mogmelodies | October Military Report

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October Military Report

[The following letter is delivered on November 10th to Esdham, along with a note indicating that she'll be reporting for duty personally on November 13th (which she does) to give an oral presentation of her report and to answer any questions her superiors might have for her. So if you're military, you might either get a copy of this report or see her give it. The illustrations are included either way. And yes, she's serious about them and doesn't regard her art as a joke.]

To My Military Comrades and Superiors in Esdham,

I am pleased to report that the high fluctuation of spiritual activity over the past month has subsided at last, allowing me to leave Aqures Ixen and report to Esdham after an overdue absence. I apologize for the length of stay, but as a soul reaper, I would have been sorely remiss in my duties had I not seen the matter through to the end.

Included is a list of the various types of spirits we encountered in and around the city, their habits and weaknesses, and an illustration of each. I trust that you may find this information useful, should the dead happen to arise again in the future.

[OOC: The drawings are included ICly, but I didn't draw them personally.]

Shortly after these spirits arose, rumors began to spread of a ghost called a Reaper, skeletal in appearance and draped in black robes, carrying a scythe. Several Heroes of Light, including myself, spread out across the continent in order to investigate the strange slayings reported by witnesses. By piecing together the different accounts, we were able to discern that the Reaper had taken up residence in the military cemetery outside of Esdham and moved to confront it. I had hoped to speak with the Reaper, as it is unheard of for a reaper to attack the living with such reckless indiscretion, but it did not respond to my demands. It attacked us with powerful magic, condemning everyone involved to die within five minutes if it could not be defeated. It also used another strange attack that instantly slew Sparks Nevada, and Selen.

With our Ghostbuster jobs equipped, Yuna and I attempted to cross the streams in order to weaken the creature. Though the attack was successful, it was also catastrophically dangerous. Yuna was killed, and I was grievously injured. Outside of the proton pack, the only attacks which seemed capable of causing damage were those with the holy element. As a last ditch effort, the Reaper conjured up an enormous phantasmal cauldron, which struck all of us with debilitating ailments, save for Cloud Strife. He was able to defeat and trap the Reaper, after which it reclaimed its sanity. The black robes became red, and it cleansed us of our ailments.

[Below this illustration is list of names of all who participated in the Reaper's defeat.]

It should be noted that the Reaper claimed it was under the effect of Narayana's Curse. I have not been present on this world long enough to recognize the significance of this name, and I intend to research it further. Any materials or references in this regard would be deeply appreciated.

Mention of Narayana again was mentioned on the night of October 31st, or so I am told. My personal account of the events that took place that night are fairly limited, and as such I have asked others about what transpired in order to make a more complete record.

A few days prior, every Hero received a copy of the attached letter.

[She transcribed a copy of the mystery note.]

Taking it to mean that a confrontation was inevitable in the old observatory, a number of Heroes assembled there to meet the threat, and were not disappointed. An assortment of Moogles, each bearing different jobs, had conspired to take control of one of our own, Cloud Strife. Using him, they caused two catastrophic events. The first caused all Heroes in crystal stasis to become animated and violent, slaughtering anyone in the hospital and nearby vicinity. I am told that they were compelled to seek out Heroes that they had previously known. The second was to summon an enormous Moogle constructed of marshmallow which stood several stories high. Though its physical construction was somewhat ridiculous and perhaps an error on the part of the summoners responsible, it nonetheless caused great damage to the castle of Aqures Ixen and the rest of the city.

I was stationed at the Crystal of Fire to see to its safekeeping, and was joined by Ramza Beoulve and Robin to stand as a last line of defense. As we anticipated, the Crystal seemed to be the monstrous Moogle's target, just as it was the previous year according to the journals kept by Zelda and others. Several Heroes with the Ghostbuster job banded together and crossed the streams to defeat the Moogle. The results were far more successful than they had been against the Reaper, and though I am unaware of the identities of these particular heroes, none of them seem to have perished from the attempt.

