Sephiroth (age 7) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pinnaculum) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
towerofanimus2013-02-06 01:06 pm
pinnaculum) wrote in towerofanimus2013-02-06 01:06 pm
Entry tags:
❄ The new kid ❄ [open]
Characters: [au2] Sephiroth and YOU
Setting: throughout the tower: dorms, cafeteria, library, floor 81, anywhere with monsters to fight.
Format: Starting in action, but will match prose
Summary: A new Sephiroth arrives in the Tower. He's a bit smaller than the other one, and looks a lot younger.
Warnings: Mentions of human experimentation.
The dormitories; room 1-18 and hallways:
[Waking up in a completely unfamiliar place isn't a novel experience for Sephiroth, but it isn't one he likes. He rises from the bed and quickly searches the room. He reads the letters he finds and changes out of the white jumpsuit as soon as possible, exchanging it for his own dark gray, utilitarian clothes. He has a pair of dark goggles that he rests on top of his head. He uses them at times to disguise his glowing eyes, but he doesn't pull them down now. The last time he woke in a strange place, it was cold and snowing. This is a warm room. It is preferable, but he still has much to learn about his current location. He ventures out into the hallway as soon as he's dressed.
He doesn't see Mr. Valentine. He's supposed to stay near him. Maybe he can find him somewhere nearby.]
Floor 1; the cafeteria:
[Who has absolutely no problem with eating his oatmeal? This kid. After all, soldiers in the field eat rations, and this is no different. He is eating the bland food at a steady pace with a remarkable lack of expression and quiet determination. Seldom has oatmeal been eaten more seriously.]
Floor 3; the library:
[Sephiroth doesn't see the need to ask for help, though he's frustrated that he still hasn't found Mr. Valentine. The network terminals aren't difficult to operate. With in no time, he's accessing them and looking through the old entries. He frowns slightly. A lot of these entries aren't very useful. He doesn't need to know about people feeling sick or playing pranks or insulting each other.
After spending some time at a terminal, Sephiroth makes his way through the shelves and locates a nice, extensive section of science books. In no time, he's amassing quite the collection of thick tomes on biology, genetics, and chemistry. He pulls down all the books that seem interesting. The ones on the upper shelves are harder for him to reach, so he leaps up several feet into the air and grabs those he's selected from the shelf. This acrobatic display seems effortless.]
Floor 81; the observatory lounge:
[Sephiroth has walked out onto the bulging glass windows, so that he almost seems to be suspended in midair. He isn't doing anything in particular. He stands silently looking upward, watching the stars.]
Any dangerous floor, near dusk:
[It's growing darker, and it's probably a good time for children to be heading back to safer floors, but Sephiroth, instead, is heading out. He has a sword with him, a rather long sword for someone of his height. Kids, swords, and monsters: always a good combination.]
Setting: throughout the tower: dorms, cafeteria, library, floor 81, anywhere with monsters to fight.
Format: Starting in action, but will match prose
Summary: A new Sephiroth arrives in the Tower. He's a bit smaller than the other one, and looks a lot younger.
Warnings: Mentions of human experimentation.
The dormitories; room 1-18 and hallways:
[Waking up in a completely unfamiliar place isn't a novel experience for Sephiroth, but it isn't one he likes. He rises from the bed and quickly searches the room. He reads the letters he finds and changes out of the white jumpsuit as soon as possible, exchanging it for his own dark gray, utilitarian clothes. He has a pair of dark goggles that he rests on top of his head. He uses them at times to disguise his glowing eyes, but he doesn't pull them down now. The last time he woke in a strange place, it was cold and snowing. This is a warm room. It is preferable, but he still has much to learn about his current location. He ventures out into the hallway as soon as he's dressed.
He doesn't see Mr. Valentine. He's supposed to stay near him. Maybe he can find him somewhere nearby.]
Floor 1; the cafeteria:
[Who has absolutely no problem with eating his oatmeal? This kid. After all, soldiers in the field eat rations, and this is no different. He is eating the bland food at a steady pace with a remarkable lack of expression and quiet determination. Seldom has oatmeal been eaten more seriously.]
