Roxy doesn't really want to spend all day sitting around and having things explained to her by girls, boys, and various and sundry other sources of information, but Dave did recommend the big huge library in the middle of town to him, and he might as well at least scope it out, since it's on his way to where he's going. He's already been to the hub one time, so travelling there again on the Abyssal Stair should not prove to be exceptionally difficult. He concentrates on his memories of the hub, and steps down the stairs.
Roxy steps out of the Abyssal Stairs and onto a set of somewhat more regular stairs, amidst thronging crowds of tourists, business-people, and average workers going about their business around the city. 5 concentric traffic circles connected to each other by on and off ramps spread out from the dead center of the city where an immense fountain surrounded by greengrass lies, grand with many jets spraying water in impressive interlocking shapes and displays.
The whole place is serene and stately in magically clean white concrete, blue glass, and mannerly floral and arboreal gardens. Around the edge of the central circle is an administrative complex of truly titanic proportions, broken up by avenues for exiting the central promenade.
Equidistant from each other around the circumference of the promenade are five spires - the largest buildings in the city by a wide margin, each towering many thousands of feet high, past the clouds and into heaven - spears of glass and steel and concrete that contain many hundreds of record rooms, offices, warehouses, and communications centers to facilitate the central bureaucracy of Sanctum.
Located at East is the Capital Spire, the tallest of the five. At the top, Parliament deliberates on the fate of the billion inhabitants of the City of the Most Serene Republic, though now as at most times there is no Parliament in session.
Roxy: *roxy slips thru the crowds all phantomlike and makes his way towards one a the big interactive directory boards w/all its shiny shiny infos, n starts interacin with it
Roxy: *lotsa em are always available for use since theres most people who are are in the hub are probably there all the time and don't need too much directions, he guesses*
Roxy: *library's in the nw tower, so he prints out some directions and heads that way to scope the place out*
It's kind of a long walk. Following traffic circle directions and crossing at appropriate times, he makes his way out from the middle of the promenade, toward the Civil Archive. He could probably float over there, or use the stairs again, but it's probably safer to walk at this point. Here in the administrative district, there is likely to be additional surveilance, and he would be wise to avoid drawing attention to herself by violating the laws of reality too much.
As he approaches the Spire, it slowly takes on the perception of being like a weird curving plane extending up out of sight, and off nearly out of peripheral vision on both sides. Luckily as it is only nearly noon, the sun is not yet overhead and so the tower still casts its shadow on the other side. He can enjoy the rays of sun pouring down on the promenade, which he does with great enthusiasm.
Here in the Hub and its immediate environs, the climate is much better modulated than in the further out sections of the city, and the whole place is balmy and temperate like almost summer late spring on a windless day.
Once inside the Northwest Tower, he finds himself in an expansive atrium, well-lit by big glass panes that allow sunlight to stream in from outside. Information desks are staffed by clerks directing traffic here and there to different elevators which ascend through the main central shaft, which extends up through the whole core of the spire, titanic load-bearing pillars running up through the many many floors at intervals around the base of it. Smells of food and drink fill the air, a cafeteria near one end of the atrium providing for the worldly supplication of the thousands of staff members and daily visitors to the spire.
Roxy: *man all those fresh + savory smells are good*
Roxy: *ghostly metabolism b damned, hes never gonna get tired of how much goddamn food there is here*
Roxy: *n he believes he is goin 2 have some rite now*
Roxy: *smell basically lifts him off his feet n makes him float toward the source*
Roxy: *he heads over to the cafeteria and buys what may*
Roxy: *in point of objective fact*
Roxy: *be the greatest thing in the universe*
Roxy: *a cheap greasy burg w/fresh veggies*
Roxy: *om nom nom*
Roxy: *if he never has to eat another roast fish in his life it will be 2 soon*
Roxy: nom nom
Roxy: *he does that one out loud js for good measure as he gets into an elevator and pushes the button 2 get where hes goin*
Roxy: *he finishes scarfin down his burg by the time hes upstairs to the libary, n throws the paper wrapper in a recycle bin, headin to wash up before he gets down to bizness*
Roxy: *book peeps prob do not take too kindly to greasy ragamuffins getting dirty mitts on their books :3*
Roxy: *then he heads out of the washroom and starts looking around to familiarize herself with the library and maybe grab some books 4 later.*
Roxy: *probably the metaphysics and the dark sciences so he can start 2 get a hang of how the world actually works now that he has access to some mad sources yo*
Aranea: Hello there. You're related to Dave, aren't you?
Roxy: *roxy nearly jumps out of his skin as the stranger addresses him.*
Roxy: bwah!
Roxy: *he whirls to look n sees the snippiest of bookshrews addressin him*
Aranea: *The lady who addresses him is slight, lithe, and monochromely colored with a short, fashionably girlish white haircut, grey skin, and pitch-dark, shiny eyes behind white-framed cats-eye glasses. She wears a cerulean blue dress with a black sash, and a pair of bright red shoes with long white socks.*
Roxy: whore you?
Aranea: My name is Aranea, and let me guess... you're the Prince? You'd have to 8e. Dave's 8rother.
