Complete Private ✪ Finweald Phantom of the MIT

[Raid Boss]

Whatever your circumstance may have been, you are at the bustling Nine Lions square at the center of Finweald's downtown. The copious amount of people who surround you all have reasons to be there, mostly romantic from the look of it. Yours, however, is a meeting with the phantom of the MIT halls.

Ordnung's arrival was far too ordinary for such a unique character, he walked at a steady pace with purposeful steps that did not waste a modicum of energy.

He greeted you with a neutral, albeit dry tone.

Guten tag, Herr Cain Darlite,

I hope your relog day haz been pleasant and without an affliction to buffer your death number. I have heard ze lions and ze whistles' complaint about ze poor saps who is unfortunate enough to respawn in Vindergard.

Are you famished? Perhaps we can peruse the area for a light meal.

@Cain Darlite

 

[Cain Darlite]

There was something about Advent Lost. Something about putting up a memorial to encompass all the tragedies that befell Astorea. Something about that towering, obsidian plaque, inscribed with names that only became more and more indistinct as it grew taller and taller. Something about how memories were projected to present the finest image of the deceased for the grieving, all through Spirit magic.

Something about it…that Cain fucking hated.

But it was good to dig at old scars, he supposed. Good that they turned sorrows into a movie projector. Kept him grounded, after he had so easily slipped into the rhythm of enjoying a fantasy world. He’d need that grounding for today though. Needed to keep his priorities straight.

Quick steps brought him towards the Nine Lions Square, a bit of a melting pot of a plaza that manifested when merchants and business owners realized that there was a point in the rapidly-expanding Finweald where two major streets both declined as well as intersected, creating a ‘trench’ that was so easy for tourists to go down, but so hard for tourists to get out of. Business flourished, public ornaments were designed, and romance was in the air. On another day, he’d maybe sing something sappy by the fountain, something to give those smitten Landers over there the courage to confess their mutual attraction.

His ‘date’ had already arrived though. A white suit, the fashionable anomaly introduced by players five years past. Hair parted sideways to expose a prominent, unwrinkled forehead. A pair of aviator sunglasses, lenses opaque. Curious character, this ‘phantom’. Cain tipped his hat at his arrival. No smile.

“Only peckish, in truth. You’ve a cafe to recommend in the area?”

 

[Raid Boss]

I frequent Bakery Martini, it haz bakery in ze name, but offer comforting tea and kaffee.

Kom, I'll lead ze way.

The lanky man took the lead, taking you to the bakery. When a colorful wooden sign with bread and steaming coffee could be seen from the distance, it seemed as though the pair of eyes hidden behind the small spectacles relaxed.

When both of you walked by the window displaying all manner of baked wares, Ordnung scanned the selection for anything he hasn't seen before. A slight disappointment.

With the main door reached, he entered the door, alerting the owner with a quiet ring from the bell above the entryway. A small faerin woman in a flour-coated apron rushed out.

"Mister Ordnung, welcome back. Oh-ah, hello, mister?" she greeting both of you before pivoting. "The café is a bit busy right now, but if you don't mind the corner seat, there's a table there. I'll get you your usual, okay, Mister Ordnung?" she said.

And to you, she handed over a cute menu that can fit in your palm, detailing various baked goods and refreshment.

Ordnung took a seat and quietly observed the patrons occupying other parts of the store. He waited for you to finish your order before he return his attention to you.

I have neither interest in games nor politics. This world has changed since you have last logged in. Ze mysteries and ze deaths are unpalatable.

Have you thought about where your interests lie? As one of your status, surely you don't play the game for the sake of fun, do you?

@Cain Darlite

 

[Cain Darlite]

Bakery Martini, was it? A name like that gave certain impressions, but the menu selection seemed mundane enough, at least for a daytime menu. Cain’s eyes glanced over to the back of the counter where the barista worked, to where rows of baked breads were stacked and displayed for patrons who sought to take it out. Smells of oils and salts, yeast and grain, mixed together to form a medley, but it was the form of one that caught his eyes.