Floor 3; the library:
[Sephiroth doesn't see the need to ask for help, though he's frustrated that he still hasn't found Mr. Valentine. The network terminals aren't difficult to operate. With in no time, he's accessing them and looking through the old entries. He frowns slightly. A lot of these entries aren't very useful. He doesn't need to know about people feeling sick or playing pranks or insulting each other.
After spending some time at a terminal, Sephiroth makes his way through the shelves and locates a nice, extensive section of science books. In no time, he's amassing quite the collection of thick tomes on biology, genetics, and chemistry. He pulls down all the books that seem interesting. The ones on the upper shelves are harder for him to reach, so he leaps up several feet into the air and grabs those he's selected from the shelf. This acrobatic display seems effortless.]
Floor 81; the observatory lounge:
[Sephiroth has walked out onto the bulging glass windows, so that he almost seems to be suspended in midair. He isn't doing anything in particular. He stands silently looking upward, watching the stars.]
Any dangerous floor, near dusk:
[It's growing darker, and it's probably a good time for children to be heading back to safer floors, but Sephiroth, instead, is heading out. He has a sword with him, a rather long sword for someone of his height. Kids, swords, and monsters: always a good combination.]
no subject
I am pleased to meet you, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. [His manners can't be faulted, but they are more than a little wooden, far more practiced than polished.] I lived in Shinra's Science Research Department, in Midgar, but Midgar has been destroyed. [He doesn't sound too sad about that, and he isn't. He hadn't enjoyed living in the lab.
Then, he sounds practically cheerful (for him) as he continues, talking about weaponry.]
I have been trained with spears, but my favorite weapon is the sword. I have two swords here. One is a practice blade and one is edged, with Materia. [He's quite proud of his real sword.] Where are you making your sword? I've never made one.
[Monsters to fight, books to read, weapons to make... this Tower doesn't seem so bad so far. Even if a small part of him is worried. He wonders if he's going to wake up in another new and strange place sometime soon. It's only been a few weeks since he woke up in the ruins of the city where he'd once lived.]
If they can access our worlds, why not our spells? [It makes sense to him.] Are you capable of magic attacks? [He hadn't thought about magic being different on different worlds, but as people from other planets, like Darkleer, were very different, why not magic? Different types of magic... He has so much to learn about. He misses the feeling of being knowledgeable about everything, but he'll have to fix it, that's all.] What is magic like in your world?
You died but were returned to life? What was dying like? How did you die? [He doesn't think it's a rude to ask these questions. He's very curious. He has a lot of questions.]
no subject
No one deserves to be treated as a science project. Not Labrys and not this boy.]
There is a workshop on the 15th floor. That is where I am working on making my sword, though the tools aren't all that great. It is better than nothing, and there is a lot there to work with if you know what you are doing. I'm just limited on my knowledge in this area. All of my weapons were gifts to me and had been made long before their gifting. All I know of crafting, I learned as a knight, not as a smith.
[He has no idea what Materia is, though from the way the boy speaks of it, Diarmuid guesses it's a material of some kind. In any event, the pride with which the boy speaks of his weapon makes him smile. All warriors should be so proud of their weapons.]
Aside from the curse that was set upon me, I have no magical abilities though I grew up in a world of magic. I suppose that is why I never really thought about the administrators having magic of their own. People have said that most of the monsters in this place have come from the worlds that people have been pulled from. Why not pull their magic as well?
All of my weapons did have magical abilities, though, so I guess it would be wrong of me to say I don't have any magical abilities especially since my weapons are so close to me. I just wish I had more access to them here.
[Diarmuid pauses when Sephiroth asks him about his death since he doesn't really want to talk about it, but if it will possibly keep the child from making a similar mistake, then he will do so.]
I...made a mistake. I am what is called a servant on my world. Basically, that means I am a copy of a the soul of a hero who died long ago. I was brought back to life in order to fight in a war going on in my world. As such, I am on a level very much above human when it comes to things like strength and agility. I also don't have to eat or sleep here unless the tower makes me.
All of these things made me a perfect candidate to patrol floors and try and keep them a little safer for those who can't fight. And so I did this. Constantly and without regard to my own condition. That disregard proved to be a mistake, though, because this place can wear down even the most superhuman person if given the chance and I gave it that chance.
