Destination.

[azumods]

SPEAR PILLAR. It's taken you a while to get here. The path has been a dangerous one, treacherous at times, and that's not counting the excursions into both the Distortion World and the all-consuming darkness of dreams and nightmares; the interior of Mount Coronet has been both a place of desperation and hope - its seemingly neverending paths have been long but they've brought friends back to you, and the journey has brought about changes in both you and your Pokémon. The exit to the summit is bright, light from the sun reflecting off of some sort of bright structure outside, and it may take your eyes a little while to adjust to your new surroundings; once they have, one fact is rather undeniable. Spear Pillar is breathtaking. It bears with it the same sort of demand for reverence as the Legendaries do, that sort of feeling that makes you aware of just how small you really are; the summit of Mount Coronet is level and bears the mark of centuries, covered with ruins and remainders of times long past, a raised area toward the northen edge serving as what looks almost like an altar, a place for summonings or offerings, various glyphs and markings carved into the stone floor. At the edges is a full view of what looks like most of the region from up here - the forests and snow and the lakes, with a few dottings of civilization here and there. But even despite that feeling that this place is very old and thrumming with an energy that dates back to the creation of the world itself, there's something else here - something soft and bright, filling you with a sense of rejuvenation the longer you're here and the more you breathe in. The air is clean here, and it seems to cleanse you from the inside out, restoring energy to your systems and bringing with it renewed hope and determination. It feels like nothing can touch you here. Take your time to rest up for the day, to get acquainted with the place, or perhaps simply to try to figure out what you're supposed to do now that you're up here; regardless of what happens, it seems that this place will be good for you in one way or another. [OOC: Welcome to the end of Week 25; hopefully you're enjoying your weekend! While this is not a full encounter, there will be NPC interaction on this post! Otherwise, please feel free to thread here amongst yourselves if you wish, and we'll see you tomorrow at noon with a new log for your further adventures!]

Comments

[discutio]

[It was, he decided, notably better than the Altar of the Tidemother. Calmer, quieter. Ignis took a slow breath and adjusted his glasses, Hemera circling curiously at his feet.]

[...There hadn't been the encounter he'd hoped for in Mount Coronet. But maybe...just maybe that was alright for now.]

[niceoppai]

Whoa... Are you feeling this? The place is covered in ruins! That's probably got to do with why it all seems so big.

[niceoppai]

Whoa.

[Chelsea steps forward carefully. Lemonade follows, one arm holding her hat down so it won't blow off.]

We made it, guys! We're through!

[anythingforyou]

My, and what a breathtaking view we have for all of our troubles...

[Like, holy shit, this seems like a perfect place to take flight from. It's gorgeous.]

[eudaimonikos]

[If there's one thing Michael hates, it sure is being made to feel small! But he's...he's gonna try not to be a petty bastard about it this time.]

So what do we do now? Some kinda ritual, just yell really loud...?

[discutio]

I don't suppose anyone has something that might pass for an offering, do we?

[radiantflame]

[It truly is beautiful, and nearly blinding after spending so long lost in the darkness. Morag adjusts her cap as she takes in the sight, flanked by her team.

...And it appears that Jurgen is so moved by their destination, that he started to evolve again. He disappears into a bright white light, and well, we all know the drill by now.]

It is quite an impressive sight, is it not?

[niceoppai]

Whoa! Looks like your buddy agrees.

[hyruglyphics]

How in the world did they gather the materials or artisans to construct this all the way up here?

[ That's Zelda's immediate question as they get over the hill here and at the ruins themselves. With Miphanus floating behind her and with her Sheikah Slate in hand to take some photos, she's sort of cautiously going further into it.

... it's possible - likely - really that Cyrus is around the corner but might as well ooh and aaah. ]

[eudaimonikos]

Pokemon? Maybe once you get one of the teleporting ones up here, it can just go back and forth like that.

[He snaps his fingers.]

[azumods]

[It's been a while since she was here last.

She doesn't announce her presence right away, it takes her a little while to address the group; she's arrived some time after they all have, anyway. Giratina did help shave quite some time off of travelling within Mount Coronet itself, but she's had her own business to tend to, as well as some things to do on behalf of the rest of you.