The marshmallow moogle exploded, and the Moogles involved in its formation fell to the street and died shortly thereafter. Cloud was freed from their control, and though he felt ill after rousing to consciousness, he was thankfully unharmed. Upon the foiling of the nefarious plans, the restless spirits plaguing the city immediately dispersed.

I am aware that some details may be missing from the latter of these two accounts, as I was not present in some of the more prominent locations. As such I can only provide a brief summary at this time. Should you require further details, I will return to question those who bore witness to key events firsthand.

In the meantime, I return to Esdham prepared to serve and defend.

Humbly Submitted For Your Consideration,
Private Rukia Kuchiki

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[...What is that]

Rukia,

Good work on your report. I shouldn't think your artistic interpretation will leave our superiors wanting.

That aside, there is something you should be made aware of. Narayana is another name for the Calamity from the Skies, though as far as I can tell, this fact is not well-known among the people of Crystallis. Until the Reaper and the Moogles, I've only heard the name used once or twice.

-Jade

Jade,

Thank you! I used to deliver similar reports to my captain as a soul reaper. I believe he found the illustrations to be useful as well. I'm very pleased with the results.

[She shouldn't be. But his compliment goes a long way with her.]

This is the first time I've heard the full name of the Calamity as well, I wasn't aware that the Skies were involved. Do you know why it has such a title? Still, that explains why I've had such a difficult time uncovering any information about Narayana. I wonder how our adversaries heard about it.

Moreover, I would like to know how the Moogles got their job assignments. Such things are fairly uncommon for them, correct?

~Rukia

[...He doesn't have the heart to point out his compliment was sarcastic. Anyway, the thought of the higher ups receiving reports like this is worth being drawn as a bunny.]

Rukia,

From what I can tell, the Calamity only came to Crystallis because of the Ancients, and could therefore be considered an alien life form. That's probably why the legends say it came from the sky.

And you are correct, Moogles don't usually have Jobs. However, their plan last year made use of a loophole in the Job system, so it's entirely possible they had enough knowledge to gain Jobs for themselves. Perhaps they worked with whatever Mograma left behind.

-Jade

Jade,

What kind of loophole exists that would allow them to do this? Perhaps if there were resources required to exploit this loophole, we might be able to investigate a little further. I cannot believe that we have eradicated the threat for good with the defeat and death of those who attacked the city. Would that they had remained alive for questioning, this would be far simpler.

Perhaps Sephiroth will have better luck in questioning Mograma.

~Rukia

Rukia,

Last time the Moogles attempted to revive their King, the Heroes' original powers returned temporarily due to the loophole Mograma utilized. We have been doing research on the matter at Palitutu's old laboratory for a while now in order to create Custom Jobs for our own use.

I'd rather not go into the technicalities until we fully understand them but at the rate we're proceeding, it shouldn't be much longer until we have results.

-Jade

Jade,

This is excellent news. Perhaps if we know more about how the customized jobs function, we can also determine how they were able to equip their own jobs.

I'm curious to see if these customized jobs affect those of us who were not mortal before arriving in this world. Would that I could assist with the lab work, but such things are outside my realm of knowledge. Nonetheless, if you and yours need to run tests, I can offer my assistance in that regard. Let me know.

~Rukia

[Sephiroth's already logged his own account of events privately, he'd report only that which was relevant to his superiors; that is specifically of the presence of the Reaper since it was encountered in Esdham's own military cemetery. Events in Aqures Ixen, were not necessarily the concern of Esdham, after all.

He finds it incredibly dutiful (and perhaps a little above her rank) that Rukia takes it upon herself to present a report like this. A mostly-discreet clearing of his throat is barked out among his position with the others of Major-rank and above as the first drawing is presented; quickly disguised as a cough. Still, he can't help but to stare at that illustration of himself for much of the rest of Rukia's report. It's a good job his pale pallor doesn't blush easily.]

Well delivered, Private.

[He comments once she's finished and they've all saluted each other and begun to disperse. Sephiroth knows for a fact he wasn't wielding a sword in that battle but it is common enough knowledge.]

I wanted to grant my own personal gratitude as well, for the assistance in ghostbusting you afforded me just prior to the encounter with the Reaper.

Thank you, sir!

