Side One, Ep.1 "Holey Ship!"

[Ireth]

Vincent

My jaw drops at Muziko's downright casual revelation of Beatrice's identity. Well, that certainly answers my question! I'm even more glad I chose to protect her now. I close my mouth hastily and sink to my knees in reverence.

But this, coupled with what the Hyena spoke of and what I saw in the Jackal's mind, does nothing to ease my confusion. I feel a headache coming on. How do these threads intertwine? I had thought Beatrice was Death's daughter... but would that not make her the sister of Th'War? Why is a goddess bound into human form? Is she even truly in such form?

Diana

Vincent kneels before Beatrice -- the Maiden -- and I quickly follow suit. This is all so hard to take in. How have we mortals come to be entwined in the fates of gods?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Oh no!" The Maiden sounds more child than goddess. "Please don't feel you need to kneel or bow to me…" She looks back at Fenella. "How come you enjoy all this bowing and kneeling and curtsying? I'm merely the fourth child of The Mother and The Father, but no one is born into greatness."

She turns to Fenella. "Not even you. What makes you great isn't your crown—it's your actions, your deeds. When you are born into a high position, you owe it to those who serve you…"

She bows down before Fenella, Vincent, Diana, Fenella, PJ, the samurai and the pixies.

"…to recognize the greatness in them."

She rises.

"I won't tell you how to live your lives, and I don't want you to think you must treat my word like a command. Just know that when I ask you to help me, it's not about me. It's about you. People. Your world."

Muziko adds, "Or what's left of it."

 

[Ireth]

Diana

I look at the Maiden as she bows before us all, and glance at Vincent before signing to the young goddess, hoping he will translate.

I have served your Mother and Father for many years, and I see it as a service to them that I show due reverence to You, their child, as other Shieldmaidens do. Should You need me, my sword and shield are Yours.

Vincent

I translate Diana's signs, and my gaze moves back to the Maiden as I add to them. "Whatever fate lies in store for gods and men alike -- or goddesses and women," I amend, "I will strive to be and to do all I can to hold darkness and chaos at bay."

The space behind my eyes begins to throb. I resist the urge to massage the skin around my eyes. This one night seems to have lasted for weeks. I need a nice, hot cup of tea before I have the sleep I think we've all earned.

 

[Reaver]

After introducing myself to the newcomers in our party, I turn to the young goddess and bow in reverence. "You already know my heart and my mind ancient one, so I needn't tell you that I am your humble servant until either The Warrior takes me into his eternal army or Lady Death leads me to blissful Eversleep."

With that, I take my leave and head to my quarters, stopping only to grab several bottles of sake and some food from the mostly repaired gambling deck.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Beatrice

"I appreciate your… reverence? Loyalty?" Beatrice seems at a loss for words, which may have made more sense when you thought she was only a young girl. "But you should know what you're getting into before you follow me.

"First, let me tell you about your world. You call it Earth, but my parents call it Flat Earth. They call the old world Round Earth, and my parents weren't known as gods or known at all over there. My father calls His creator god The Great Grandfather… though He's not really related in that way. My parents were angels, and they watched the mortals make a mess of a beautiful world.

"Lust and envy seemed to drive people more than anything else once the Holy Wars ended. When things were grim, the archangels stepped in, and there was one—Uriel LaRouge—who led the humans to what He calls 'an extreme measure for an extreme situation.' Simply put, the humans had a weapon that would blast an entire continent from the planet.

"Two temptresses managed to survive in their mortal forms, but any other demon or creature or even germ was wiped out as the chunk of the world drifted across the stars.

"My father was permitted to bring six angels with him, and they were to preside over this small world. Of course my mother was the first to follow—not that angels married, but my mother wanted to lead by example, so she requested that all of the angels marry. Uriel always had a thing for Catherine LeNoir, an angel of death. You know them as The Warrior and Lady Death. The Gardener was my mom's Maid of Honor at the wedding, I heard—my parents actually had a wedding in their earthly forms! And she married The Woodsman. The Scribe was the odd man out, until my sister Claire was born—She's The Voice.

"The Gardener said we'd need water in order to have life in this world, so my big sister was in charge of that, even though she just wanted to be a seraph like my mom was and sing all the time. My brother was interested in the work mortals would take on, so he became known as the Jack of All Trades. My other sister, The Spirit, was the first to be born with a heavenly body, not an earthly one. She hates clothing, but I love clothes. We don't agree on much.

"Anyway, She married The Chef, the super-strong son of The Warrior and Lady Death. Jack married The Painter, daughter of The Woodsman and The Gardener.

"I was the last child of The Mother and The Father… but the others had other children. And when we saw how they were turning out, my father did something about me. This is my true form. I was hatched on this world thirteen years ago, but I'll never pass for more than eleven or twelve. My parents wanted me to always have the innocence of a child."

Beatrice blushes. "Maybe I'm not what you expected from a goddess."

Muziko looks up to the child-goddess. "It's okay," she says. "You're only fifteen hundred years old."