My roommate and I got into trouble on one of the new floors and I was so tired that I ended up making a fatal mistake. Death...death is something that doesn't get any easier to explain even when you have felt it more than once. It still hurts. The regret is still there. Even knowing this place will bring you back to life doesn't really change that.
[Not very specific, Diarmuid knows, but even if he wants to keep others from making the same mistake he did, he is just not ready yet to talk about his death that day in detail.]
no subject
I've never been taught to make a sword, either. [Using them, yes. Making them, no. That hadn't been deemed a necessary skill for him.] Could I watch you? I could help. Maybe there are books in the library with instructions. [Sephiroth is confident that he can learn most things, whether that's true or not. He is a quick learner.]
Your weapons have Materia, also? Or are they magic in some other way? [He's more familiar with them being slotted for Materia, but Diarmuid had a point when he said magic might be different on different worlds. Maybe they have Materia of different kinds, or something else altogether. This is intriguing.]
How are you cursed? [The man doesn't look cursed. He doesn't seem to be suffering from any ill effects.] Maybe I could heal you. [Then again, perhaps not, but he's pleased to be able to offer his help.]
[He takes in all Diarmuid says with the utmost gravity, listening politely and attentively, even when he doesn't quite understand it. The copy of a soul? When Diarmuid finishes his story, he nods, as if he's understood. He thinks he has understood him perfectly.
I am going to be a hero when I am older.
I have been designed to have greater endurance than an average human. I have greater strength and agility. I can survive on less food and less sleep. [See, they have things in common. Sephiroth is proud of this as well.] I'd like to patrol the floors, too. I can help protect people. [That's what a SOLDIER would do, isn't it? Even if he can't be a real SOLDIER anymore, he can be like one. SOLDIERs are heroes of the people.]
It is true that a warrior should know his limits. I will be careful. I do not wish to die.
[Lesson: not exactly learned. But sort of? Maybe?]
Did you win your war? [Because the mention of a war interests him.
no subject
[And the first try before he had gotten any books was such a disaster it is rather embarrassing to think about now. He had been sure to ask Tohko to help him find some books before trying again.]
None of my weapons have this Materia you mention. I've never heard of it before. The magic my weapons bear all come from enchantments laid during their makings.
[He avoids the question of his weapons' specific powers for now, not that talking about his curse is a much more fun topic.]
I thank you for your offer of healing, but I don't know that a mere healing would help. A great many people tried and failed to find a way to cure me of it. Only this tower seems to have found a way to affect it. It used to be whenever a female laid her eyes on my face, she would fall in love with me. This was a constant and uncontrollable thing during my first life. Here in the tower, though, the curse is only sometimes active.
[At the worst times possible and affecting the people he never wanted affected but it, but...]
That is a noble goal and I hope you succeed. Just don't push yourself too hard. As I have said, this place seems to be able to wear down the strongest person. Keep that in mind and I am sure you will do well. If you ever wish my assistance, I would be glad to help you.
[Diarmuid smiles at the boy. Part of him says that he shouldn't be encouraging someone so young to fight, but the warrior in him recognizes another of his kind and he thinks the boy can handle it.
His smile fades when Sephiroth asks about the war, though.]
I...did not win my war. My master in the war, he didn't trust me to do what I had sworn I would do and in the end, that proved to be our downfall.
no subject
He doesn't seem too surprised that Diarmuid hasn't heard of Materia, now that he's considered the possibility of different kinds of magic. If there are different kinds of magic here, he'd like to learn them, if possible.]
What is the magic in your weapons?
[Where Materia is concerned, he's all too happy to educate someone.] Materia are objects which allow humans to affect the natural world in ways known as "magic", by casting spells. There are many kinds. Some can cause earthquakes or fires and others can heal or poison. I can cast a spell that dispels negative states. It is not the same as a healing spell. It is called Esuna. It might work. It can cure someone turned to stone.
[And being turned to stone is a lot worse than something that has to do with love, right? Sephiroth is eager to help, although Diarmuid's description of his curse is unusual to him. He's unfamiliar with that kind of magic.]