Roxy: hmm??
Roxy: oh! yes - im totes daves brother dirk. sup?
Roxy: (hehehe)
Roxy: howd u no its me?
Aranea: *She keeps up a relaxed, friendly smile.*
Aranea: The old man told me I could be on the lookout for some associates of his, giving me a handful of portentous titles to work with along with a what details he could make out from his prover8ial tea leaf readings. He was certain you two, the Seer, and the Rogue would make your way here to the archive eventually, and asked me to help facilitate whatever studies you all decided to engage in during your... undertaking. He hasn't clued me in to all the details of it, but you can consider me an ally.
Roxy: ick
Roxy: no offense 2 u, aranea, but i kind of hate that he has us on lock like that
Roxy: lord caledoodle jus keeps gettin creepier
Aranea: His prognostic8ive a8ilities can certainly be frustrating to work around, particularly 8ecause of the way he prizes his privacy, I'll admit. It can often feel like you're part of a particularly one sided relationship, as he maneuvers you into mutually beneficial arrangements with his other associates and subordinates in a tight orbit around himself, never interacting with him personally except through 8rief hurried meetings in pre-arranged locations.
Aranea: Like any Realm Lord worth his salt, he weaves his plots with the skill of a spider arr8nging her we8.
Roxy: or like a creepy puppetmaster danglin all his gross + terrible fake floppy men around
Aranea: Another suita8le metaphor.
Aranea: *She brings a thumb and a finger to her chin in a troubled expression.*
Aranea: Although I don't know how I feel about 8eing compared to a gross, terri8le, fake, floppy man.
Roxy: wow just waitin until u and rose get in the same room together
Roxy: it will be an unfathomable cascade of wordiness :3
Aranea: Hahahaha. Sorry, I know that I can tend toward over-exposition. I'll try to keep it to a minimum and just focus on answering your questions.
Roxy: alrite aranea, hows this for a first question
Roxy: what kind of person has white hair, grey skin, black eyes, and pointy ears? :O
Aranea: The answer to your first and second questions are: An elf, and I am one.
She then proceeds to give an exposition not dissimilar to one which we have already observed.
Roxy: huh :O
Aranea: I'd be happy to give you a more extensive dissertation on the Elves - our different families, martial and scholastic traditions, relationships with other races, romantic dynamics... As a matter of fact, I'm kind of having to work hard to restrain myself from doing so.
Aranea: 8ut one thing at a time. What's your next question?
Roxy: hmmm
Roxy: alrite... how bout this one?
Roxy: can u help me find a good book on the basics of asuras?
Aranea: I'd be delighted to. I can tell you the fundamentals on our way over to the correct section of the library. I'll assume you know little to nothing a8out them.
Aranea: *She leans in conspiratorially as she leads Roxy out of the grand entrance, and through the halls and corridors of the expansive li8rary.*
Aranea: (He intim8ed o8liquely that the 8 of you are from an uncontacted world, which technically m8kes this whole oper8ion illegal, 8ut I'll pretend I haven't figured that out.)
Aranea: At the dawn of time, when the Four and the Seven cooperated with one another to create a realm in the Midst of the Yawning Gap - that is to say, our universe, the Midst - they also called forth many lesser gods to facilitate the Opus.
Aranea: These gods were in four families, two families each representing one extreme axis of one of two cosmic alignments.
Aranea: Since we're talking about the Asurae, we'll gloss over three of them. On one of the two cosmic axes, the axis of the Wild we find the Fae, who embody the vivifying forces of the cosmos - the Green, if you will. Opposite them are the Animoi, who represent the dynamic and awesome physical forces of the elements - the Red.
Aranea: And on the other Axis, we first find the Devae, representing the forces that give order and structure to the universe - names, laws, categories, ideals - the White Force.
Aranea: Finally, we come to the Asurae, who embody possibility, uncertainty, change, and potential. The Blue Force.
Aranea: The Asurae are capricious and whimsical beings of the Abyss - the infinite yet infinitesimal realm of Dreams and Memories that contains the collective subconscious of all living things. According to scripture, it is also the realm where the dead reside either until they undergo dissipation, reincarnation, or some other fate which remains the speculation of theologians.
Aranea: According to scripture, when the High Gods were calling forth the other gods into being, the Asurae answered the call unbidden, and the High Gods rewarded them with names, and told them the secrets of art and craftsmanship to teach to the mortals who would inherit the Midst. It is for this reason that they are sometimes called the Unbidden.
Aranea: Due to their chaotic nature, it is difficult to classify Asurae categorically, but there are some shared qualities that most have in common with one another.
Aranea: The Asurae are fiercely independent, and instead of aligning themselves according to hierarchies as the Devae do, or according to inscrutable strength-based pecking orders as the Animoi do, they tend to arrange themselves in temporary and loose confederations according to shared interests and concerns.
Aranea: They are superior creative minds and talents who make whatever they want, and are consequentially inclined to reward mortals who win their favor with boons of superior magical property and mundane craftsmanship, even as they tend to spite mortals with curses and geases purely to amuse themselves, giving them their reputation as dangerous and untrustworthy wish gods.
