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Characters: Alvin and Raine Sage
Date: Now/after their talk on the communicator
Location: Earth Sector and then elsewhere
Situation: Alvin is staying true to his word in showing Raine around the turtle. Nothing wrong with a little adventure.
Warnings/Rating: None that come to mind, but this is always subject to change

A promise was a promise. There was no way that Alvin would go back on his word. He had every intention of showing Raine around this place. It was always best to figure out where somebody was when it was foreign to them. It took the fear away a lot more easily. It wasn't usually something he would be worrying about when it was not his own hide he was worrying about, but it hit too close to home with all of these others being taken from their own worlds to suddenly be here. He realized a long time ago that worrying about something like that was a waste of time. Being through it once was quite enough for him. As for what he was going to tell this Raine, he would say the only things that truly came to mind and that was to just roll with it. That was if she even asked.

Whatever her journey was all about, he had a feeling that this might not be so new to her either. Maybe not the same circumstances, but there it was. He didn't know if they would be running into any ruins anytime soon or what he would do in one of those. He had been through plenty of mercenary jobs that had him along on expeditions or whatever that would lead him into places he didn't so much care about. It was always just about the company for him. Company was what paid him in money or in simply information. All of that had value of some kind. Monetary was just what he preferred, Here though, information would be kkind of important in the long run.

Back to business though, the Earth sector was his destination. He'd been through there before. It was just as interesting to him as anything else was around here. He was going to leave it up to Raine to figure out where she wanted to go first. It was just the whole mercenary thing coming up to keep him in an even check. It left him pretty open to anything at all. He kept his eyes peeled for the woman. Since he saw her on the communicator, at least he wouldn't be wandering around looking like an idiot.

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The details of their meeting plan had been nebulous at best, but orange coat and white hair do tend to stand out in a crowd, even one as varied as that made up of kedan. She'd found herself a place near a café that offered a good view of the street, and upon spotting Alvin, she made her way toward him, rather than waiting.

The console had failed to communicate that he had at least a head of height on her, but it did make him easier to pick out. "It's good to meet you in person," she said, and, without further preamble, "Did you have anything in particular in mind as a place to start?"

She had many options in mind, but if he had a preference, then so much the better.

He held up a hand in greeting as Raine approached. It was always a little bit different of a feel to meet somebody in person after speaking to them on that communicator. Fortunately for the ones they had here, he could see the faces of the ones he spoke with. The ones he was used to left much to the imagination. Seeing that shade of color in that outfit of hers...well...he could pick that up from a mile away.

As for her question, he was not quite sure how to answer right off the bat. Being a tour guide was not in his job description though he'd been told he had a knack for explaining how to swordfight...which was not the case here. If he was somebody that liked ruins and maybe just architecture in general then they were in luck. He had no idea where she'd been before he finally got here.

Scratching the back of his head, he gave her a friendly smile.

"You cut right to the chase. I like that. It depends on what you want to see. I've been to all of the other sectors and they all have something different with their architecture. We have the palace which we can probably take a look at from the outside without somebody chasing us off. There's also the turtle's head which I heard makes you feel calm, but...I haven't tested that out first hand. I'm also up for just walking until something strikes you."

Too bad choosing was something he left up to the other person. Alvin can be a real pain.

She returned the friendly smile briefly, more in acknowledgment than anything else, and shortly fell into consideration of the possibilities. "A comparison of architecture styles in addition to an exploration of the city sounds like as good a place to start as any," she said after a moment or two of thought. That in particular genuinely was of interest to her, at the very least to see what common threads persisted between sectors. Surely they couldn't be that disparate, elemental affiliation aside.

"That said, I believe you mentioned scenic locations of interest? And a willingness to speak of your world?"

There were plenty of other people she could have shaken down for details about their own worlds, if learning about new and foreign things was her only goal, but there was one thing about Alvin in particular that'd been drawing her attention: he was the only person she'd met thus far who hadn't made some sign of confusion when she used the term 'artes.' Any number of explanations for that were possible, of course, and she estimated a good number of them might even be harmless. No matter what, it was a point of curiosity.