I have never heard of a curse like that before. It is strange. What is the point of it? [Love doesn't feature on the list of things Sephiroth considers significant. Surely such a curse can't be that harmful.] Esuna might not work, but it might. Should I try?
[He nods, though it's difficult to say whether he's taken Diarmuid's warning to heart. There's a confidence in his manner that doesn't seem to have been shaken by Diarmuid's words.]
I'll remember. If you need my assistance, I can help you, too.
[He doesn't think it odd to be offering his help to someone years his senior, who likely has a great deal more experience.
Sephiroth nods when Diarmuid speaks of his war.]
If your superior was in error and gave poor orders, it was not your fault. [A general has to take responsibility for his men. Sephiroth takes this matter quite seriously, because he hopes to be a general someday.]
no subject
[Though it seems like the boy won't be so easily distracted from finding out the magical properties of his weapons.]
The spear I have with me has the ability to disrupt magical barriers and other magical effects that rely on some energy connection to sustain them. The moment the spear touches the barrier or other item, it stops working. However, to keep the effect going the spear's point must remain in contact with the item. The moment the point is lifted away, the barrier or item is free to make its connection again should it be able to.
I wonder how my spear's power would work against your Materia if at all. The spells sound as if they are rather grand workings and my spear's power is limited. Still, it must be nice to have so many different spells available to you.
If you wish to try your spell on my curse, you may, but I'm afraid it will be wasted effort. Even if it is strong enough to remove the curse, the tower might not allow it. After all, if it had wanted me to be free of it, it would have taken it away completely not made its activation random.
The curse was given to me as a gift from a young woman who was actually a personification of youth and love in return for some aid that I gave her. From her perspective, she was merely returning the gift of aid by giving me what she was so closely tied to. Loving everything and being loved by everything is no problem for a god or spirit. It is much more difficult for a human such as I was.
[Diarmuid smiles at the boy.]
I will be sure to find you should I need aid in anything. As for my master....he was proud and afraid. Unfortunately, those two things are not good emotions to have when you need to lead in a war. Given the option of trusting me to save his fiancee and himself or making a deal that would take him out of the war but guarantee they survived it, he chose not to trust me.
[He spreads his hands in front of himself in a helpless motion.]
What more could I do?
[But die, that is, but the boy doesn't need to know that.]
no subject
Look, I'll show you.
[He takes a band off his arm. Within the item, there are four slots, each one containing a round, gem-like object, all glowing faintly green. He holds up the band.
These are Materia. Anyone can use Materia, but some people have more talent and get better results. [He is very talented, his tone seems to suggest. What does it matter if people love you? It's never made much difference to him.] Maybe if you touched the point to the Materia, it would work? We could try. I would like to see your spear.
[He doesn't mind discussing his Materia with a fellow fighter, or exposing its possible weaknesses. He doesn't wish to rely too much on Materia as it is, so he'll only use it when necessary. He indicates one of the glowing objects.]
This one is Heal.
[Sephiroth returns his band to his arm and tries his spell:
[[ESUNA]]
A pale green light washes over Diarmuid's face, accompanied by a feeling of fresh coolness, like a spring breeze. Having cast his spell, Sephiroth looks pleased. He does like to be helpful.]
Maybe it will work.
[He's hopeful, anyway. But he still doesn't quite understand the curse or how it's a "curse". It doesn't affect anything he considers important, but he's willing to take Diarmuid's word for it that it's harmful.]
You could not disobey his orders?
[Sephiroth is a soldier, but no knight. He has no sense of fealty. Order and rules are important, but if a commander is definitely in the wrong, then one should disobey their orders and take the responsibility for one's own actions, as far as he's concerned. But he was being trained to be the leader of a modern army.]
A poor superior should not be followed.
no subject
Thank you. I guess now all I can do is wait and see if it randomly activates again, since I don't feel any different and I can't seem to tell when it is and isn't active here. I will let you know when I find something out.
[Before summoning his spear, he looks around and is glad to see the cafeteria has emptied somewhat since he first entered and there aren't really that many people near to the two of them. The last thing he wants is to worry someone when his weapon appears.
