring a Stellaron from the Antimatter Legion to try and revive the Arbor."

    She cups her chin, closing her eyes and frowning slightly. "They succeeded already, but why would Phantylia's objective be to realize their wishes? Those traitors gained nothing-they betrayed the Xianzhou only to become sacrificial offerings to the Lord Ravager's grand scheme."

    "Maybe they were desperate," Jessica suggests, taking the downtime to... clean her guns. Because she's pretty sure they'll be needed again soon! Her ears swivel to follow Fu Xuan, but she doesn't look at the Diviner. "If you're really wanting something, you do stuff that doesn't make sense to get it. Maybe they were going to double cross her and she outsmarted them. Or maybe they really believed something she promised."

    Talia folds her arms. "Cults usually get more than they bargained for in the end." She says, "Perhaps the reward was martyrdom."

    Clara... Purses her lips.
    "Well if they were desperate and doing things that didn't make sense... It didn't make any sense to me." The girl admits.
    "Whether or not she betrayed them or the planned to betray her, it does not matter overly much." Svarog points out. "Due to our direct intervention." Ah yes. Big robot man saying the obvious.

    "Or perhaps they thought that their goals were aligned, and did not realize that was not the case until too late," Bi De murmurs, perching nearby and adjusting his foxfur jacket. "It is difficult to know the motivations of people such as this, is it not?"

    "Entirely plausible... those who remain are too far down the pecking order to know anything more than we do." replies Fu Xuan, sighing.

    Stelle nods sagely, "And the Stellaron Hunters?" she asks then.

    "The Stellaron Hunters? We know just as little. But in the Matrix of Prescience, I saw a prophecy that Kafka received from Destiny's Slave(Elio). Elio foresaw all manner of possibilities for the Luofu..." Fu Xuan sighs. "Based on what Kafka knows, and despite everything being under the control of Elio, that prophecy is indeed the most beneficial future for the Luofu. The Stellaron Hunters walked right into our trap, and even gifted allies-in the form of yourselves-to the Xianzhou... That might sound self-interested, but I hope the feeling i mutual." she continues, turning from her pacing, and facing the gathered. "Now that future has come true, the Xianzhou has discovered the Legion's intentions, and with everyone's help, imposed a crushing defeat on Phantylia."

    Fu Xuan gestures, and one of her aides steps forward. She takes an item from them, and presents it to the group. It's Tingyun's fan, broken, burned and ruined. "If you pass through Starskiff Haven... I hope you can give this to Madam Yukong."

    "Oh..."
    Tingyun's fan...
    Clara goes especially quiet and sullen. The poor girl is still shaken up by that whole turn of events.
    "Mn..."
    Svarog lightly rests a huge metal hand on her head and says nothing.

    Jessica often says things that are odd or silly, but when the fan is offered, she holds her hand out. "All right, I can pass it on to her." Apparently the catgirl can be pretty serious about things... even if there's an ear and tail twitching at something Fu Xuan said.

    "We'll bring it to her." Talia promises, with the utmost seriousness. The sentiment is...well, she can understand why it's so important.

    "Hmm." Bi De strokes his wattles and peers at Fu Xuan. He clearly has something else on his mind, but after some consideration he decides not to voice his inner thoughts.
    Instead, he clucks lightly, "I suppose the next question is what to do now?"

    "Now? I suggest you speak to Madam Yukong... matters regarding the Amicassador may be bleak, but her affairs are best handled by her Foxian kin... I have already informed the Sky-Faring Commission of the events which took place... I think it best if you deliver this to the Helm Master... head for the Palace of Astrum... Madam Yukong will be expecting you." says Fu Xuan.

    Bi De bobs his head. "Very well. I suppose there is not much else to be done," he clucks to himself. "What sort of difficulties are we likely to encounter?" His head tilts oddly, staring at Fu Xuan with more intensity than normal.

    Talia nods, "We'll go at once." She says, bowing her head as she stands from her seat, before waiting for an answer to Bi De's question.

    "We should go, then." Svarog says matter of factly. Clara remains quiet a moment longer before she nods too.
    But then she looks to Bi De. And the way he's staring at Fu Xuan, curiously.

    Jessica wraps up the fan and carefully stows it in her pack while the others are talking. She gives Bi De a funny look, but he can take care of himself. For now she reaches out and pats Clara's shoulder and side, giving her some small amount of reassurance and comfort. Or attempting to.

    Fu Xuan holds Bi De's gaze for a moment, then she performs a few hand gestures, and closes her eyes. The 'third eye' in her forehead flashes, and whirls with light within for a moment.

    She opens her normal eyes then, and says. "I foresee minor tribulations in completing tasks, but nothing you cannot handle."

    Talia squints briefly at Fu Xuan. How descriptive. It seems like divining can only go so far.

    'Minor tribulations'.
    "Nothing we cannot handle." Svarog repeats.
    "What's the worst that could happen?" Clara asks mildly.

    Jessica glances at Clara... then she starts gearing up much more briskly. "Talia, you should have your ship ready okay? Just in case we need to fly away fast from a very big explosion."

    "Naturally." Talia nods! She gives Clara and Svarog a long-suffering stare. "Why do I get the feeling you're going to be the death of me?"

    "We shall see," Bi De murmurs. "I was merely asking your educated guess, not a divination, but this will work." He stretches his wings. "Is everyone rested?"