"Did I mention a willingness to talk about where I come from? Hmmm..."

Alvin gave off a goofy grin. He said this in jest of course. He knew what he promised and he did have every intention of mentioning a bit of where he came from...preferably Rieze Maxia and not Elympios. That was a whole other explanation. Even though he made his peace with that, it was complicated to say the least. If she was good at digging that kind of thing up then he might reward her with something. Only so many people knew about his past to a larger degree and those were the two people from his world...er...their world near his world. That kind of thing got complicated.

"To start us off on this grand excursion to check out the architecture, we can go to my sector first since it's right next door to this one. it's the Metal Sector as they call it. It'll have one of the biggest differences."

He gestured for Raine to follow him. He was not really into being interested much in any of this stuff they were going to look at. He'd be lying if he did not enjoy it more with somebody who would be fascinated by it. Admittedly...this place did have a pretty unique spread of the way that the sectors were sectioned off and how some looked like they were rolling in money more. He didn't know about the whole splitting all of them up thing if they were wanting them to work together in a war, but...yeah. Not his problem.

"Feel free to ask away and I'll do my best to answer."

Raine fell into step with him easily, choosing to walk beside him instead of trailing. Harder to anticipate direction this way, but easier to observe. "I wonder a little about the logic of separating metal and wood out from earth," she said, almost idly, in response to his mention of the sector's name. "It's certainly not what I would have expected."

She'd developed some familiarity with the way the Earth Sector was built, at the very least. Parts of it reminded her vaguely of Asgard, the city infamous for its winds-- a piece of irony that had made her chuckle more than once. She hadn't ventured much beyond that, however, save on her initial arrival, and her fingers were practically itching for something to take notes with.

"Where to start," she mused aloud. "Well, for a beginning, what do you call your world? And how do your artes function? Are humans the only sapient species?" The most important basics.

Alvin could agree with Raine there. He just didn't see any point in separating the sectors to begin with. He guessed it really didn't matter though. It felt a little like the kind of thing that went on in his world only...it was more complicated back home of course. Metal for him felt more like home though, so he guess he really had no right to complain about anything. Being home would be the most ideal obviously. Before he could really reply to that though, she went and spoke up again.

She sure did know how to ask the pointed questions. He considered the many ways that he could dodge this sort of question. It wouldn't be difficult or anything. The only thing that made him go back and forth between explaining anything was that this was a completely different world. It wasn't like any of them would be coming with him unless they came from the same place anyways...as far as he knew. Nobody knowing what happened was his ace in the hole of just starting fresh until he got the chance to go back.

Even still...some things were better left unsaid. Maybe he should avoid the topic of Elympios for the time being since that was a whole other story. It wasn't like there was anything to talk about regarding artes there. Then he would get the pleasure of explaining his own deal with artes and how it didn't really apply to him the same way. He was stalling though. He folded his arms.

"It's called Rieze Maxia. The people there are all born with mana lobes that allow them to channel spirit artes. There are spirits that keep nature thriving to keep people living and they live through the mana from those mana lobes. It's kind of a co-existent, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours kind of thing. Not a bad deal."

Now if they were talking about Elympios...not so much. Thinking about it might have darkened his expression a little. Not for long though.

"There are spirits there that have the ability to speak and think and do all kinds of things. They pack quite a punch too. If you ever run into somebody from my world named Milla Maxwell then you should speak to her. She's a spirit."

It seemed like he was putting quite a lot of thought into a basic, but distilling all the information about one's world down into something that a foreigner would grasp easily would take some careful condensation. She also considered briefly that his phrasing seemed odd -- third person, not first person inclusive -- but one point of data was hardly fit to base any suspicion on.

No point to worrying when she could focus on fascinating new things. "It sounds like a convenient natural system," she agreed. "So humans actually create mana, there. Amazing."

She might have pursued that line of thought, but the segue into spirits caught her attention rather more thoroughly. "The spirit Maxwell," she said, pensive, and her brow wrinkled with a slight frown. "There is a being of similar name in my world, as well. Maxwell, the Spirit of Birth. There are very few summon spirits in our world, though. Eleven, perhaps twelve or fifteen depending on how one counts Sylph and Luna... Are spirits more common, in Rieze Maxia?"