There are no flashy effects when he summons the spear. It's just there suddenly out of thin air wrapped tightly in its usual talisman wrappings. Diarmuid smiles fondly, almost like he's greeting an old friend, and then sets it on the table so the boy can better see it.]
Gae Dearg. I have its abilities sealed for now, but if you really wish to try and see if it will disrupt your Materia we can try. I've never seen anything like them before so I have the feeling that it will not. The magic in it will probably be too unfamiliar.
[He pauses when Sephiroth asks about the possibility of disobeying orders. He could have, yes, but...]
I could not. Not only did he supply the energy that I needed to remain manifest in the world, but he also had three absolute orders we call Command Spells to use on me. Servants can try to resist the spells, but it is extremely painful and ultimately a futile attempt.
no subject
[He hopes he was able to help.] Esuna can work on many things, so if you are injured or cursed again you can ask me to help, and I will. [Then he can be even more helpful. Well, if the Tower allows his magic to work.]
[Sephiroth looks very interested, not to mention suitably impressed, as the spear appears, seemingly from nowhere. He wishes he could materialize weapons. He examines the spear appreciatively.]
It is impressive. How do you do that?
[As for testing whether it will affect Materia...]
I'd like to try.
[In the name of SCIENCE, and also weaponry. He likes experimenting, obviously, as this is his second one within a few minutes. Surely Diarmuid means that they can try it now. He moves so that the band and its Materia are in easy reach. This is exciting.]
Touch it to one of them, and I'll try to cast a spell.
[As for the situation in the Grail War, he takes a moment or two to ponder it.]
I don't understand that kind of battle. Then you were not at all to blame. He was a poor commander. [This is a grave insult, coming from Sephiroth.]
no subject
As for my spear, it is quite literally a part of me now. It is that way for all servants and their weapons. Should someone try to take it from me, I would merely need to call it back to myself and it would come.
[Silently, Diarmuid commands the spear to unseal itself, and the wrappings break apart and vanish in a much more impressive display than the initial summoning. He then picks it up and sets the tip of the spear against the Materia as Sephiroth has directed.]
I am ready. If the Materia is going to be disabled, it should already be so. Go ahead and try your spell.
And you are right. Some people are not fit for war even if they think they are. My maser was one of those people. Anyone who fights in a war should be ready to sacrifice anything and everything including their lives for their goal. If they are not able to do that, then they should not be there.
no subject
[It obviously doesn't mean what the word usually means, from the way Diarmuid talks. He looks on Diarmuid's spear wistfully as Diarmuid explains that it's part of him.]
I wish I could do that. [There's almost a sigh in his voice. He doesn't know that he has done so before, but that's another story.
Once the tip of the spear is definitely set against Sephiroth's Materia, he casts another spell:
[[BARRIER]]
And a shimmering, faint, translucent barrier appears in the air between Sephiroth and Diarmuid. Sephiroth inspects the barrier carefully, but it doesn't look any different than it usually does.]
It still works.
[He seems neither pleased nor displeased by this result; it simply is, but as Diarmuid speaks on, his expression grows even more solemn, almost stern, and he nods, watching Diarmuid through the lingering barrier.]
A commander is responsible for those in his command. He should put their needs before his own.
[Sephiroth has strong feelings about the military and how it should be run. He doesn't quite know where the certainty in the words comes from, as he hasn't ever had anyone in his command, but that's what he thinks.]
I'm going to be a general when I'm older. I'm going to be a hero.
no subject
[He pauses a moment, an odd sadness and emptiness flashing across his eyes before he pushes it away and continues.]
The copies that are called into the wars specifically are called Servants, and the people who summon them are called Masters.
[Diarmuid watches as Sephiroth tries his magic. Just as predicted the spell works. He reaches out to the barrier with one hand and touches it gently.]
What a useful spell. And as I expected, it continues to work. Will it last a few minutes longer? There is something I would like to try. I wonder, if Gae Dearg won't work on the Materia itself, will it work on the spell's effects? That seems more likely to me and more true to how the ability works. The barrier seems much like the magical barriers in my world. It if works with the Materia as its source, touching the spear point to the barrier should sever its connection and dissolve the barrier.
Unless the barrier stands under its own power now and needs nothing more from the Materia. Do you know if that is the case?