She did say she'd try to find you a way into the Hall of Origin, after all.

Just the same, Cynthia hangs back for a little while; her relationship with Spear Pillar is complicated, and she remains near the entrance to just watch for a little while. Watching you, and the area, and there don't seem to be any disturbances and that's definitely for the best.

Eventually she'll speak up, however, enough to be heard as she enters the area properly.]

It's good to see that all of you made it.

[She smiles a bit; the expression isn't necessarily easy, but it is genuine.]

You're all standing in the place where the world was created. Not many people get to see this in their lifetimes.

[hyruglyphics]

Oh... oh! was this - temple? These pillars built after that, or did they get created by that initial burst?

[ Zelda that is so beside the point ]

[anythingforyou]

[Camilla turns to Cynthia when she speaks up, a hand resting in front of her mouth but her eyes at least somewhat pleased.]

It's rather breathtaking, truly. It's something that one would have to try very hard not to be in complete awe of.

[divinedescendant]

It is wonderful as always to see you safe, Cynthia.

[Duma is still just kind of...flying circles above them, Doing The Most; she does not have it in her to get him to stop. It's fine. He's having a good time.]

And what a marvelous sight it all is... Thank you for coming up to meet us.

[greydients]

...it's beautiful.

[And it is, really.

Rey has taken to having her Garchomp following her around while they traverse Mt Coronet (what with all the caves), so today is no different; as it stands, she's almost....unsure of approaching Cynthia, but she does so regardless.]

Are coming with us?

[There's nothing pointed about the question, and Rey looks geuninely curious.]

[semistableman]

It's beautiful.

[He has no reason to pretend otherwise, not when it's easily the most incredible place he's ever been.]

[divinedescendant]

[The very first thing Duma does once he really takes in that big open sky above them is flare out his wings and spiral into the sky, with Heim just behind him. He distracts Emmeryn from staring out at the view from the center of the area when he lands a few moments later and nudges her with his head, making her stumble aside a little.]

Yes, yes, I see! I know, I am very impressed, you are learning so quickly. [Nudge, nudge, nudge; those rumbling noises he used to make are stranger now that his mouth isn't stuck under his shell.] Oh—no. No, no, that is quite all right. [Nudge, nudge, nudge!!!] No, I am not coming with you. Duma. Duma, no. Absolutely not. I love you very much. Go play with Heim.

[She mumbles something along the lines of children, I am dealing with children, when Duma launches himself upwards again. Latona and Audhulma flank her on each side, and Forseti hovers ominously behind them. Despite the steady, invincible calm here, she cannot help but acknowledge that she can't risk that feeling by wandering too close to the edge.]

[semistableman]

[Bucky can't help the laugh as he approaches Emmeryn. His own gaggle of Pokemon can be seen viewing things together as a group, hopefully getting along, but who can tell with Herietta pecking everyone.]

Can't blame them for being enthused, I guess.

[bloodspent]

You doing all right there, Emmeryn?

[It's easy, but you look a little. harried.]

[discutio]

[Ignis didn't exchange too many words with Cynthia; they didn't see eye to eye on much, obvious pun aside. But he didn't turn away from the group or make himself so scarce that he couldn't be found. Though he kept to the side, he was as out in the open as ever when they set up camp, both Hemera and the still-nameless silver Eevee sitting beside him.]

[...This was it, wasn't it? It wasn't right to keep allowing himself to slip back into dwelling on the past, and yet here he was again. Once more, the final stop before a long journey's final leg. And this time there was no returning king walking into Hammerhead to see his Glaives awaiting him...just Ignis and the people he'd come to know here, both those who returned and those that never left.]

['Not exactly a fairytale beginning, eh, Prince Noctis?']

[It felt as though this had been much longer than the handful of months that had passed since awakening in Veilstone. Not 'ten years' long, but...enough to leave him deeply exhausted, facing down another Insomnia as the gauntlet before the end of everything. Too long since the'd set out from home, too long since the dawn and an endless expanse of emptiness set before him without his single purpose in life. Believing that pain made happiness worthwhile was easy, but experiencing it was much, much harder.]