Milla Maxwell would go on the ever-increasing list of people she had a vested interest in tracking down and talking to.

"It is pretty convenient. Everybody uses it for the basics. Even turning on street lamps comes from that arte system."

Alvin was used to others doing that, but he had to admit it was a lot more convenient with spyrixes. After finding out how those were made though, it was kinda hard to use anything like them. After going through everything that he and the rest of that group dealt with...yeah. Too much to think about right now. He was just glad that mentioning Milla got them off of that topic. He already thought she was sharp before. Now it was his turn to be a little intrigued though.

That was a little bit too much of a coincidence if there was a Maxwell from Raine's world as well. If their Maxwell turned out to look the same as the one that they had, he could practically feel the chill running up his spine. He didn't really know what that meant though. He got the impression that people around here came from all over and sometimes there were terms and other things that intertwined in some way.

"If you tell me that Maxwell looks like an old guy floating around in some weird contraption then this is going to be a little freaky."

Raine half-closed her eyes, and the cadence of her voice changed a little: it sounded like she was reciting something. "The spirit Maxwell manifests as an aged man in scholar's robes, carrying a staff and a tome." She paused there, and after a moment added, more normally, "When we encountered him, he sat on a floating disc with six petal-like points evenly spaced around it, and demonstrated a predilection for the spell Meteor Storm."

Definitely the voice of experience.

She focused on Alvin again. "I take it, from your question, that yours looks similar. And also that Maxwell and Milla Maxwell are two different entities, albeit with a fairly close relation." She fell silent in contemplation. Could they be from the same world at different points in time? Different iterations of the same world, with certain key things changed? But no, one point of similarity isn't enough to draw that conclusion. "I should like to know if there are other commonalities. Does your world have, or have legends of, something like the Great Tree, or the Kharlan Tree? It would be associated with life, or mana, or both." The Tree seemed like the biggest thing to check, and the most likely to be remembered, if there was greater than chance connection between their worlds.

Alvin arched an eyebrow. Was she reciting something she memorized? No wonder she was into ruins. He had a feeling that Raine was in a completely different league when it came to a lot of this kind of stuff. He was no scholar in other words. That description though was eerily similar to the one that he encountered with Jude and the others. He wondered if they had to deal with the same kind of monologue that they had to go through with their own Maxwell, but he wasn't gonna push through with those questions.

"That easy to read me, huh?"

He chuckled before shrugging slightly.

"You could say that they have a close relation. The one we knew as Maxwell was the real deal apparently. It's...a long story about their relationship."

The whole Maxwell thing being similar in their world was crazy though. As for this...Great Tree...Kharlan Tree...whatever it was, he couldn't say that he heard anything about that. The only things he really knew about after the journey was how Elympios and Rieze Maxia came into being and there really wasn't a tree involved in that. He wasn't really a history buff though, but he was pretty sure he would have heard something by now. He liked to think that he was at least educated in the basics.

"No tree for us. If there was a special tree somewhere, I feel like I would've seen it. Our big thing is actually Maxwell. He's the one everybody knows about being the Lord of Spirits and all. He was responsible basically for watching over us humans and spirits alike."

Definitely no tree and he was definitely giving the most basic of facts right now. He'd be lying if he was not becoming slightly more intrigued by all of this.

"You likely would have seen it, if such a thing existed." Raine nodded, firmly. "Even if it had withered, legend would almost certainly have persisted. Additionally, our Maxwell doesn't bear that title-- rather, the spirit Origin is known as the king of spirits." At this point, she decided, it was probably safe to assume they weren't from the same world, but the similarity of Maxwell was something that was going to nag at her for time to come.

"What could that similarity mean, then?" Architecture was almost completely forgotten by now. She touched one finger to her lips, an absent gesture; her gaze was distant, her focus obviously turned inward. "I wouldn't discount a different time period, though the absence of the Tree speaks to the improbability. Perhaps... different facets..."