[He smiles at the boy's determination.]
Continue as you are and I think you will make a great leader and hero someday. I'm sure people will be honored to work under you.
no subject
[This does not quite compute, as "souls" aren't something provable, but Sephiroth is processing it. There must be a rational explanation. Fortunately, it's not as if there's nothing in his world to compare it to. There's always magic.]
If you have all those things, how are you not him? That's what a person is. [This talk of "souls" aside.] If there were a copy– [He frowns, not sure what he was about to say. Something about copies. Something he can't quite remember, though he feels like he should.] Maybe it is different. We have summon spirits, where I'm from. Materia can summon some of them. It must be like that. What happens to the copy when the war ends?
The war is a magical battle fought with summoned spirits, and you are one. I understand. Do you think there will be a war here?
[It sounds like fun, to Sephiroth. With his usual dearth of empathy, he doesn't pick up on Diarmuid's sadness, though he can understand that Diarmuid would be unhappy about not winning the war. Who would want to lose a war?
He nods at the barrier.]
It will last several minutes longer. It protects against physical attacks. If you tried to attack me, the damage would be less.
The barrier takes nothing from the Materia once it's cast. That's why it fades. [He knows all about Materia. And any weapon he was able to learn about.
He's pleased at Diarmuid's words about his future prospects.]
I will. I will be a good commander. [He glances admiringly at Diarmuid's spear again.] Maybe we can spar sometime.
no subject
[Diarmuid shakes his head sadly.]
That is what I have been told I am anyway. It's a...complicated thing. One I am still thinking about myself. Servants usually don't live long enough to think about these kinds of things. In all honesty, whether we win or lose the war our fates are all the same. We are returned to the Throne of Heroes and erased.
[He presses his lips together, anger flashing into his eyes for a moment. However, he doesn't explain the anger, instead changing the topic back to the Materia.]
If that is the case, I don't think my spear will be able to dispel it since there is no power source to cut it off from. Thank you for answering my questions though.
[He does smile at the offer to spar.]
I would be glad to test your skills someday.
no subject
I would like to fight in a war. Has there been a war against the administrators?
[That seems like a viable solution. Or at least worth trying. It does make sense that, as Diarmuid says, they should fight against the administrators and not each other.
If Sephiroth picks up on the moment of anger, he doesn't mention it.] Why do you fight, if your fates are the same?
So you should be erased, but you are not erased here. Even if you are a copy, you can be alive. [That's good, isn't it?]
You're welcome. Materia use a natural power that is called magic, but maybe it is not the same as your magic.
I would like that, too. [Sephiroth is confident that he has a good chance of winning in a sparring match, but then, he's always confident.]
no subject
[The boy doesn't need to know that the reason Kayneth had told Diarmuid so much was because he was purposely trying to demean and hurt him.]
I don't know if they have tried a full out war yet, but I know groups of people have tried rebelling. It has never ended will. Those involved usually die or are tortured horribly. The administrators have so much power over us here that they can stop a lot of plans before they even start just by having one or two people killed or taken away.
There are a great many different kinds of magic even in just one world. I have no doubt your magic is much different from that on my world. It's actually quite amazing to see how different it all is.
no subject
It does not seem like a war worth fighting if you are erased and forget you won. I wouldn't fight for that.
A plan would have to be very simple and very secret. [He thinks this over as well. Not that he has a plan at the moment, but he will keep the idea in mind.] If small rebellions didn't work, a war might. Do they often kill and torture people here? [Sephiroth asks the question with milder curiosity than a child his age might be expected to.]
I would like to learn more about the different kinds of magic. Is there any other kind of magic you can do? Some Materia can make fire and ice or cause earthquakes, but I was not allowed to have any of them. But I can make barriers and heal injuries. [Maybe not as cool as setting fires and causing earthquakes, but not bad, either.]
no subject
[Diarmuid shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. He's not surprised by the questions. Even if he looks like a child, it is very obvious to Diarmuid this boy is anything but.]