Pain D’epi. Bread baked to resemble stalks of wheat. Nostalgic. The place where she had regularly bought it from closed a year and a half ago, and there was yet to be a replacement. So it would be that. A whole loaf of it, as well as a cup of juniper tea. He’ll make it a nostalgic snack today then.

Ordnung was here to talk business though, his words sharp and severe, and Cain himself leaned back, removing his hat and placing it on his lap. He clasped his hands together over crossed legs. “You flatter me, Ordnung,” the midnight-haired muse replied, “I own no land or title, and just as how the world itself changes, opening itself up to the exploration of further expanses, there will be others with greater ambition and power than I, arrested by revolutionary obsession and possessed with higher knowledge. For the designs of MIT, it would appear curious, why you would pick at a fruit fallen from a different tree.”

A sigh. The Phantom wasn’t wrong though, and the Flagbearer was just dancing around the topic.

“But records from four years past have not yet faded to obscurity, I suppose, so this shouldn't come as a surprise for you, should it? I ‘play’ out of spite, and my interest has been split between saving those trapped in this game, and making this world a paradise if restoration is an impossibility.” Grand goals, but nothing so wild as what he once dreamt. “Tell me, Ordnung. Have the prodigies in MIT made any headway regarding Dissonance and its more...metaphysical effects upon the perceptions of the Starcalled?”

 

[Raid Boss]

The blonde phantom listened with great interest as he waited for the owner to deliver his coffee, brewed and dressed to his exact liking. He took a sip as the steam rose and clung onto the surface of his glasses, a small price to pay for the comfortingly familiar taste. Somehow, a lander has managed to perfectly replicate a drink from the real world, and perhaps elevate it to such a level that the desire to return to his world for another taste has all but extinguished. Permanently.

When Cain finished his speaking part, Ordnung put his cup down and cleared the steam from his glasses as he addressed what had been said, one part at a time.

While it's certain that ambition and power does seem to push progress, it's drive that ultimately answer the question of 'how long?'

I admit, I did inquire about you from others. Insight about oneself from ze perspective of others is often a more accurate predictor of a person than one's assessment of themselves.

My assessment from ze information received led me to believe that you may be a good fit for ze MIT.

He paused to take a sip from his cup.

Data is difficult to kom by, especially when it seems that players are ze only people who would brave danger for the promise of something beyond themselves.

I must concede to ze fact that progress haz been slower than expected in ze last four years.

But with ze Starcalled's return, ze search for answers can be done more efficiently now.

@Cain Darlite

 

[Cain Darlite]

“Efficiently, because we’ve immortals to send to their graves now?”

Cain scoffed, but it wasn’t as if anyone was at fault for it. Even with knowledge of the UI lock, there were those, like the man who stood before him, who found existence in a virtual world vastly preferable to one in the real world. Even without that allure, the very fact that you had two lives to die before really risking it gave that precious and fake sense of security, the one that would drive you towards the deathly maw without a second thought, offering up your lives for a cause that you didn’t truly believe in. In the end, perhaps that just made sense.

Terrasphere drew those who sought something the real world couldn’t give them. Money, power, fame. Achievable through brute violence that you could obtain at a pace that’d make a two year college certification feel like a meandering detour.

A sigh slipped out. Such thoughts were just ruining his own meal, rather than building towards anything useful. The muse massaged the bridge of his nose. “Four years has passed since. I’ll grant some allowance owing to the destruction of the former capital, of course, but Tertoria itself had opened its borders during the absence of us players. A nation that has much greater experience and knowledge of Dissonance than any other.”

“I am a support, flexible and experienced.” Cain said, his gaze becoming a touch imperious. “Any of the four factions would have need for me, in the end. My search for the solutions to my objectives will lead me further and further into the unknown, making the Explorer’s League a more attractive offer to me, especially as they would be the cohort who would make first contact with places untouched.”

