World Tree MUSH

O n the whole that small jaunt down to what had supposedly been uninhabited woodlands in the back end of a world thought to have little going on in this specific spot turned out to be far more lively than Ash or Ordis had thought. So far Ash had been lucky in these chance encounters being by and large positive, but Ordis's current sour mood would make one think otherwise.

"-luck" Ordis said in a glitched voice before settling both in mood and vocolization. "All I'm saying Operator is that you need to be more careful. We know nothing of this 'magic' people keep going on about. For all either of us know something could come along and," Again the voice glitched, "SQUAH YOU LIKE A BUG."

Ash was busy manually dusting his noggle collection, not for the first time silently thanking Ordis for the room that allowed him to take down the shelves frm the rest of the orbiter. "Literally nobody is able to find our ship. Ther'es no way to track me once the void mask is turned on, and this place is primative to boot. We're fine Ordis. Promise."

>> GAME >> Raven spends an Edge for: To teleport onto Ordis accidentally

had been trying to... well... find life. Had been using a ritual, a powerful one, to try and break through the barriers. She thought... she was going somewhere different. She didn't really feel welcome in this place. It was with a bit of difficulty....

 And then she was in the middle of... a metal... beast? The sound of a hawk echoed through the ship and she looked around. "What in the wor--" And then the alarms. She shrieked, stumbling back, lifting a hand up as dark energy formed around her left hand. Where was it coming from?!

The girl was in a bit of a panic. As surprised as they were to have her here, she was seemingly just as surprised to BE here. She was in the middle floor, right by the fabricator, covering her ears as dark energy started to surround her. Oh dear... she was gonna blow up the ordis...

Ash was busy dusting his Acolyte collection when the alarms hit, causing him to jump, bumping his head into a shelf above him. "Ordis what the hell?!"

The doors locked leaving Raven trapped in the relatively confined spacewhere the foundery and other assorted support equipment were as a small drone lowered, aiming a gun-like protrusion at the intruder. Raven would sense a great deal of histility. "You are not the Operator." Ordis's voice was a hard mixture of his normal and 'glitched' voices. "You will be Purged."

Meanwhile Ash wa shwon a security feed. "Ordis stop! It's that girl from earlier!" If Raven's empathic powers worked that far she could sense Ash's concern spike, almost as if he knew she was in danger

"But-" Ordis tried to counter.

"Drop the alarm, if she wanted she probably could tear the ship apart from the inside." Ash's voice was calm as he stared at the locked door, "And unlock the doors."

"....Understood." Ordis sounded defeated, and he felt more than a touch aprehensive. the sense was less malice towards Raven as the doors opened, and more a sense of concern as Ash stepped out of the newly unlocked door.

"Hi... Uh..." He glanced about and weakly smiled. "Welcome to my ship." THe drone that had aimed a weapon at Raven then flew back into its little hutch. "I'd say that was Ordis but-"

"This entire SHIP is Ordis Operator, and I am more than a bit confused on how this... Person found us." There was an unspoken I Told You So in Ordis's voice.

Raven was panting and gathering her power... And about to explode... when it all stopped. She was down on her knees. She looked around for a few moments... then looked up. To say she was shocked was... an understatement. "ASH?!" she asked. "What in the world are you doing?! Where AM I?! What is all this?!" she asked, looking around... Then... "O-oh..."

"That's... what you meant... by ordis... Well... I can ummm... tell you that it... he is very concerned for you. A bit hostile towards me..." She was silent for a moment, then glanced to him. "Ordis... is very, very big. It... is a bit disconcerting but... ummm. Hello. Nice to... Meet you. Ordis," she said nervously.

"And... ummmm... An accident. I was performing a ritual. I was trying to..." She trailed off. "It doesn't matter what I was trying to find. The important thing is I know where I am. And... I didn't... ummm..." She looked incredibly nervous. Then, finally... "I've honestly never... seen anything like this. Any of this..." Then glanced to the mod bank. "Well.. I've seen one of those before. I think. though... I don't see why you'd have such a big sewing machine here." Then glanced back to him. "One of the monks had one. It was powered by foot. I... imagine yours isn't?" Oh my gosh she was serious.