They torture and kill people all the time here. There is at least one experiment a month and it is hard to say if it is better or worse to be chosen to participate in the experiment or to have to watch someone you care about being forced to participate and not be able to help them. At least one of the administrators has admitted several times that he does the horrible experiments he does because he is bored and wants to learn things. He doesn't care how much it hurts us because we are nothing to him.
[Diarmuid shakes his head and then changes the topic.]
I am sorry I can't help you learn anymore about magic. Aside from my spear and my curse, I have no magical talents. I grew up with magic all around me, but I have no skill of my own in it. My skills lay elsewhere.
However, in a place like this you will find that the Materia you do have will probably be more useful to you than the more offensive ones you speak of. You can fight very well. You have already mentioned that, but even the strongest fighter can fall if they have no way to heal themselves of injury or poison during a fight.
no subject
Heroes are not very predictable because they are all different. People are unpredictable. That is why the job of a leader is difficult. [And a leader is what he very much wants to be.] You would want to fight, knowing that?
In the lab, where I lived, there was always an experiment. It was the same experiment, but there were many different tests. No one was killed, except in the case of accidents. I do not like experiments. How many people die? [He seems, again, to treat the subject mildly, but he has been conditioned not to have an emotional reaction to death or injuries. He waits a beat, considering Diarmuid's words about the bored man who wants to learn things.] The professor was like that.
Maybe I can ask other people here about the magic in their worlds. My roommate is from world named Alternia. Mine is called Gaia. What is yours called? [Because he's pretty interested in all this "different worlds" business now, and as long as it's come up he might as well ask.
I have six Materia. They are all defensive, but they are not all Mastered. That is when a Materia is mature and its most powerful. When it is mastered, it will cause a new Materia to form and break off and cease growing. [Because clearly, Diarmuid needs to know all about Materia. Sephiroth might not be the biggest talker usually, but when started on a subject, he's happy to lecture away.] It is true, they will be useful in battle. [Even if earthquakes and firestorms are more impressive.]
no subject
[For a moment, panic enters Diarmuid's eyes. The idea that so many had been used and died--innocent and not so--for nothing causes a cold dread to fill him. It's a feeling he takes several seconds to push away and even then his voice is not so steady.]
That can't be true, so we shouldn't waste time talking about it. You mention how hard it is to be a leader and that is true. I lead a group of men during my first life and they were all heroes in their own rights. The Fianna was made up of the strongest men in all of Ireland. It was a very rewarding position, if hard at times.
[Like when Oscar just wouldn't take no for an answer...]
Still, I would never give up those times or what I learned then. Our world's name is Earth, by the way. I hear that it is a common name for many of the people who are here. The names you list off are quite beautiful in their own rights, though. Still with a home world that has such a different name, perhaps that is why our magic is so different. I wish you well on your quest to learn more and master your own. It is a very interesting process of growth that you describe.
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You were a leader? [Now Sephiroth is even more impressed.] Is Ireland your nation? I am going to lead warriors someday, too. The Fianna sound like SOLDIER. They were the strongest warriors in the world. But they have been disbanded. [Unfortunately, as far as Sephiroth's concerned. Now he'll never be in SOLDIER.]
Earth. [He nods.] That is one of our words for soil. Yes, that must be why our magic is different. It might be different on every world. [And that's an interesting thought. Endless kinds of magic!] Maybe there are books about the different kinds in the library.
Thank you. Yes, Materia are made from Mako, which comes from the planet, and they grow naturally, even though most of them are man made. I wish I had Fire or Ice Materia, but Heal and Restore are useful, too. [He supposes.]
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[Diarmuid shakes his head, pushing away the emotion thinking of such a thing stirs up in him. He would much rather think of other more pleasant things.
Like the Fianna and his home.]
Yes, Ireland is my country. As for the Fianna, I was the first among them. To be honest, our lord was our leader, but I trained and organized them. Later events would prove many of them more loyal to me than him...
[Diarmuid looks away for a moment, obviously remembering something unpleasant.]
We were all brothers. I was just another one of them. They should not have chosen me over him. I never wished to cause such a divide between them.
[Diarmuid suddenly waves a dismissive hand.]
You will be an excellent soldier and leader someday. If you think so much of that group, never forget them. Let your memories of them carry you forward. Just because they have been disbanded, doesn't mean they have to be gone.