Private Eastern Brisshal Fated Encounters Written in the Stars

[Toko]

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For a while things had returned back to normal, the mysterious events that had transpired in the last storm almost forgotten by the Lepus, before rumors had begun to pick up again among the Landers in Honeyhome village. It got to the point that even the Hunters were now talking about it and, on one of the occasions that Toko crossed paths with Stankins, she managed to gather additional information. Some of the Landers swore stars had moved from their original place, breaking constellations that had been known to them for generations, but the tales never quite seemed to match with one another...

She had promised to look more into the matter, the Hunters already having enough on their plate with the additional patrols meant to deter any goblin excurtions to kidnap more villagers. Stankins had shared the location of a hilled clearing not too far from the village in Eastern Brisshal and, after preparing during the evening, Toko had begun the trekt towards the location marked on a map the man had kindly provided.

"I think it's this way... maybe?" A sigh escaped her lips before the Lepus ran a hand through her hair. One would think Toko would've gotten better at directions and map reading by now... "Maybe I should ask Ruu-nii for map lessons next time I see him."

@Corsair

 

[Corsair]

Corsair regarded maps as a necessary evil.

In this new land, where every hill and village was a new and unfamiliar frontier, there was a certain kindness and welcome wear and tear to a good map. It showed paths she would have likely missed on her own, and a thousand labelled locations with secrets to explore.

A truly wonderful map could even be accurate, with decent spelling.

Corsair had spent her first hundred gold on maps of Honeyhome and the surrounding woods, and only once or twice had they led her astray.

But tonight? Tonight she was in the business of map making. Well, star-chart making to be precise, and precision was the order of the evening. Word had passed through the village that the stars were wrong. The constellations were out of kilter. The Wolf was missing its hind paws, The Bard's Harp had fattened into a little lyre, and Anura (often just called The Great Frog) had disappeared completely.

Were they falling from the sky as new players logged in? Was some giant sky spirit eating them for sizzling snacks? Something was happening in the stars, and Corsair didn't have the faintest idea what it could be.

Sam, her magitech frog, let out a warning warble, and she pushed through the forest to find a lost-looking Lepus. "Good evening," Corsair said, retrieving her frog and tapping him lightly to disable the alarm. They looked to be heading to the same destination: a bald hill nearby, and Corsair took a likely chance. "Did Stankins send you out to map the stars too? If so then we're quite close. I can show you the rest of the way." She decided to couch her words. Better to be right in twice as many words. "If not you're welcome to join me all the same. It's a lonely night and I wouldn't mind the company."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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Between her Astramancy magic and Toko's sharp-sight the Lepus had hoped to provide some help to Old Man Stankins and the plight that was unsettling the Landers living in Honeyhome. However even her good eyes couldn't see through trees to the sky above, if the Lepus didn't manage to find her way to the clearing before then her chances of providing any aid at all would be close to null.

"Mattaku... would've it have killed them to program an actual map into the UI?"

A sigh escaped the beastfolk before her ears perked up upon catching a new sound, swiveling before locating the source as the rabbit noticed an odd looking creature. She had taken a steps towards the mass, stopping when the footsteps of another echoed and a woman appeared from a path to her right.

"Ah, konbanwa."

Curiosity filled her eyes as she watched Corsair pick up the magitech frog, a light tapping silencing the creature. She had never seen one of those before, but her intrigue was cut short as the woman mentioned heading in the same direction Toko was.

"Yeah, that was the idea at least... until I got kinda lost." A sheepish smile crossed her face as Toko rubbed the back of her neck in light embarrassment, before giving a soft bow in the woman's direction. "I'd be thankful if you could guide the way."

A lucky coincidence, and one the Lepus wasn't about to turn down. Besides she had also mentioned Stankins' name, something that unconsciously got the Lepus to lower her guard in response. Not many players bothered remembering the names of Landers, much less actually help them for free, so surely this woman couldn't be bad company to have around for the night.

"I'm Toko, it's nice to meet you."

@Corsair

 

[Corsair]

"I'm Corsair," said the magia, extending a cold, slender hand to shake with the Lepus. She was no stranger to beastfolk, and it was almost fun seeing all the different species. A rabbit seemed quite fitting for a night under the stars.

Corsair noticed the woman struggling with her map and offered a friendly word of advice. "Don't try and find where you are, that's a fool's errand. We aren't in the real world, where a little red dot blinks away at you." She reached over and ran a finger along the map, tracing the path of a river that ran roughly eastward from Lake Horatio in the far West. "Blue Rapid is to the North of where we are now. If we keep heading in the right direction we'll run into it eventually."