 

[Ruby]

Fenella: "Wow, that's an awful lot to remember!" She bows her head to the Goddess. "I did not realise who you were," she says, sincerely. Then she acknowledges the little demon. "Thank you for your help, too. I was under a misapprehension having been told my task was to kill the demons." She looks thoughtful and says, "I think you are right, we must all be judged by our deeds not our rank. However, we all need strong leaders. My father, like yours, is a king and it's often a case of 'unhappy lies the head that wears the crown'."
The Goddess smiles at this speech, recognising that it has a ring of truth and sincerity.
"We all have a lot to learn," she admits.

 

[Ireth]

Vincent

I look down at the child-goddess in awe. "You were hatched thirteen years ago... who has been caring for you here in that time, in your earthly form?"

I look at the Jackal again, his memories returning to my mind. He knew her as an infant, and saved her from the Sinner and others, or so it would seem, but what then? What happened in the twelve or thirteen years from then till now?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((@Ruby, your post is fine as it is, but try not to narrate for other characters. You never know when I'll have a deceptive NPC with a hidden agenda. The way you narrated Beatrice is spot on, so we can leave that.))


Beatrice

"My father didn't find godhood easy," the girl says to Fenella, "nor does He care for the title. In His eyes, only The Great Grandfather is God. But you are correct, Fenella. Our fathers have responsibilities as do you and I. Tell me, Fenella, the name of your father's kingdom."



Vincent's question prompts the child-goddess to reveal more.


"Uncle Jack cared for me. And his wife, The Painter. You have already seen them on this ship. You just didn't know.

"My parents were here on Earth as well. They wanted to fight the battle for you. But only the elder gods could simply appear here to fight the demon lords.

"The Gardener and the Woodsman were the first to fall. If you pray to them, your prayer will be answered. Only their earthly forms are dead. My parents were slain by demons as well, and my sister, The Voice…" Beatrice turns to Mariya. "…She didn't feel a thing. She was in Mother's womb.

"The Warrior and Lady Death took many demons with them. They did not fall easy. Only The Scribe remains in this world, trapped in a human body where no prayer can reach him. The demons learned by the time they got to Him. They realized that killing us was not the way to win this world."

Beatrice stares ahead as the ship moves.

"Jack and The Painter were hatched. So was I, but as an infant. The Mother hoped to raise Claire and I as children. Claire—The Voice—would age fast. But I grew at the rate of a normal child. Uncle Jack and The Painter hatched from larger shells, in adult form. And two eggs remain unhatched. My sister, The Spirit, and her husband, The Chef.

"My sister first. That's where I'm headed now. If you'll accompany me to Mount Neverest, we'll find Her egg—somewhere up there—encased in ice. Encased and preserved."

 

[Ireth]

Vincent

My eyes narrow in thought. Uncle Jack... Jackal? Is that it? Does he know? Lieutenant Grey did something to his mind, the Hyena said... maybe that erased his memory.

I nod solemnly when Beatrice speaks of her plans. "I would be honored to accompany you." Not for glory, nor any of my own gain, but for the sake of the world and the gods themselves.

Diana

A shiver runs through me as I read Beatrice's lips. To think I trained on Mount Neverest for years to become a Shieldmaiden, and never suspected that the shrine held such importance. I sign my consent to join in her mission, my heart fluttering.

I look at the others. The Maiden is confident in us, and I can't help but agree. But the weight of our quest settles on me like my armor. If we find the eggs and help them hatch, we will shape the fate of the Flat Earth itself.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Muziko

"You should know what demons are really like, too," Muziko says. "They can be persuasive. The Warrior Princess had me convinced that my talents would make the world a better place. My talents got a lot of bad people killed… and a lot of good ones, too. I thought The Warrior, Lady Death, The Chef and The Warrior Princess were one happy family, and I was the smith of the gods.

"Let's just say that I was killed by my own product and, yes, I probably deserved it. I also learned more of the deity I followed. Death's daughter was in league with the demons on the other side.

"Vyne called my Mistress 'Th'War.' It's short for the godly title She discarded, but also short for 'The War.' She wanted the approval of Her parents, so she would bring war and death to the world. The other traitorous deities were male, and Tsul knew plenty of ways to tempt them."

Muziko asks for "A coin" and remembers to say, "Please?" Beatrice produces one. The child-goddess looks at the face on the silver coin. It's a beautiful woman; she is older than the real Maiden and her hair is straighter.

Muziko takes the coin and carries it overhead, which she finds awkward in her tiny form.

"This is your world." She puts the coin on the floor, and traces a path to the right of The Maiden's image. "Here we are leaving Roku-Roku Island, and here is our destination, Asahi Beach, and up we go—north—to Mount Neverest."

"Now, about where I came from before stepping through that mirror…"

She flips the coin, tail side up. She traces the image of the loon on the moon. "Welcome to Hell on Earth. Here you'll find several attractions, a pair of succubi on every street corner, machines of death from the old world, ranches where we train our beasts to become killers or mounts—preferably both… and of course, there's the mine.

"That's how we get to your side."

Spoiler: why there is a loon on the back of a $1 coin

If you're asking this, you're not the Canadian player.