[She certainly looks pleased with herself. Any compliment from a superior is something to be treasured. But perhaps it's a little sad that she didn't realize he was in the military as well, until now. Worse, his rank is far above her own. Her behavior may have been too informal with their previous encounters.]

[Rukia looks up at him as they walk together, keeping her arms loose at her sides. He's thanking her?]

Ah... I hope I did not overstep my boundaries as a subordinate. I was unaware of your military position.

[Even so, a smile still sneaks its way onto her face. Ghostbusting was actually very satisfying for her, and she remembers the capture fondly.]

But I was pleased to work with you nonetheless.

[It's hardly Rukia's fault that since Sephiroth took his long absence of leave after the Battle of Aqures Ixen he'd spent a lot of effort in keeping a low profile. He'd shrug off any and all credit anyone might try to give him, and while he couldn't deny his involvement he could play that down as well. Arrogant as it sometimes might make him sound.

He has to keep his pace quite slow to keep in parallel to Rukia as they continue to walk down the hallway. A couple of others are coming the other way but thankfully weren't quite in earshot when she admits that she didn't know his position...he waits until they are a few paces behind them as well before answering.]

Not at all. For one, I wasn't on duty at the time. For another-

[He stops, unsure of his own thoughts that came into his mind just then. But then quickly recovers.]

Your prior experience certainly provided an insight that others might have lacked.

Er... I'm not so sure I deserve that kind of credit.

[Noting that he'd slowed his steps to make up for her shorter legs, she'd quickened her steps. She's used to walking next to tall people. Her best friend was over six feet, and she kept up with him on a fairly regular basis.]

...They did not reprimand me for leading the party against the reaper spirit. I had thought they might.

[In fact, that was a large part of why she'd had to practice her report, to give the facts straight instead of her own opinion and self-judgment.]

I do not think I am yet fit to lead.

I can't imagine they would, military affairs here at Esdham are mostly kept as far separated as possible from affairs as a Hero of Light.

[It's a little strange having her keep up with him so he doesn't have to slow his pace so much. Sephiroth's not used to not having to adjust his steps. The result is probably small bursts of faster walking, and then slower steps, hardly noticeable in the grand scheme of things though.]

It's a balance I had to learn very early on. It's easy to take too much on.

As for your leadership capabilities, it's hardly a quality that can be judged on one single occasion. Remember also, that your status as a Hero of Light may invite more expectation from you, going forwards.

I will strive to meet and excede these expectations, of course. Even so...

[It's something that weighs heavily on her shoulders just the same. No one who died was angry with her, and she'd made apologies, but it's difficult to let go of her mistakes.]

And yourself?

[She looks up at him, her brow furrowed.]

You were not displeased with the results of the mission?

[Perhaps he's been here too long, to become just a little desensitized to the fact that when Heroes of Light die there is little point becoming distressed over it. Normal soldiers and civilians though...he did have a problem with that which is why he'd been able to be persuaded to come and fight the Reaper with them.

As such, only a slight pull to the one side of his face denotes any reaction to Rukia's question.]

I was displeased with how unprepared we were going in. I can't accept that there wasn't anything that could have been done about that fact.

[A beat of silence as he thinks he might have cottoned on to why Rukia were frowning.]

It's uncomfortable to come to terms with the fact that Heroes of Light are expendable in battle. But it makes that fact no less truthful.

Yes...a lack of knowledge did serve to hinder us greatly.

[And that had been a tough call for her to make. Information was scarce, and the more time that passed, the more people that fell victim to the reaper, and those victims would not be allowed to return after a mere week. Nonetheless, she still wonders if it was the right call to make. She sighs.]

I understand now how important it is to adopt jobs and skills dedicated to healing and holy magic. Formation is important to keep in mind.

[She looks up at Sephiroth, turning his words carefully in her head.]

It is...a boon, I suppose. But I cannot help but wonder at the price. We know little about what is required to tie a soul back to its body in this way. But I confess that my unease is probably due to my responsibilities as a soul reaper. My laws do not necessarily apply in this world, and this may be more natural than I suppose it to be.

