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Post by Skylos on Oct 29, 2022 11:18:27 GMT -5
"Certainly. I wouldn't assume they would be opulent anyway. Kind of a waste of resources when it's mostly a place to eat and sleep." Jake noted. But all the same, he was glad that there was at least one private place. Last thing he needed was to be bothered at every hallway corner by someone without end.
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Post by Aqua on Oct 29, 2022 13:03:10 GMT -5
Aqueena nodded. "Right, and they were never fully invented for extended stays, since at the time most Sages had personal abodes to return to. Very few elected to intentionally live long term in these chambers, but can if needed. Granted more of us lately have had to resort to doing so."
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Post by Skylos on Oct 29, 2022 13:09:28 GMT -5
Jake understood that need, of course. Granted, Jake didn't actually have a house or apartment himself, having elected to live at the base. So it could be interesting to bounce between the two. "It's good to have a place to stay regardless. I'm glad it's here."
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Post by Aqua on Oct 29, 2022 13:28:29 GMT -5
"Its always important, even at work, to have your own private space to clear your head. I won't lie to you, this job can be stressful, even if it's rewarding work." Aqueena explained.
"You never seemed that stressed though." Aqua commented.
"Well if I showed how stressed I could be, then I'd really look my age." Aqueena responded.
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Post by Skylos on Oct 29, 2022 13:35:31 GMT -5
Jake chuckled. "Putting on a brave face is a novice level ability. I haven't been active as long as Aqueena, but even I know that wearing your heart on your sleeve is not going to help you out very much. What's important is de-stressing afterwards... Having a lot of pent up negativity will hurt you in no time." He shook his head. "So we'll continue to avoid having snow white hair by putting on an extra wide smile every now and then, even when we don't want to."
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Post by Aqua on Oct 29, 2022 14:21:31 GMT -5
"Very well said Jake. That sums that up rather well. Having that type of mindset will help in managing the headache of it all, should it prove to be. When things run as intended, it shouldn't prove to difficult." Aqueena commented.
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Post by Skylos on Oct 30, 2022 7:52:15 GMT -5
Jake nodded his head. "You've got it." He was used to this line of thinking. "Though I have to admit that it can be hard to put into practice at times. There are many different ways something can go wrong, and each way can make you feel differently." Aqua being attacked by Giga came to mind. "On the flip side, not feeling at all is very dangerous."
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Post by Aqua on Oct 30, 2022 11:44:48 GMT -5
Aqueena nodded. "At the end of the day, we are all only human. We aren't perfect, and we'll make mistakes sometimes. But even as a Sage, whats important is just doing your best when and where you can." She paused for a second. "And its important to be able to feel. Following through with tasks my be easier when you just turn off the emotions, but lacking them...just isn't good. You can't be a Sage by simply turning yourself off and doing the job. It needs you to care about both the job, as well as the people you'll be helping. 'If I have all these good works, but don't have love, I'm nothing.' The previous Water Sage told me something to that effect once from a place he heard it, and it applies well. Its why if you don't have the right mindset when being a Sage, even if you are more than qualified, you will struggle."
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Post by Skylos on Oct 30, 2022 11:58:30 GMT -5
"Well I have plenty of love to go around. Rawr."
It appeared that Aqueena and Jake were consistently on the same page; it would be very easy to work with her, should the need arise. "Agree with you one hundred percent." He then said to Aqueena. He looked around for a moment. Ignus had certainly been stuck living in here for a very long time. In some ways he had thought it would have looked more like him. But maybe that was so far away from his mindset. That, and he would have to have had help to even decorate the space. He frowned at the thought. He turned to Charcoal. "Let's...uh. Move on." He didn't really want to stay here for a long while.
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Post by Aqua on Oct 30, 2022 12:46:49 GMT -5
What Jake wouldn't of known is Charcoal had been cleaning up the personal artifacts that belonged to Ignus, assuming someday someone else would be using this space. She just didn't have a place to properly keep a dead man's things, and no one to leave them to. When Jake suggested moving on, Charcoal nodded. "Theres nothing higher up from here, so we'll need to go back to the ground floor and go down from there. I'll meet you back down there." And with that, she started flying down.