Her finger continued along the trail until the blue ling split in two. "Here we break off, heading Northeast until-" her finger ran straight into the bald hill marked on Toko's map. "There. Cleartop."

Corsair smiled thinly and rested a hand on the half-sized magitech deer at her side. The creature had steel antlers, each tipped with a gleaming green light that hummed with gentle magnetism. It looked a little like a Christmas ornament, and moved without the grace of its natural counterpart.

At merely a thought, the metal 'skin' of the deer lit up under her palm, and she tapped simple commands on his hide, setting him to take them due North until they reached the river. She set off without another word.

 

[Toko]

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She was surprised at the cool touch of the Magia's hand as they shook in greetings, their kind being one that Toko hadn't had much experience with yet in The World. A sheepish smile lined her lips as Corsair offered her advice about the map, the fighter rubbing the back of her neck with a hand awkwardly in response.

"Yeah, too bad we can't use Google Maps in this world huh?"

She listened intently as the Magia—Corsair... why does that name sound familiar?—roughly trailed a path on the map with her finger, the Lepus nodding in response as she started grasping the path they would need to take to reach Cleartop.

"Ah, you're right... and that shouldn't be too far away from where we are right now. We can probably make it just before the sun fully dips~"

It was then the magitech deer's outer coating begun to glow, Toko pausing to look as Corsair seemed to input some commands before the creature and Magia both began walking in the direction of the trailed path. It took a second before the Lepus reacted, mesmerized as she'd been by these constructed creatures, before she too bounded off and caught up with Corsair as they headed to Cleartop.

"Uwaaah... I'd never seen creatures like these before, they're really impressive, Corsair."

@Corsair

 

[Corsair]

"No rush," Corsair said, as they walked, "the stars will be out all night I'm sure." She smiled again, her mouth only just a curve. Barely more than a straight line between her cheeks. There was something different about her eyes when she joked. Maybe they glowed more, maybe there was a small shift of color, or maybe they focused more intently. Corsair was not the emotive sort, and her body did little to give her away.

The sunlight dimmed and her deer lit the growing gloom. The points of John's antlers glowed like their own little constellation, filling the forest with a green glow that washed out the otherwise mottled foliage around them.

"Thank you, though I imagine others have done far better with their frameworks. What sets these aside is their power source." Corsair picked up Sam the frog and handed him to Toko. Up close, his nameplate read <Puddle Spirit Frog>

"He's quite safe. Merely a scout and unsuited to battle, but look closely. Do you see the fog inside the frog?" She frowned at her own words, the strange rhyming sounding far too childish for her impressive explanation. "The cloud of vapor inside that construct is one of my re-housed spirits. I saved it from a pond not far from here. It provides Sam with a calming influence."

Corsair pulled out Fujitsu, a fist-sized spider, though she didn't hand the magitech over to Toko as she had with Sam. His tag read <Bloodless Wolf Spider> "This one houses the furious spirit of a wolf slain by a rampaging haemomancer," she said, as if she were introducing him as a terrier or shiba. "He's for combat."

She looked over at John, who was plodding along through the brush. "No spirit in that shell yet. He's just operating on programming for now, but perhaps we will find something fitting tonight."

 

[Toko]

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It was... interesting. Toko found that reading the Magia was more complex than what she was used, the normal social queues of other species—including her own—not exactly present when it came to Corsair. Still there was the slight curve of her mouth in what the Lepus interpreted to be a smile, and so she felt at ease to think that—at least for the time being—her presence wasn't a bother to the woman now walking at her side.

"Their power source, huh..." She carefully received the frog magitech when Corsair handed him over, carefully cradling the creature before peering at the visible nameplate on Sam. "... Puddle Spirit Frog?"

She was mesmerized by the structure of the frog, the body heavier than one would originally think for a creature of its size—although this was no issue for the fighter. "Eeeh... sugoi." There was a translucent quality to what was essentially the skin of the creature, and upon lifting Sam a little bit closer to her face for a better look Toko could see a swirling fog within—the spirit that powered the magitech—along with the small mechanical components that formed Sam.

"It's like Sam now has his own little battle spirit~"

Fujitsu was also an interesting creature, the Lepus nodding in understanding as Corsair explained the tasks best suited for each construct. "Oh... so they can still operate without a spirit then?" Toko had taught she was beginning to understand how the magitech constructs worked, but the new information of John immediately threw a wrench into her thinking.

"... are they only able to operate without input then when a spirit's housed within?"

@Corsair

 

[Corsair]

"At their heart, they are machines. Unless given some sort of command they won't do anything," Corsair said. "Most of the constructs have standing orders to stay quiet, un-illuminated, and within a certain distance of me. If I need them to do anything specific I can give them basic commands verbally, or more specific commands via contact."