"I see..." Ordis's voice came from speakers studded through the ship. "You will have to appreciate people randomly teleporting into the living space for the Operator would be distressing."

Ash offered Raven a hand. SHe would see a very utilitarian craft with little to no clutter and dimmed down lighting. 

"I'm just gld I could get ordis talked down. i remember what you didwith those rocks and, well." He had this mental image of a tin can crushing."

Ordis's voice again spoke. "SInce you are not inclined to attack myself or the Operator, perhaps it is best for you to rest and recover." then a sense of imishness overcame Ordis before adding. "You aren't the first person to visit... at least you're human, or some approximation thereof."

"Ordis..." Ash burried his face in his hands.

Raven blinked a few times, before getting to her feet.... Noticably, she didn't take his hand. It could be her ignoring it... Or her empathic abilities. Likely her empathic abilities. She just nodded slowly and...

"I... am sorry. had I known it was your ship, I wouldn't have intended to... err..." She coughed into her hand. "I am sorry, Ordis. I believed you were attacking me and I was... moving to defend myself."

She blinked and then nodded. "Yes. I am an Azarathian, we are... very similiar to humans. I believe we stem from a place called Gotham City, though I've never been, or even seen this place myself." She then glanced to Ash. "You've had others on your ship? I hope they arrived less... explosively. May I look around?" she asked... before she began to walk and look. IT was such a fascinating place... "Ordis, can you tell me what this is?" she'd ask. She at least treated Ordis like a person, talking to it politely, respectfully...

Granted, to her... Ordis was a person. She could feel him.

A small laugh as Ash's mind briefly flicked to one of the few pleasant memories. It only lasted a moment as he nodde. "A bit of a local singer and performer that's been kind enough to help me better integrate into societies that aren't focused on constant war."

Ordis had waited patiantly and after making a small noise, "As to where you are? This ship that currently comprises Ordis's body and the operator's home resides in a hundred and twenty Kilometer orbit around the planet that this 'Hydrule' country is a part of. Within the ship you are currently within the primary habitable area that comprises the Operator's personal foundery, Weapons and Warframe modification stations, as well as the primary arsenel." As if to gesture Ordis caused the lights around the Arsenel segment to brighten, showcasing a sculpted being that looked almost like someone's fever dream interpretation of a greek statue turned ninja painted in browns trimmed in bronze armor and blue accents with a trio of green glowing 'eyes' at the center of a headband. Oddly Raven could feel emotion from it. Not fear, not calm. THere was a senseof... waiting, as if it desired to be used.

Raven nodded, listening intently. She walked, listened, and then... she came to the frame. She stopped and reached out towards it... as well. "It's... alive..." she whispered, her hand stopping just centimeters from it. "Is it like ordis, then?" she asked, glancing back to him. "I... must admit. I heard of machines, sometimes, in the books I read. But... never anything as incredible as this. Your world must have been incredibly advanced. I'm happy I got to see something like this before the end," she said, running her hands along the walls.

"It's so... smooth. And cool. Wonderful. Amazing..." she whispered. "I'm just..." she sighed. "This is amazing. IT's spectacular. In all the books in all of Azarath, there was nothing like this. It was a place of soul, magic, spirit. But technology... Of that we had little. And even the stuff I heard of, from the monks... couldn't begin to compare to this."

just stroke that Ordis ego.

"I don't know..." Ash's voice was small. Before that incident with the Stalker he would have said No, that it was an innert being who had no will or thought, a metal and infested flesh gholem dancing to Tenno strings. His own emotions were uncertain, "It... saved me though. That's when I found out. It hasn't given any sign or clue if it resents or wants or... anything though. Not since then."

Ordis gave a sheepish sounding noise, "You do Honor Ordis. However it is not my place to be grand." The cephelon was if anything embarassed. "I serve the operator, and am happy to do so."

In turn this caused Ash to flush with Embarassment. "We both served in the old War, but neither of us rightly remember much before i was pulled out of cryo sleep." This treads dangerously clos to a hornet's nest. 

After a pause Ordis chimed in, "Would either of you like tea? Ordis took the liberty of ordering quantities of several local varieties on appropriate worlds we visit Operator. I could also set up a Komi board to pass the time."

