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[More information? One new arrival, at least, has all the information she needs. The influx of energy from this one is massive, completely unsubtle, almost as if purposefully designed to attract the attention of anyone with any sense whatsoever of the divine. It doesn’t fade away nor does it seem to be easily localized. This surely wasn’t ‘Magatama Energy’…

Whatever ambiguity this might present is cleared up almost immediately. Despite that no one may be in the vicinity, the voice of a young girl sounds clearly throughout the city of Hinoto-Ri to nearly every inhabitant, as intelligibly as if the speaker were standing right next to those she addressed. …Perhaps too intelligibly. The first sound they hear is an vehement, despairing cry.]

NO!

This can’t be…! The forests… The oceans… The deserts and mountains, the tundra and the plains! W-Where are they?! Who did this?! What did you do to them?!

[For a few moments, the speaker seems too overwhelmed with ire to speak. The sound of her breathing eventually slows...]

Humans. Look at this world. Look at it!

I knew this would happen. In every world across every dimension, it doesn’t matter! You -- you’re all the same! See for yourself! This is what will happen if you tear through all of nature without respect for anything but your own wealth and gain! Are you happy?! My children… 100 million species. One hundred million. There's almost nothing left...

I am Viridi, Goddess of Nature, ruler of the Earth and all living things! And I will not allow this land to be desecrated any further.

They say there are monsters ravaging what remains. If you stand against them, then... heed the command of a goddess and CRUSH them!

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[Recommended BGM: Ar tonelico OST Disk 1 Track 20: Leave It Be.]

[Today has not been Cloche's day. From the moment she woke up--late, of course, because she hadn't set the alarm on her watch properly--and saw that the sky was clouded and overcast, she had the sinking feeling that things were not going to go her way. And they haven't. She burned the last of her bread trying to make toast. She missed the first tram to the Taurus Ward--and, when she got there, it ended up being the red light district. (The impropriety of it all!!) Although she was able to catch a tram out of there quickly enough... she got off the wrong stop in the Pisces ward and had to walk, getting lost along the way, back to the apartment complex. And, finally, when she had tried to cheer herself up with a piece of decadent chocolate cheesecake on her way upstairs, the cafe was sold out for the day by the time she had managed to get there!]

[All in all, it's been an awful day. It could even be called a terrible, awful, no good, very bad day. And when a girl can't soothe her temper with some chocolate cheesecake, the second best option is to take a nice, hot bath.]

[Considering how the rest of her day turned out, Cloche has taken extra care with her bath to make sure it would be perfect. The water is hot, but not scalding. The water is a relaxing shade of amber and covered with big, fluffy bubbles, thanks to the packet of Herbal Jewel that she's tipped into the water. The entire bathroom is filled with a warm, soothing smell, also thanks to the aforementioned bath powder. A Walking Gergo is ponderously patrolling the edge of the tub, which brings a smile to her face. Her towel is hanging within easy reach for whenever she's done relaxing in the bath--which, if Cloche has her way, won't be for a long time.]

[Needless to say, Cloche doesn't get her way.]

[When Viridi began her tirade, Cloche had just finished settling in the tub. The sudden mental shouting in her ear makes her shriek and jolt up in shock, sending water and bubbles everywhere. The Walking Gergo, once the picture of uglycute and serenity, is knocked carelessly on the floor, legs flailing helplessly in the air.]

[Cloche's bath--her absolutely perfect bath--has been......... completely ruined.]

[For a moment, Cloche is silent. Underneath the water, her fists shake. Her jaw clenches and the muscles in the right corner of her mouth twitch. She takes in a slow, deep breath--and then responds in kind, decibel for decibel.]

Excuse me?!

How dare you interrupt my bath with your--with your maniacal, tyrannical rantings! Have you no sense of privacy?! Of decency?! I don't care what kind of Goddess you are, you have no business interrupting my bath!

Not only that, but what right have you to invade the minds of people who have nothing to do with this world's deplorable state of affairs?! Even if you are a Goddess of Nature, it is beyond the scope of your powers to blindly accuse those who find this world to be as horrifying as you do for its destruction! Just how self-centered can you be?!

I, Lady Cloche Leythal Pastalia, the Holy Maiden of Aqua of Metafalss' Neo Grand Bell, deny your insane demands! If you continue to terrorize the public, I won't hesitate to declare war and bring you down!