She watching John as the deer hopped over a fallen tree. He landed on the other side, but Corsair simply walked around the obstruction, following his light to meet him on the other side. "John is set to walk due North until he reaches a river. That's it. I didn't bother with battle or avoidance commands because I'm with him. If I were to be knocked out right now he would keep going without me and I may even lose him in the forest." She frowned ever so slightly at the idea, though she knew she was in no danger. "Those edge cases, and the phrasing of the commands are honestly the hardest part of magitech in general. Machines do exactly what you tell them to. Nothing more. Nothing less. That's just how it is in the real world, too."

She held up Fujitsu, watching the wolf spirit snap and snarl inside. "But give it a spirit and you add a permanent mind into the mix. That's when things get tricky. If the spirit doesn't mesh well with its container then you end up with something like Fujitsu here. He can barely bite, can't run, has trouble with silk, and switched from four legs to eight. When I first settled him it was a nightmare." The spider walked up Corsair's arm, its legs paired up to make four sets instead of eight individual limbs.

"I should make him a better body. Something more fitting." She eyed John, wondering how the wolf spirit would settle into the deer's body. "Do you have any experience with spirits?"

 

[Toko]

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"I see..."

Toko listened intently as Corsair explained the mechanics and limitations of the magitechdeer, walking along besides the woman as Sam remained cradled in her arms. Occasionally a thumb would rub softly on the surface of the creature, much like one would caress a bet they were holding, an unconscious habit that Toko was used to whenever she held an animal in her arms.

In a way John was simply focused on one task, and only that task alone... even the log in its way would not impede the deer from achieving his goal as it was simply jumped over, while Corsair and Toko simply adjusted their steps to go around the fallen tree.

"... so giving them a body that is similar to the original one the spirit possessed in life can be beneficial, huh?"

In a way she supposed the spirit was the conscience more like an actual power source, what enabled Fujitsu and Sam to move on their own instead of holding a beeline focus to one task and it alone. A part of her wondered then if the spirit could even feel like the Lepus felt, and if that was the case would it even be aware of the occasional caress that Toko gave Sam's sides every now and then.

"Very little actually... I recently learned a new skill, Battle Spirits." She had been mesmerized by the ability since the first time Toko had come across Alonso, her sensei. "Sensee has an amazing control of his own, but mine is still new... and it can be quite troublesome to tap into it at times."

@Corsair

 

[Corsair]

Corsair nodded. Troublesome was an understatement. The one and only time Corsair had tapped into her Battle Spirits the wolf spirit inside Fujitsu had taken over her body and she'd torn a haemomancer apart.

Ahead, the constellation of John's antlers came to a stop, and the pair caught up. They'd reached the river. It was a wide and restless stream, bumping along over smooth rocks as it washed Eastwards towards the fork.

She tapped John's back, adding in new commands before the group headed down river. The sun was well past the horizon, but the sheen of the brilliant moon overhead turned the river as silver as Corsair's hair. Occasionally a fish jumped from the stream, perhaps trying to reach the stars.

They moved downriver, and after a time came upon a temple. Corsair unfolded her one of her own maps which, while far from perfect, marked the temple on the map with a tiny symbol of a lily: the symbol of the goddess Synra. Stacked up outside the temple were wicker boats, each not much bigger than a plate. There was an unmanned offering box nearby, with a stack of waterproof paper and wax crayons for pilgrims to write their messages on before setting them afloat on the rapids.

A sign on the box listed the prices for paper and boats, and Corsair flipped the couple of gold into the box. "It says here that she's the Goddess of Undeath," Corsair said, picking a deep purple crayon. She extended the blade from her hand and sharpened the implement, writing in quick, clear lines. "May you
move faster than your father, and always be at our backs." She folded the paper and tucked it into the boat. "I don't have anyone to pray for, so I guess it's just us for now."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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Slowly she had come to know more of the pantheon that existed in this world, although most of Toko’s current knowledge came from second hand tales and stories the Landers of Honeyhome had shared with the rabbit. They were intriguing, especially the one of Synra, and as the pair came upon the temple Toko couldn’t help but take a moment to drink the sight in.

"Sugoi dess…"

She’d heard of the temple build for Synra from the very Landers in the village, but—although Toko had wanted to visit it—she had never found the time to actually pass by it… until tonight that is. Here, with the sounds of the rushing river and the silver glow of the moon above, the temple held an almost otherworldly presence unto itself.