He sipped at his tea, allowing a few seconds for Ordnung to place the pieces together.

“What can MIT offer me that they cannot? Understanding, of course, that I have no particular interest in simply replicating modern conveniences in this fantastical world.”

 

[Raid Boss]

The bespectacled man listened to the muse without adding any thought of his own. There wasn't any sort of emotion that could be gleaned from the phantom's sharp eyes. It was clear to him that they were in the negotiation phase and after @Cain Darlite punctuate his point, that it would be his turn to make the muse a satisfactory offer.

What point is zere to make ze first contact with ze unknown? Understanding koms from the dissection of data. Ze light from ze death torch can blind the objective truths when you're so close to it. I personally believe zat human's desire to connect with ozers stops them from obtaining true knowledge.

I have no desire to recreate ze other world. What I desire is to strip zis world bare and see it for what its truly is. Nein, I must know. If your goals are to obtain true knowledge, then there is no better faction for you zan with ze institute.

 

[Cain Darlite]

There was poetry there. Unexpected poetry, coming from a man otherwise so stoic and straightforward. But beyond that, there was the thirst, wasn't there? A hunger seething, a greed revealing. Obsessions stalked all those within Terrasphere, and Ordnung's was certainly one that was grand in scale. To dissect this virtual world and reveal the wireframe beneath the textures and sensations was a task gargantuan on scale. Even with hundreds of years of studies, the center of the 'real' world was theoretical, and the depths of the oceans have never been fully uncovered.

And here? Where the earth could hide devils and the oceans could house the eldritch? It was suicidal. He had witnessed what merely the temptation of knowledge could do, had seen Seigi die simply by looking down upon what she shouldn't have. Ordnung would not live long. Not unless attached to a healer. And despite all that...

"The light of Death's Torchbearers can blind one from truths, but more importantly, can burn away what is true. Disregarding your beliefs about human nature, Ordnung, I must say: you imply that there is no value in being the one to make first contact, and you glorify what data could unveil of objective truths. But data, new data, can be a transient thing as well, even with the efforts of the greatest Chronomancers."

Cain sighed, ever the dramatist.

"If true knowledge is drawn from data to be discovered and dissected, why would you trust that such data not be contaminated by those who challenge the unknown with a sharpened blade and a tempestuous might?" By those who may just as well attack what they did not understand, destroy what they could not solve. "You are driven, and your desires appear genuine, Ordnung. But that still confounds me then, why you'd allow amateurs to fiddle with new discoveries first, and risk the loss of something irreplaceable."

 

[Raid Boss]

Ordnung savored his drink, allowing Cain to dismantle his arguments piece by piece in the so-called battle of wits. However, the phantom in white did not consider their conversation a battle.

Ze potential loss that results from data being handled by amateurs, fearless researchers are often given ze front seats of dangerous expeditions, though I admit that it's never completely foolproof. However, risks are inherent to all paths of life.

Considering our conversation so far, I think you may hold ze wrong assumption about my belief.

My world is one of order and concordance, I believe that everyone serves a purpose and I trust ze whistles to leave ze truth untarnished for their role is one that leads the way, to shine ze light for those who would look at what lies beneath the unknown, and to protect them are those who swear to protect.

Unlike how I may present myself, I am a humanist. I believe in ze unexplored potential of humanity. After all, mankind is more than the sum of its parts, and it is only through cooperation that we can find answers about the nature of this world.

 

[Cain Darlite]

A humanist?

Well, the matter of definitions was such that no one could ever truly agree on what exactly such schools of thought could be composed of. Philosophies had iteration as part of their features, after all, and the only way to make one unchanging would be to die and allow your forebearers to branch out.