Aqua sighed, as they started back down the stairs, unable to keep up with the fairy. "I feel such a sad feeling from the way she talks. But I can't imagine it's easy managing feeling left behind like she is."
Aqueena sighed. "I may have acted too harshly to her. Ignus may have done some things the wrong way, but with everything going on, I may have been a bit rash about things. Not that Ignus ever lead on otherwise. But...I can relate to losing people you care about, and not knowing how to deal with it..."
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Post by Skylos on Nov 1, 2022 15:21:43 GMT -5
Jake nodded his head. "Survivor's guilt, I suppose. I'm sure she would have been there with him to the very end if she could have been." Jake moved down the staircase. The trick about going down was to not go too fast. Rolling down the stairs would be pretty painful, after all.
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Post by Aqua on Nov 2, 2022 5:17:53 GMT -5
"I think that's what I worry about most..." Aqua mumbled to herself as they headed down.
Jake was right about the stairs though, since a fall would have you tumbling for quite the distance, being trapped in a spiral staircase and all. Once they made their way to the ground floor, Charcoal was waiting. "Humans can be so slow. Come on." She said, leading them down to the next flight of stairs to the first basement floor. Unlike going up, going down provided bigger floors. Though the only thing in the room was more statues and hallways. "So this was used as the prison floor. Down the hallways are cells, most of which were refashioned into living spaces, to the best of our ability. When the war was still active, the survivors mostly lived here, only choosing to build after they had been here a while, and were able to get more supplies to build proper places to live. Plus, once we got to a point, we couldn't all fit in the cell blocks."
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Post by Skylos on Nov 4, 2022 19:53:37 GMT -5
"Necessity is the mother of invention, after all." Jake supposed as Charcoal explained the living arrangements. "I guess at this point they're not really useful for anything. No people to house and no one that could be locked up." The temple felt extra desolate after he said that. It really wasn't used now... there wasn't even a single other inhabitant here.
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Post by Aqua on Nov 5, 2022 20:54:45 GMT -5
"With the way their Terrae developed without Sages, they developed their own ways for dealing with crimanals and such. The Elemental may want a new Sage, but...I really wonder if they are even needed now. For over four hundred years, this building has been nothing but a relic of the past. They got by without us, even if they depended on us for ages before. What does this place provide now?" Charcoal said.
"Even if we live the rest of our lives entirely unneeded, it's our job to be there for them if or when they need us. To be perpared. There are 5 Terra who's path forward are unknown. Anything could happen. It's not like we have no use if we aren't running a prison, or homes." Aqueena said.
"I suppose..." Charcoal responded.
"I'm sure the type of people held here weren't really normal if the Sage's were wardens." Aqua commented.
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Post by Skylos on Nov 6, 2022 8:05:09 GMT -5
"It might have done some good had the Sages been able to be apart of the world's development, since it's only natural for things to change over time. Power vanished from sight, and everyone in charge was locked away..." Jake sort of wondered what people like Kavisto were doing during this time. Couldn't be have helped them? Did the Sages mean little to him? Or were there extenuating circumstances at play here? "That's true. Anyone locked up here were probably locked up for good reason. They probably couldn't have been handled by normal folk."
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Post by Aqua on Nov 6, 2022 19:58:25 GMT -5
Aqueena nodded. "It was common for the Sages to work along side those that were in places of power as a sort of ambassador of the people of their respective powers. It didn't always work well, depending on the Terra and time period, but our peace in the world until the last great powered war ended our connection. Sage's like myself look towards the time where we can be that again, though it will be harder, as we no longer have the same clout as we once did here. Though Magneus seems more interested currently in focusing on reestablishing connection with the Light Human Realm currently, since they seem to be up and running again. Many people are very much unaware of how the world is now."
"Must be nice to suddenly have all your people back like that. Water Humans may not be any rarity on this Terra, but our numbers don't compare to a realm returned like that." Aqua mentioned.
"For a time, there were more Water Humans on this Terra than there were Light Humans in all of the Terra. So while we may not have our own realm anymore, I count us quite blessed in that regard." Aqueena said.
"Right, sorry, you're right..." Aqua said, feeling a little bad at how selfish she sounded.