[Eevee pawed lightly at the bracelet Ignis wore, the tactician idly raising a hand to pet the attention-seeking Pokemon. The little cat-rabbit trilled almost cheerfully before wandering off to nose around Ignis' backpack nearby.]

[He'd never brought himself to name the poor thing--they'd caught a matching pair, just before Noctis' disappearance. Even thinking about it ached deep in his chest, and maybe it was a little too late now. Maybe it was too late for a lot of things, just as it had been back then. He'd offered with ever intent of following Noctis wherever his destiny chose, and yet...]

[A clatter of something being dug out of a pocket and falling to the ground half pulled Ignis out of thoughts a touch darker than he wanted to admit to, followed by a telltale flash of light and energy. By the time he was fully caught up to the situation, a pale green Jolteon was nuzzling right up against him, the faint buzz of static electricity in the air around it.]

[...That was right, wasn't it? It wasn't over. Not for them, possibly not even for Ignis specifically. Prompto and Gladio were waiting for him. Camilla might still have needed somewhere to call safety. Bucky needed someone to keep him in check as much as Ignis did himself. And really--what would everyone else do if he fell apart now? Starve to death, at best.]

['In the end, I might not have you at my side, but I'll always have you in my heart.']

...I understand. [Voice a quiet undertone, he put a light hand on the Jolteon's head--earning a sound somewhere between a purr and the rumble of a generator kicking on.] I won't give up either...Aurora.

[semistableman]

[Pokemon evolutions will never get old for him. Especially because training his Pokemon wasn't something that had been on his mind, and now... well. It's pretty, that's for sure. He approaches Ignis carefully, because after everything they've been through, it's so much.

They're so close to the end now, he can feel it. Confronting Cyrus... they'll either succeed in talking him down, or they'll die trying.]

Hang in there, Ignis.

[eudaimonikos]

[Once the conversation with Cynthia is over and camp is set up, Michael wanders back over to the edge of the cliff face overlooking Sinnoh. The aura of age and majesty here is nothing impressive to him - or, at least, nothing he would ever admit to finding impressive. He's an old bastard. Reverence is rare for him, and these days it's hardly ever for anything like him at all. Nothing more, nothing less, than human.

But he can appreciate a good view. He draws his legs up, leaning sideways against his Milotic's coils to look out over the region. It's hard to tell from so high, but all the people they've met are down there. Humans are already so small to begin with. This just doesn't even seem fair.]

Quaver, play Green Light.

[Quaver, also perched on Ky's back, does. Without looking away from the vista, Michael starts talking to anyone nearby after a moment:]

My human friends put this song on at a party we had. It was our last night in my neighborhood...we thought we were all going to die the next day. Well, not them, they were already dead. But they'd have been tortured by demons forever, so still not great.

That was the night they gave me my honorary human stuff.

[Like the stress ball he's lightly kneading in one hand.]

You all really shine on the precipice of disaster. I've never really understood that.

[swiftasacoursingkawa]

[Sena's not entirely sure Michael was talking to him, but the longer he goes on the more Sena realizes he's just...saying things to anyone who's listening. So he gives him the decency of paying attention.]

Pre...pi-cee...huh?

[he's not good at big words, michael, sorry. you lost him.]

[discutio]

...it's necessity.

[Ignis sat nearby, idly petting a shiny Jolteon that insistently nuzzled against his hand.]

Sink or swim, essentially. Either we rise to the challenge or shatter beneath the pressure of it. Giving up sounds the easier option, but taking it often seems more difficult than straightening up and dealing with the disaster head-on.

[bloodspent]

[Jake... He actually laughs a little bit at that, though there's nothing derisive in it; it's light, moreso than he usually is. He's leaning up against one of the pillars nearby; he seems pretty easy tonight, surprisingly.]

We want to go out connected to people, Michael. It's part of how we keep ourselves alive.

[That, too, is easy. Simple.]

Worst thing in life is dying alone. If you can do it knowing that you've got other people, or maybe knowing that you've done everything you can for somebody else... Even if we don't have anything else, we've got that.

So we make the best of it, and if we die, then we die with something no one can take from us. If we don't, we've still got it.