[These were all arguments that Jade and him had rather loudly discussed in the street in the days running up to their encounter with that particular wraith. Sephiroth had been reluctant, mostly (he knew now) due to the lack of information they had on it's abilities and properties but partly also down to a bitter aftertaste of his own guilty conscious which still stubbornly stuck in the back of his mind. His duty to the populace had prevailed though and is probably the reason he's come back to work at all.]

We've been told bits and pieces, theorized hundreds more, no doubt. But one fact runs through most of them; each time we die, we somehow become tied closer to this World than we do our own. But it's not only death and recovery to that point in time through Crystallization that had that effect. Over time, the color of our own crystals change; indicative of how 'far along' we might have become.

[He doesn't have his on him, or he might be tempted to show her. Sephiroth's has settled at a not-quite so dark blue after first turning from red after his first, and only death in Crystallis thus far. That had been over a year ago and it hadn't darkened further in over six months.]

I'm not sure, to what extent you might have heard the term...doppelganger? Up to this point?

I know that there may be certain faces we recognize in this world, including our own, though the memories and experiences are not the same. Robin informed me about this rather early on.

[And she's curious as to why that would be, but it didn't seem like something dangerous or important enough to deserve a lot of time and research.]

Beyond that, however, I know very little.

[She removes her own crystal; it looks to be about halfway between red and blue, glowing with a warm purple color.]

I had also heard that if one perishes a certain number of times, the crystal color becomes black. That seems to be an ill omen, but I cannot say I know enough about it.

That is very much a theory that, to my knowledge at least, has yet to be proven.

[And then there is the question of why blackened crystals that had been stolen from Aqures early on remained such a threat to current Heroes of Light.

Sephiroth only glances down and to the side at Rukia's crystal as she brings it out to show him. Just to take a passing mental note really, nothing more. A few paces later and he regresses to the topic of doppelgangers.]

There have been many cycles, of this seemingly infinite battle between the Calamity and the Heroes of Light. Each cycle we have failed to deliver thus far and so the cycle is reset, if there is any truth to it; by Garland-

[Sephiroth keeps his voice low, careful not to mention the name of the Emperor of the Heran Empire -their enemy at Esdham- too loudly so as to be overheard.]

-those Heroes returned to the Planet and their very substance of life, containing within it all their knowledge and experience became part of what makes up Crystallis' life-cycle. These Heroes have since been reborn as natural denizens of this world, as separate identities but for some reason retaining a passing physical resemblance.

[As uncomfortable as it might be to discuss, it is similar to how life-energy works back on Gaia and hence why he might understand it better than most.]

Reincarnation?

[She knows of the concept. And she's honestly considered it before as well, particularly when she looks at Ichigo's face and sees so much of Kaien reflected in his features. It was possible, she supposed, but the topic was so sensitive that she could find no reason to actually bring it up, not with him, and certainly not with herself.]

I suppose it's possible. There may be someone out there who bears my semblance as well?

[Which makes her a little uncomfortable. Was she drawn to this world before? How did she fail? Or is this her first time? There's so much she doesn't know, and it's frustrating. But what concerns her more is this Garland person. Her brow furrows as she looks up at Sephiroth.]

Then if Garland falls, and we fail once more, there will be no further opportunities to prevail.

It's completely possible. I was led to seek out my own doppelganger...there are almost certainly those who still live this time around who would resemble you in some way.

[A pause, an uncomfortable thought sticking-]

Or those who you might resemble from your own world

[The subject falls towards Garland, though, and soon pushes memories further back from conscious thoughts. Sephiroth's expression seems to grow yet more cold as Rukia suggests that if they were to do away with him...would that really be the last opportunity. It was ice-cold logical, almost to a fault.]

One might surmise such, yes.

Unfortunate that he's our enemy, then.

[But it does give her something to think about. Her brow furrows.]

It seems as if he wants us to prevail, to the point where he would reset things. But then, why the push for war? It's perplexing.

[She holds her chin.]

Would that we knew the mistakes made in the past, we would be less prone to repeating them. The puzzle only seems to grow more complicated.