Charcoal didn't seem to care about that former discussion, so she focused on Jake's other points. "Ignus rarely ever had to imprison anyone, but that's in part to there not being as many well known Fire Humans on this Terra during his time as Sage. Though...he had a way with them. Maybe it came from the fact that his upbringing among his own people on Terra 4 gave him a better understanding on what drove Fire Humans here to such acts. He actually reformed quite a number of them. At the time of the war, we only had one prisoner. A powerful Fire Human named Hercule, a powerful level 4 Fire Human. At that time, level 4 was very rare, even more among Fire Humans. He was bullheaded, and stubborn. Very unlikable and bitter. He thought most Fire Humans weak, including Ignus. He didn't think he was capable of much strength. The only thing that really changed his mind was watching Ignus fight along those who lived on this mountain when a siege happened. He escaped in the chaos, but when he saw how Ignus fought along his people, he stayed and fought along side him. He served as Ignus' general for as long as this settelment lasted."
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Post by Skylos on Nov 9, 2022 16:09:29 GMT -5
Jake wondered just how nice it really was for everyone to suddenly rematerialize after so long. Clearly, the Realm was the same, other than it possibly being trashed in their absence. But the outer world was completely different. It was as if they had moved to another Terra at that point. He shook his head. At least they were alive, though.
He turned to Charcoal and considered her words. "Sounds like the stereotypical Fire Human all right. A shame that so many of us are seen that way, to the point that we feel like we have to act that way..." Jake was far from that mold though. Very far. Sure, he was pumping iron all the time, but he didn't get aggravated so quickly. "Sounds like he could hold his own, at least. Whatever happened to him?"
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Post by Aqua on Nov 9, 2022 17:00:02 GMT -5
"The last time we saw him was when the Fire Humans began to leave the mountain once the war had ended. He was going with the majority of them to help establish a new home for them in the place of Ignus, as well as seek out lost Fire Humans. He might've even headed out for the different Terrae we couldn't reach after that." Charcoal looked unsure. "Though...it's entirely possible he just lied, and went back to leading whatever life he had before he was imprisoned. Or he could be dead. I personally thought he just did anything he could for freedom, but Ignus seemed to believe in his sense of honor. There was a lot to do, so that's why he believed he just hadn't returned."
"Hercule you said his name was?" Aqueena asked at first. "If he went to assist other Terra, he may have worked with other Sage's assistants. I could always do some digging. A level 4 Fire Human doesn't exactly blend in, power wise anyway."
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Post by Skylos on Nov 9, 2022 17:20:02 GMT -5
Well, Jake had blended in. But he also had the pleasure of Kavisto sheltering him for several years... clearly others didn't have that opportunity. "It would be interesting to talk with him, but don't spend too many resources on a hunt for him. He might not want to be found."
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Post by Aqua on Nov 9, 2022 17:38:29 GMT -5
Aqueena seemed to consider this point Jake made. "Well...Good point, I suppose. Clearly he's managed to keep out of trouble since then, or he would've made a bigger name for himself by now."
Charcoal shrugged. "By Ignus' judgement, he served his time, and earned his freedom. If he felt that his work was done, and wanted to be left in peace, he has that right. Even if I'm curious as to why he went quiet like he did..." Charcoal started flying down the stairs again. "Well there only two floors left in the temple, so we can keep going when your ready."
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Post by Skylos on Nov 9, 2022 18:15:58 GMT -5
Since the subject was changed, Jake went with it. "Ok. Where to next?" For some reason, he had thought that the jail would have been at the deepest point. Interesting.
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Post by Aqua on Nov 9, 2022 18:47:25 GMT -5
"The next floor down is the training grounds, classrooms, and living spaces." Charcoal said, leading the way down to the next floor. It was structured the same, though one of the archways was much larger than the others, with a much shorter hallway. It was short enough that you could actually see the next room, but you'd need to go inside to see it. "The temple on this floor was designed differently, so while it may look the same in this opening room like the rest, it reaches out much farther then the ones above. One room, the smaller one, was used as the classroom when times called for it. Normally we didn't have a lot of students, and for its subject matter, it didn't need to be very big. To the left and right were the living chambers for students, which are a considerable size difference than the cells upstairs. The room with the large opening is the training grounds. It needed to be spacious for the different types of training that was undergone."
"So if you had living spaces, why was everyone in the cells upstairs?" Aqua asked.