"Everything in it's rightful place then," Cain mused. "I've more to say, perhaps, about the fractured nature of these factions, but I suppose it's not out of the question either that they are far less concretely-bound than the businesses and unions of the world you left behind." The benefits, beyond rudimentary bonuses to reputation, appeared small, after all. No health and dental, no legal advice, just increases in rank and responsibility, all unpaid for.

"You remain an enigma, Ordnung. You are a self-professed humanist, and yet you scorn the creation of human connection. You seek knowledge ardently, yet you will risk its loss under your faith in concordance, in sequence." Cain leaned back slightly, his tone gradating into that of a conversationalist rather than a debater. "There's a story I read once. A line that stuck out. 'You chose survival, and humans chose civilization.' As the founder of MIT, how many lives is the Truth worth?"

 

[Raid Boss]

By the time they arrived at truth, the remaining sip of Ordnung's coffee had become cold. The specter put his cup down as he placed both of his arms on the table and intertwined his fingers. His eyes were unemotive and his tone factual,

Alas, to be a contradiction is to be human. Most people prioritize their own safety, yet the most human of us all are the ones who put everything on the line in the pursuit of truth. The modern world has lost sight of such humanity and now kneels at the altar of greed. This world, is different, however, for us who are blessed with immortality, should we not follow the humanists of the past to pursue truth?

There is something raw and pure about this world, and I must see it for myself, no matter the cost.

 

[Cain Darlite]

Cain was careful to remain composed.

The Phantom of MIT, the leader of MIT, was a madman. One who looked at the development of human society and saw a decay so revolting that he chose to escape it by diving from reality, killing himself three times, and then embracing a world so utterly fantastical as Terrasphere. Immortality, a blessing? No. It was an illusion, a lie that deflated the value of a human life, until people thought nothing of burning away their hearts for what could only amount to a single digit percentage of a monster's health bar. Heroes only retired to peace in fiction, and idealists only found their utopia within dreams.

Humanity birthed society, and no matter where they ran off to, their nature, their greed, remained.

Ordnung was a moth, flying into the flame.

The Explorers were purists, survivalists, seeking newer sights. The Guild would dirty their hands, but their motivations remained founded in what all humans sought. The Lions were built on the foundation of a friend's belief, and would not stray so long as they kept their vows.

But for MIT?

"Fascinating."

The Flagbearer smiled. A genuine smile.

"I am willing, then, to raise my banner for MIT's cause, Ordnung, but as I am not a researcher at heart, nor particularly strong of arm, I can only assist you under the condition that I become a Councilor. I'm sure that sounds acceptable for you?"

He sat back, interlacing his fingers.

"What other use would you have for a bard, if not for work that requires some social grace?"

 

[Raid Boss]

The previously unemotive phantom lifted his chin and stared straight into @Cain Darlite's soul as if to read his intention. There was a strong inclination within Ordnung that suggested that they were kindred souls. However, the man was not so presumptuous as to believe he had the bard figured out. In fact, he was not concerned with what lies beneath the mask at all, a double-edged blade may wound its owner, but do they not fulfill their function in the end?

Ordnung cared not for the motivations of others so long as they were willing to be useful in his quest to deconstruct the world of Terrasphere. As such, he was delighted when Cain took his offer. Compared to the likes of Cessia, the beaurocrat, Levi, the face, and Childress, the target of admiration, Ordnung only offered a goal that far exceeds himself, which made it difficult to recruit the necessary personnel to make the machine that was the MIT efficient.

Excellent. Ze MIT does have a need for social grace. Progress is, after all, often hindered by the lack thereof. Whatever motivates you aside, let's seek for ze truth together.

After the deal was done and concluded, Ordnung stood up and headed over to the shopkeeper's counter where he paid for the drinks and asked for a takeaway box of pastries, one for himself and one for the bard, though, given that he did not know Cain's preference, he asked the owner to confirm with the bard.

With his box in hand, the phantom nodded to Cain before leaving the shop. With the re-establishment of comms networks in Astorea, it wasn't difficult to keep in touch.