[Eyebrows fall just a little further as he considers Rukia's answers. It doesn't sound like she's got it the right way around, to him.]

He can only be our enemy. He's the last hope that saves Crystallis from the oblivion that awaits it should the Calamity consume it all; but the price is our very existence..until that next cycle at least.

[A sting of a further thought tears Sephiroth's gaze away from Rukia and pointedly to the other side of the corridor while they continue to walk down it.]

I believe the Heran push for world domination is to go some way to prevent our re-emergence at all. Upset the balance and the cycle might change. Or it might not, we just don't know.

[Sephiroth blows a long sigh out of his nose and then reaches for the door at the end of the corridor; another couple of soldiers pass the opened door to him and he holds it for Rukia to go first.]

But all things considered, I'm not sure that I really could blame him.

Our existence... Yes. So it must be.

[She's not thrilled at dying, but if that's what is needed to protect her world and the worlds of others, then she can offer no complaints. That's only if things go horribly wrong, of course. For now, they have time to discover the information they'll need. Rukia pauses as he opens the door for her, blinks, but inclines her head in thanks just the same. That was thoughtful.]

No, nor can I. He must have tried many alternatives if he's resorting to something that desperate.

[She waits until they're walking side by side before continuing.]

Perhaps that's why there's been a push -- not for power and glory, but to unify. Certainly it's easier to make decisions when only one person is calling the shots.

[Rukia's shoulders hitch.]

But it's only speculation, of course. I've never met him, and can't begin to guess how he thinks.

[The concept of death has been skewed something chronic for Sephiroth. Once the whole idea of oblivion, of nothing thereafter scared him as much as the next human being. Until he'd died and come back once before within their time in this world, and then he'd learned of the multiple deaths he'd just keep coming back from should they all just return to their respective time points in their own lives after all of this was over. Suffice to say, Sephiroth's not too sure what his opinions are on the possibility of his existence being brought to an end like that...after all, wouldn't the cycle just start all again so ultimately it didn't matter?

What a morbid way of approaching things, though. It did nothing for his struggling sense of identity that he's managed to keep so closely wrapped to himself.]

Perhaps, but from what I've read of the man I doubt he'd be pacified by simple unification. I get the impression that might well be too small of a goal for him.

[Sephiroth's expression has raised it's eyebrows a little into a distasteful scowl. It's too similar to how his doppelganger had thought; saving this world wasn't enough unless he managed to put himself into a position of superiority for after the dust had settled.]

That said, there is still too much that we don't know about what's really going on here.

[His face relaxes a little, jaw loosening a touch as Sephiroth considers that -at least- within affairs of the military he felt a great deal more at home, in control of what he was putting his time and efforts into rather than trying to see a picture that's just too vast for one person to truly comprehend.]

Edited 2015-12-28 19:40 (UTC)

[Not morbid. Practical.]

Agreed.

[Rukia's hand lightly skims the wall as she descends the curving staircase, head tilted down as she measures her steps.]

Perhaps our upcoming trip to Mysidia may uncover something new. Doubtless, communication with the Heran Empire would yield no fruit.

[Still, what he said about Garland has stirred her curiosity.]

If there are files I could access regarding Garland, I should like to read them.

[He follows her steps down the staircase, his own automatic as he's known these stairs a fair few times already and so doesn't need to keep to the railings at all.]

It might. I've yet to put my request forward to be assigned to go. As you can imagine, there are others' rotas to be considered to fit around it should I be permitted to attend it. I'm sure it will be in Esdham's interest as much as...our own.

[Something doesn't feel right, in the way that a wedge between Hero-business and military responsibility seems to be driving those two parts of his life apart currently. It was fine before, it's concerning to trying and think on what has changed.]

You're welcome to study the archives here, as much as any other member of the forces here is. Only, bear in mind the perspective from which they are written.

I shall do so. It seems important to know about that sort of thing, considering they're the ones we would most likely clash with on our borders.

[This seems like a good point to part ways, then, as she's sure he has other duties he needs to tend to himself.]

Well, then. My thanks again for receiving my report. Good luck to you.

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October Military Report

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[Esdham: November 13th]

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