She trailed off in the middle of talking to herself, frowning. "There's not enough data to form a reasonable theory," she said at last. And, this time actually directed at Alvin instead of her own thoughts, "Humans and spirits, you said. Are there other sapient species in your world, or only those?"

Alvin didn't really remember any spirit by the name of Origin. He couldn't really call himself a historian of anything like that either though. Maxwell was just something that he learned about more and more after being in Rieze Maxia. He really could care less what the spirits are named so long as they did what they were supposed to do. He did not exactly advocate using up a spirit though like he would have before. It was strange to give a shit about the health of a spirit. After finding out enough about them though...

That...was not really a factor here, was it? Raine was going through these things out loud and he really didn't want to disturb her. Sometimes people that were that invested really hated to be interrupted. She had to have some kind of ability if she came from a place sort of similar to his own. He just got this nagging feeling that he would really regret trying to downplay any of her thinking. He honestly wouldn't want to.

And then he got another direct question. At least they were passing the time. It did take a little time to get into each sector.

"Not really. If you're talking about those that were already sentient to everybody then I figure I can say no. There's a place in Rieze Maxia where people learn a skill called beastcraft. It allows you to speak with pretty much any monster that you come across effortlessly."

To be honest, he might need to look into it himself.

"...That does sound like it could be useful," Raine said. "And I've heard of nothing like it at home. That's not precisely what I meant, but I think you've answered my question nevertheless. Absolutely fascinating-- I don't suppose you know any of how beastcraft works?" She didn't think for a second that just lacking elves and half-elves would remove the hate and distrust of that which was different from people, but institutionalized racism wasn't really a topic there was any good way to bring up, nor one she wanted to get into with Alvin. Neither did she think he knew beastcraft, given the distant way in which he'd mentioned it, but it was worth asking, and it was a different direction.

She looked up and around, moving her focus outside her own mind once again. She didn't immediately recognize the surroundings, though she could see the imminent shift in architecture very plainly. "We're nearly to Metal, yes?" she asked, for confirmation more than anything else.

"Trust me...if I knew it then I'd love to share the wealth. It'd be pretty handy to have."

Alvin wasn't sure about having it in this place unless there just happened to be a lot of animals or monsters or whatever around. Maybe somebody could end up talking to the turtle and seeing what the deal was with all of them being here. It wasn't in his nature to randomly trust what was told to him when he got here. He wasn't really in the position of trusting anybody no matter what he had been through back home. Was home even the right word? That was...really not the stroll down memory lane that he wanted to go down right now.

There was no way that he was even hearing all of her story either. It would be stupid for anybody here to talk about everything on their minds. It would be pretty handy if there was a personspeak, but that'd be a little too convenient and a little too eye opening. Even he could admit that would be a pain.

He was taken out of his thoughts when Raine made note of the surroundings. Yep. They were definitely in his home away from home so to speak. It did remind him the most of Elympios. Feeling strangely more at ease just being here, he nodded.

"Yeah we're definitely on the right path. Even a guy like me can appreciate the subtle and not so subtle differences in the buildings. More interesting here with all of these divisions in where we all live. I'd give you a thorough rundown of the origins of the buildings if I'd built them myself. You'll have to draw your own conclusions."

"There's nothing quite like this back home," Raine said, thoughtful, as she surveyed the surroundings with a bit more care. "The closest similarity I can draw is a place that's... well, worlds away from what the average person would have access to." She was still fascinated by the differences in the architecture, but the metal sector seemed just a little bit alien to her.

She craned her neck a little, looking up and around, and considered how much to elaborate on that. She had promised him question for question, or something like it, and while the details might be complicated, she could do broad strokes. "Much of our world was kept in scarcity for a long time," she said finally. "Even that which prospered did so-- sparingly, I suppose. Honestly, I'd say this surpasses even the most well-off of the cities." Altamira or Meltokio really had nothing on Keeliai.

Raine fell silent for a moment there and kept pace, occasionally twisting to look back at the direction from which they had come and make comparisons with what was around them.

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Geez...I'm so sorry about the wait :c

oh gosh so I am I D: I don't know how that happened.

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