...

It's the middle of the afternoon. The only people I know who take baths at this hour are the gods who've spent so much time in hot springs that they've completely fried their brains.

Huh, never mind, looks like the pattern's holding true, anyway.

[She's no god--just a very temperamental young woman with a flair for ~~temper tantrums~~ the dramatic.]

Bathing is a sacred part of my culture. [It's a game mechanic and everything! It's completely legit to have a bath in the afternoon!] Don't you dare dismiss me just because you're an ignorant buffoon.

Sacred shmacred. If you stay in there so long, your skin will shrivel up and you'll turn into an old prune.

Or I guess, even more of an old prune.

It's sacred! And I know better than to stay in the bath too long--I am not a wrinkly old prune!

Do you know, I heard that soaking too long in hot water was identified as a primary cause of fever of the brain. I think this might go a long way towards explaining the evolution of humankind and their propensity for rampant destruction.

You really are an idiot if you believe every stupid thing that you hear.

Edited 2012-11-11 06:43 (UTC)

What was that? It's hard to hear you over the sound of your skin shriveling up.

My skin is not shriveling up! I only just entered the bath when you started invading my mind!

Hm, denial is the first step to recovery, after all. I wouldn't spend too much time in front of a mirror if I were you.

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY SKIN!

Why are we even discussing this?! You've completely disregarded everything else that I said! As a Goddess, you're a complete disgrace!

Probably because everything you said is pointless and wrong and not worth discussing. The soapsuds must have been in your ears when I was talking.

Pointless?! Wrong?! [Cloche makes a wordless sound of rage.] How dare you! I said nothing but the truth--you just don't want to admit it because it points out several of the many flaws in your stupid argument.

Now when did I ever say what happened to the world was your fault? What I said was that you should learn from it so you don't keep messing up your own worlds any further unless you want it to look like this.

You certainly implied it! You don't know how or why this world was destroyed--and yet, you are eager to blame the humans! Not only that, but you immediately jump to the conclusion that, since this world has met its end, all of our worlds will inevitably share its cruel fate!

[And to Cloche, more than being interrupted in her bath, that fatalistic way of thinking makes her furious. ... and she was pretty angry about being interrupted in the bath. That's a completely different temper tantrum.]

No! I won't accept it! I won't allow you to belittle the struggles and triumphs of my people--or of those from other worlds! I don't care what you've learned from humans, because you know nothing of the circumstances of those from other worlds.

I'll eat my staff if the humans had nothing to do with it. A human is a human is a human - weak, selfish, and greedy. Even the best among you doesn't have what it takes to change the world for the better.

But if you're so eager to prove me wrong... then tell me. What's your world like? Have you flourished? Has the rest of the world flourished? Plants and animals and humanity living in harmony -- Humans as caretakers of the bounties of the planet. That's the path you were intended to walk.

I'm not holding my breath.

You're wrong! [Cloche doesn't shout, but her voice rings with passion.] I won't deny the weakness that dwells in the depths of humans' hearts--that weakness is part of what makes them human. But that is not all that they are! Humans are kind in the face of cruelty. Humans survive in the face of adversity. Humans can and have worked together to build a better world together! I know that humans are capable of infinitely more goodness then they are of evil!

[Cloche takes a deep breath. In part, it's to soothe her ruffled temper. It's also because she's a little short of breath from saying so much so strongly and quickly.]

The name of my world is Metafalss... but, for centuries, it has been known as the "Cursed Lands." [It's painful to admit that--to acknowledge that the land she grew up on, that she loves so fiercely, was a terrible place for people to live.] Below us lies the roiling Sea of Death. Above us is the poisonous Blastline. It is a difficult place to survive, with little arable land. Everyone, even children, work hard to help feed their families. Every inch of arable land that exists on Metafalss was born from the labors of the people who have made that inhospitable place their home.

[Despite her best efforts, Cloche's voice begins to tremble.]

These people, who have worked hard all their lives, have had to watch as their land sank and fell, foot by foot, into the Sea of Death. In the last two years alone, we have lost over half of our land. [Even though it's over and done with--even though some of that land had to be purged, so that the rest could last long enough for them to ascend the Tower--Cloche's heart clenches just thinking about it.] I can't describe how painful it was to witness our land disappear. It would have been so easy for everyone to give up. To accept that everything that they loved and cherished would, one day, fall and be lost forever. That there would come a day when Metafalss would no longer exist.