Ash's face brightened and looked to Raven. "Komi it's... board game, black and white stones you have to capture. Easy to pick up, hard to get good at. How long do you need to rest before leaving?"

Raven nodded and then glanced to him. "It wants to be used. It's waiting. For you. And whatever it is that you do with these... with it." She eyed it. She? He? Did it really matter? She nodded. "If you like, I could help you into it," she mumbled. "If there's something I know, it's emotions."

 She then glanced up. "You are impressive, Ordis. The reasons are unimportant. I do not know of your war and..." She then glanced to Ash. "I suspect it is none of my business unless you want to share it with me," she said.

She then gave a nod. "Tea sounds delightful. And... sure. Black and white stones? I wonder if it's similar to the games we'd play at home. My teacher, Azar, was very fond of Go. She said it was great to help you learn patience, and maintaining calm under pressure." She sighed. "And the fact I almost never beat her helped me deal with my... anger," she mumbled.

"I should be able to go when you wish me. I'll just need to prepare the ritual. I will return to where I came. But for now... tea and learning a new 'game' sounds delightful."

Oh poor Ash was going to learn not only had she played his game... She was terrifying at it. But hey, he probably had decades more experience at it than her, so how hard could it be?

The board was set on a floating table in Ash's quarters. Unlike the rest of his ship this space was filledwith little momentos ranging from tiny bobblehead statues, to pictures and paintings as well as oddly enough a stuffed primarina doll lounging on a shelf. It looked very much like a Go board. Ashfrowned at the board sized. "Standard Komi, or do you want to go for something more involved than just a capture three ruleset?"

He had a basic grasp of the game and a few variants, but he was too much of a hot-head, too impatiant. "Also do you take Green or Black tea? Ordis has variety enough." He gestured to a lain squat white porcline tea set a small drone was carrying off. "As the y waited on the tea he would take several stones of each color and place into a bag before offering the bag to Raven. "Reach in and grab a single stone." He figured this was the best way to fairly pick who had the opening move.

Raven bllinked and then... Sat down. The strange thing was she kind of... Hovered. In the air. Like, just floated there as she sat. "So it's like go, on a smaller board. I'm good with capture, or territory, whichever you prefer." She took one and... black. "That's probably best, this way you can show me if there's anything new. Is it played like..." As she went into detail about the rules of go. "My teacher loved this game. I'm... going to admit I'm surprised that it survived so long. Where I was from, the komi was actually the name of the point advantage black had, to make up for white going first," she said.

There was an odd smile as they played. "Green tea, please..." she mumbled. She...

Was oddly happy. It was nice. Memories of playing wiith Azar before her teacher met her end. Before she confronted Trigon. Before.... before she fled her home. When everything made safe and she felt safe... It was comforting.

I mean, sure, the whole... Breaking the laws of physics thing was probably annoying Ordis, but eh, what can you do? Also. She had NO MERCY on Ash when she played. So hopefully he was decently good. Or at least a good winner.

Amusingly Ash similarly seemed to have no need for a chair and in spiteo f preferring capture went with Territory. "THis was a game Teshin had taught me and most of the other Tenno. THese days he mostly runs the Conclave, but he was a soldier in his younger days. Goign by what i'd seen of other iterations of earth the Dax, or at least Teshin, follows a very honor bound code that he has tried imparting on us." 

Tea was provided when requested. Ordis was seemingly happy at the quiet game unfolding in Ash's room even if Ash himself was getting ruthlessly stomped. He took bold gambles, overextending and seemed to have no sense of conserving. This was a very risky style of play, also one that was easy to counter with any real level of expriance. 

That said even as the tide semed to turn against him Ash was genuinely happy. "So saeme as me i expect, roll around until a way home presents itself? Try making the world less worse than you find it?"

Raven nodded, listening as he talked, playing her pieces. She wasn't... like that at all. Every move was measured. Every piece, staked out. She didn't see one move ahead, she saw at least five or six. But it was who she was. Even her magic depended on her being careful and controlled.

"Tell me about this code of honor? I wonder how it would hold up to the Azgardian's codes," she asked softly, taking his third piece and smiling as it reset itself. It was so calming... And then she took her tea and sipped...The closed her eyes and lowered the tea. 