Just like Corsair the Lepus also allowed two of her golden coins to slip into the unmanned offering box before them, before the rabbit bowed deeply twice. Two soft claps followed the motion, continued by a short pause, before a final bow was given. Finally a piece of waterproof paper and a crayon were picked up, the Lepus carefully writing the kanji 大吉 on its surface, before Toko joined Corsair by the edge of the river.

"May she receive great blessings… and, in turn, smile favorably on us should we ever need her assistance."

Her own piece of paper was slipped into a tiny boat, allowing the figure to slowly float into the river, before Toko turned to give Corsair a smile.

"That said… it’d be nice if we don’t need her help any time soon, ne?"

@Corsair

 

[Corsair]

"Big luck", Corsair said, reading the translated message over Toko's shoulder. She'd had an inkling for a while now that the Lepus wasn't exactly...Western, but one of the wonders of Terrasphere was the universal translation into common.

They watched the boat float down the rapids, bobbing and rising in the stream as it slid around the slick rocks and through the white waters. The metaphor was clear, and Corsair waited until it was out of sight before crossing the creaking bridge and pressing on along the dark riverbank, now on the Northern shore.

"We make our own luck," she assured Toko, almost smiling. "Synra is just a backup. Like a second HDD or a printout. We have a saying in tech: 'Jesus saves, preferably externally.' It's just a little joke, of course, but humor has its place."

The stars were clear overhead now, though they only caught slivers through the breaks in the treeline. Foreign constellations gleaming with undiluted ferocity. Gorgeous shimmering stars burning bright overhead.

"Not far now," Corsair said, finding herself talking louder to account for the rush and crash of the rapids. "Once the river splits I'll program John to go Northeast and then we're as good as there."

 

[Toko]

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"Mhmm… wait, you could read it?"

There was a surprised look in the Lepus face as she turned to look at Corsair, she has gotten so used to meeting Westerner players in the game by now that Toko had all but forgotten there was always a small chance come one closer to home might be playing TS too. Still the rabbit didn’t wish to get her hopes up too fast, less they came crashing down just as quickly, and instead settled on sharing a bit more about herself with her new companion.

"I’m from Oogimi, around the northwest area of Okinawa Island."

Eventually the boats would disappear from their view as the two women renewed their pace, the Lepus following Corsair’s lead as they crossed towards the Northern shore of the riverbank. A soft chuckle escaped Toko as Corsair shared some words of wisdom, the rabbit nodding in agreement.

"Learned that one the hard way once… always back up everything from my online store, internally and externally, after that fiasco."

There was a moment of silence as they walked, Toko taking the time to look upwards to the skies and drink in the night sky. "You know, the skies back home are really impressive… and yet I can’t help but feel in awe with the starry nights in this world."

@Corsair

 

[Corsair]

"Everyone can read everything here," Corsair explained. "As long as you're not writing or speaking nonsense, all of your words and writing go through a filter that translates them into common. In speaking American English right now, but I'm assuming you're speaking Japanese? I've never been." Corsair lapsed into pensive silence. It didn't sound like she had much interest in sharing information about her own real life location or situation.

She nodded at the Lepus' excitement over the night skies. The clarity was almost overwhelming. Hundreds of stars, clear as fireflies caught in tar. She watched them for a while, enjoying the undiluted sky.

"No light pollution out here," Corsair said, as the ground beneath them started to turn steep. She could see the swell of the Cleartop rise ahead of them, but her attention kept being drawn away by the gorgeous sight. She looked for a familiar constellation in the Southern sky: the knife, but found its handle was all tilted, making it look more like a boomerang. "Let's hurry and get to the top. We've got some mapping to do."

 

[Toko]

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Ah, right, she had completely forgotten about the built-in translating system that TerraSphere seemingly operated with—and the reminder caused the hare to look crestfallen for a few moments before Toko pulled herself together once more. "Of c-course, silly me… I often try to stick with English when I’m in the game, but sometimes a bit of Japanese slips into my speech." She had grown so accustomed to TerraSphere now that the rabbit had forgotten those little nuances the game’s programming took care of in her stead.

The many stars littering the night sky helped lift Toko’s mood again, a soft squeeze given to the magitech frog that she had been tasked with keeping by her side as the two continued to make their way towards Cleartop. Soon they came across a steep incline that marked the beginnings of the hill, Toko’s eyes occasionally roving through the skies above in search of anything that might be familiar—perhaps a constellation or two that matched the ones back in the real world, though her investigation turned up empty handed after some time.

"Ah, I think that’s the top up ahead… we’re almost there!"

She’d have to find a book on the constellations available around this part of the hemisphere, as well as any meaning or lore associated to them by the Landers—but that would be a task for another time.

@Corsair