But they did not. That is because, since ancient times, my people have believed in the dream of Metafalica: the Song that gives birth to new, green land. A land where everyone can live, which is built upon the sacrifice of no one. [Just as quickly as it came, the weakness in Cloche's voice disappears as she hits her stride again.] That is why, when you say that none of us have what it takes to change the world for the better, I know that you're wrong. A single person can't change the world. It's impossible. But, let me tell you something, Viridi.

Together with the person that I hold most dear, I have sung Metafalica. When I sang, I opened myself and laid my heart and mind bare to the people. I allowed them into the deepest parts of my soul, to see every ugly thing about myself. And when I sang, the thoughts and feelings from everyone who lived on Metafalss flowed through me to my precious person. On that day we stood together, hand in hand, and crafted Metafalica--a land born from the pure, honest feelings of the people.

Edited 2012-11-16 16:05 (UTC)

Hm. Nice story. For melodrama, you score a ten out of ten.

[Viridi doesn't sound especially impressed.]

I have just one question for you. Minor detail you seem to have conveniently left out. The 'Sea of Death' and the 'Blastline' - Tell me, Lady Cloche Leythal Pastalia. How did they come into being in the first place?

As I'm sure we both know... 'blastline' is the point at which you measure an explosion. Like nuclear bombs.

I am passionate, not melodramatic! [If melodrama were included in the Olympics, Cloche would take the gold every time. ~~And then she would throw it on the ground, because she's an adult.~~]

That is a detail that I did not include because I cannot. The Sea of Death and the Blastline have existed beyond the history that I have access to. I don't know what kind of disaster caused our world to be this way. What I do know is that no one wants to just leave it be!

((Sorry for the wait! I went on mini-hiatus for a bit. Feel free to ignore if you'd rather drop the thread!))

Don't even pretend you don't think they were the work of humans. Planets don't create 'seas of death' because they wake up one day and feel contrary. Your world already went past the point of no return; whatever force was responsible for maintaining the life of your planet is dead or halfway there.

Humans are humans. Even if you revive the world, in a thousand years, your descendents will have forgotten your efforts, and the world will be plunged into disaster again.

You're too short-sighted to make it last.

I do not know who or what what is responsible for the Blastline and the Sea of Death. Human, Reyvateil, Teru--I don't care who it was, because pointing the finger doesn't change anything about the state my world is in!

I refuse to give up on this planet. I refuse to give up on the people. If, one thousand years ago, my ancestors had lost faith in the people of today Metafalica itself would never have been achieved! I have faith that, one thousand years from now, Metafalica will be just as beautiful as it is today!

You have to care!

Forgetting the mistakes of the past just means you'll repeat them again! If you don't know how it happened, you need to find out so it never happens again! There's no point restoring the world at all if you poison it all again five hundred years down the line! You've got devotion and melodrama, but you've still got that shortsightedness in heaps!

You can't just stick your fingers in your ears and pretend that everything will be fine if you wish hard enough! That's not how it works! Human pray for the protection of the gods in war without understanding that it's their own stupid pointless arguments that started the war in the first place! They pray for blessings for their dying crops without realizing that they've completely rendered the earth infertile through their own actions!

This is why you're incorrigible! You ignore everything that doesn't agree with your view of the world!

Edited 2012-11-22 16:07 (UTC)

In Metafalss' present state, we don't have the resources to launch an investigation into the Blastline and the Sea of Death. I have a duty, first and foremost, to my people. It's my responsibility to ensure that everyone makes a safe transition from the Rim to Metafalica. Not only that, but I have a responsibility to the land itself--to ensure that the settlements that we build there are safe and sustainable!

In time, we might come to understand what has happened to our planet. For the first time in centuries, Metafalss has been able to connect with the residents of the First Tower, Ar Tonelico. We have been able to send a representative to the Third Tower, Harvestasha--which, two years ago, we didn't even know existed!

I will not give up on the people of this world. I fervently believe that, by cooperating with the other Towers, we will be able to make a positive difference in this world. Call me melodramatic if you like, but I have given up everything for my beliefs. I won't stand for you trampling over them because "all humans are incorrigible"!

[She isn't even human but, by, it's kind of a moot point...]

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choo choo HERE COMES THE LATE TAG TRAIN...