Charcoal turned to her. "The living spaces were filled up quickly. Each hall was only equipped to house 20 people each, for a total of 40. Those numbers were quickly filled once survivors poured in."
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Post by Skylos on Nov 9, 2022 18:53:41 GMT -5
Jake pretty much had guessed that reason. Students' quarters were generally going to be compact to begin with. "It would be nice to hold classes here again. Teaching Fire Humans how to not burn down the farm would be very useful, especially if they don't already have a teacher or can't find one."
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Post by Aqua on Nov 9, 2022 19:35:44 GMT -5
Charcoal nodded. "Before the lock down, we held many book learning and combat style classes here from those of Terra 4 and 1. Ignus may not have had a proper teacher himself, but the library here provided plenty of information for him to learn from, and to teach others. Ignus always believed we had room to grow, even more so as the world changed around us."
"I can see it now. Jake's fire control class." Aqua giggled.
"I may have said it before, but I've always found this floor in the temples the most important, as the next generation of Powered Humans are the ones who will lead us forward. Giving them the proper knowledge is one of the most important things you can do for them." Aqueena added.
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Post by Skylos on Nov 9, 2022 19:59:45 GMT -5
Jake laughed a little bit. "I'm not sure if I'm the best teacher... I might find an assistant to do that..." Kids were pretty impressionable, and Jake didn't want to screw any of them up. He cringed at his own wording. Brain. I hate you sometimes. "Well. At least for booksmarts. I've got plenty of experience as a personal trainer. I'm more of a hands on kind of guy." Uh oh. There was that stereotype starting to surface!
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Post by Aqua on Nov 9, 2022 20:26:22 GMT -5
Aqueena chuckled slightly. "Well experience by doing is experience, no doubt. You can read all you like, but sometimes nothing replaces good old fashioned execution of skills. It's a major reason why Sage's are normally always masters of their respective powers, since they need to be able to teach and handle all levels of skills. That's why it's not really normal to be made Sage at a young age, I just so happened to be an exception."
"That was in part why Ignus was chosen when he was. While he was mostly self taught, or by his elders on 4, properly trained level 4 Fire Humans that weren't loose cannons were rare around the time Sati went crazy apparently. Though he spent his early years studying the tomes here used for teaching, in order to makeup for what he lacked himself." Charcoal commented.
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Post by Skylos on Nov 12, 2022 9:02:17 GMT -5
Jake rubbed the back of his head a little bit. "I'm not sure if I'm a master per say. I feel like there's always room for growth, even at my level." Maybe he was being modest, but he felt a little bit on the spot since he had been considered for the role. "Despite his circumstances, it seems that Ignus knew what he was doing, and tried his best. I can't really fault anyone that does that."
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Post by Aqua on Nov 12, 2022 12:48:05 GMT -5
Aqueena laughed slightly. "Thats how I felt when I was appointed by both the Water Elemental and the previous Sage. I personally think though that they pick people who are both experts at level 4, but still have room to grow themselves. We may have seen how that can backfire with someone like Sati, but I think that just pushes us all to be better. They want us to both teach and learn, and with times always changing, its valuable to be able to do so. Maybe Ignus understood that himself."
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Post by Skylos on Nov 12, 2022 13:59:10 GMT -5
Jake nodded his head in agreement. "Alright Charcoal. What's next?" There wasn't much left to see. Their little tour would soon be coming to an end.
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Post by Aqua on Nov 12, 2022 14:28:04 GMT -5
"Not much, there's just the bottom floor now." Charcoal said, returning to the stairs. Decending down to the bottom floor, it was noticeably hotter than the other floors, but if you could handle Ragnarok then you'd be fine. This floor was easily the largest, as it was just one massive room. Around the area at the stairs and elevator platform were four large transparent pillars carrying a redish orange energy, looking alot like lava. Jake would be able to feel that it was raw fire energy. Along one of the four walls of this floor was a massive forge and tools of all sorts. Throughout the rest of the room, mostly to the side the forge was on, were weapons racks, shelves, and displays for suits of armor. Along another wall looked like what appeared to be a crafting workbench, presumably for clothing type items to be made. The other half of the room seemed strangely empty. "This is the last floor. This is both the forge, and core room of the temple. All the energy the temple has is harnessed and distributed from here."
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