"No. I... it's not I can't return to my home because it's... not a place I can go. I cannot go to my home because it is not safe for me to return. At this point... I merely want to go someplace, find someplace, find a way I can do as little damage as possible. So nobody has to get hurt." and she misplayed, losing a piece. Just one, but... "I do not believe I am c apable of making the world, any world, 'better'. My existance in it shifts it towards 'worse'."

Ash's voice was calm as he spoke, taking no joy in the small victory he had nabbed from his opponent. "My word is my bond. Once given it must be carried through to its end. THis is why when I take a contract I make sure it is for a right cause, or if it isn't that i can turn it on its head to make it so... otherwise someone else will be sent in my place and where a people may have been evacuated under my watch, slaughter under another's." He sipped his tea. "I refuse to draw weapons in anger against someone that cannot defend themselves and will not tolrate those that delight in suffering."

He took another sip, and as he spoke his moves became less reckless, more focused even if he himslf did not recognize this. "You are neither heartless nor willfully malicious. Some would see me as little better than a rabid animal for being a sellsword. They may beright fo rjudging me so. However my skills are of battle so I learn to use them when and where they can do the most good. After all a single stone alone is nothing, but arranged just so," He placed a single white stone down in what had seemed five moves ago an untennable position now to be revealed as a linchpin to a wider stratagy, "And everything can be changed."

Raven nodded, listening to him. "It is a good creed to live by," she said firmly. "You are careful who you serve. What you do. So what that you make money on the side? You have to eat. Have to survive," she said firmly. She played, noting... he was improving. It was... fun. To test herself a bit. "The Azarathian's... did fight one thing. The order left earth, to escape the corruption of the world. And... to protect it against demons from outside it," she said softly. Not demons, though. Demon. One... Her father.

She sighed, and nodded. "Yes... That single stone can mean so much. It can be the gateway through which... everything is lost," she mumbled softly. And she was that stone. He couldn't see, she suspected. The horrible fate that loomed ever ahead for her. The future she hoped to somehow repent for. Him. Ordis. All would fall before the might of Trigon if she didn't find a way... some way... to keep him back. "Some pieces are more valuable than others. But you know... the pieces don't really have a choice in the role they play, do they?" she asked softly. Then... 

"What role did you play, in your old war?"

"I do not recall much." His voice was soft. His own meloncholy threatening to set in at the memories. "It was supposed to be colonization. THen our ship lost." His hand faltered as he spoke, seeming to forget the board. "The adults lost their minds in the void. The space between spaces. We were what was left. We were studied, poked.. prodded... Worse." He either was the worlds greatest lier or genuinely believed in the horror he wasalluding to. "Then in spite of it all we became their saviors from the machines from across the stars."

His laugh was humorless. "Devils they called us. Demons that lost our humanity. Yet we saved them... Not because it was our duty. Wedidn't want everything to burn, the Orokin were just in the same place everything else was. THen...." He gave a smile more fit for a horror movie than revelrie. "Then we killed the Emperors when they came out of hiding. We plunged everything into darkness on a chance for a sunrise without the gold covered parasites that had rested comfortably atop it all."

Another drink of his tea as his eyes regained focus and his emotions stilled. A deep breath. I'm... sorry for that Raven. I'm trying to be a good host here and I lay baggage at your feet."

Raven nodded, blinking. Listening in. She then smiled. It was... a comforting tale. To her. Of all people. She then slowly got to her feet, after the board reset. "I think it's time I leave, Ash. It was... nice to meet you..." she said, before she began to walk away. Into the main room.

"They call me a demon, too. And a devil. They say I should have never been born... perhaps they were right."

Then looked back to him. "I can feel the sadness. The hate. I can feel all of it, all of your suffering and pain." She put a hand over her chest. "I do... not think you deserve what happened to you. But... I cannot deny. It makes me feel..."

"Hope." And with those words, the darkness enveloped her, a raven of dark magic enveloping her... Only...

A few moments later, with some preparations... well, minutes... It disappeared. As if it had never been there at all. Not going through the void. Just... gone.