Aranea: 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah Sovereign War 8lah 8lah 8lah
Aranea: 8lah 8lah 8lah the Catastrophe! 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah
Roxy: mhm?
Aranea: 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah Old Night 8lah 8lah
Aranea: 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah Watcher Controversy 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah
Aranea: 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah the Nephilim 8lah
Aranea: 8lah 8lah 8lah many many deaths 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah
Aranea: 8lah 8lah 8lah Signatories of the Contract 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah
Aranea: 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah The Intermezzo 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah
Aranea: 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah Rise of the Elven Empires
Aranea: 8lah 8lah paying attention? 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah
Roxy: oh yeah.
Aranea: 8lah The Enemy of All Life 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah
Aranea: 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah many many deaths 8lah 8lah 8lah
Roxy: huh
Aranea: 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah 8lah
Aranea: 8lah aaaaaaaah, here we are. These should suit your purposes well, particularly if you want to find out some basic facts, summaries, and stories about some of the more well known Asurae.
Aranea: *She clim8s a ladder, and slides down a row of books, pulling out a couple suitable tomes entitled, "The A8ridged Asurad" and "Theonomicon Vol. 4" - both large square books several hundred pages long.
Aranea: Do you have a book bag?
Roxy: ...
Aranea: Dirk? Mission Control to Dirk.
Aranea: *She snaps her fingers several time in front of Roxy's eyes.*
Roxy: oh! yeah. soz. i was just thinkin
Roxy: rly deep about all those interesting things u had 2 say.
Roxy: squirrelin em away in my strider boy mind palace
Roxy: settin em on tables and shelves so l8r, when i want to peruse em i just have 2 go lookin for the right memory touchstone
Aranea: Ah! A superior mnemonic device. Maybe if we get the chance to spend some time together on a more... informal 8asis... you could teach me?
Roxy: oh! aranea, believe me u are totes byotiful and interesting but im hells of gay and it wouldn't work out
Aranea: Oh!
Aranea: *She 8lushes, grey cheeks flushing dark.*
Aranea: Mr. Strider! I didn't mean to imply that my interest was romantic.
Roxy: u didnt have to imply nothin sweetheart ;)
Roxy: *wonk wonk wonk wonk wonk wonk wonk wonk*
Aranea: *She bursts into laughter, slapping her knee, and then coughs, stifling it and returning to a li8rary voice.*
Aranea: You are a strange and funny man, Dirk.
Roxy: yeh i have my masculine wiles. neway, if i got ur question rite, u want to know if i have a book bag
Roxy: the answer to which is i do not
Roxy: bc im pr sure this is my first time ever @ a library?
Roxy: (we dun exactly got books on my world just stinky fish and endless oceans and unfair rules i got 2 fight against thru subversive rimes n stories)
Aranea: (In that c8se, we'll get you signed up for a li8rary card, and 8uy you a backpack from the gift shop and you can check out.)
Aranea: *She starts heading back to the entrance of the li8rary, this time just keeping up some small talk, and walks Roxy through the process of registering.*
Roxy: *which he does, filling it out in the name of dirk of clan strider - it is the perfect crime!!!*
Aranea: *And then she takes him to the gift shop and helps him select a backpack stylized with the "Civil Archives of Sanctum" insignia.*
Roxy: c u around, then, Rainy. ;)
Aranea: So long Dirk. May fortune favor your studies.
Roxy: *roxy dips, and heads toward the exit of the nw spire*
Now equipped with a backpack, Roxy is prepared to embark on her next outing in the hub: liberating at least one interesting treasure from what will surely be the largest trove of illegal goods in the whole city. That will show those high-faluting government stooges.
Roxy: hells yeah it will
Roxy: *department of contraband is in the se tower, all the way cross the promenade, so its another long walk through the crowds.*
Roxy: *its in the ministry of justice*
Roxy: *hopefully theres not like ten thousand devas around*
Roxy: *still its on the 420th floor so*
Roxy: *booyeah*
The Atrium of the Southeast Tower is similar to the Atrium in the other tower, but this one is full of protesters - angry unruly crowds supporting various political causes, arrayed in designated areas, watched over by a small handful of vigilant Devae, and a small force of armed and uniformed city watchmen in olive drab fatigues, carrying rifles.
Some demand rights for those dependent on government stipend. Others, recognition for the disenfranchised. Some, expanded political rights for citizens. But the different sections of the crowd seem to lack any unity or center.
Roxy: :(
Roxy: (hope everything turns out okay for em.)
Roxy: *he'd join in the protesting but he doesnt really know what shit's about and he has important stuff 2 do*
Roxy: *he snakes through the crowd toward one of the pillars and starts floatin up thru the building.*
Luckily it seems through a combination of your ghostly insubstance, and the Devae's preoccupation with the crowds, they do not seem to notice you. I mean Roxy. They do not seem to notice Roxy.
Roxy: *whew*
Roxy: *its a long way up.*
Roxy ascends through the central shaft, until he reaches the 420th floor, and floats around, looking for the right place to enter, then floats through the wall into a dim, expansive warehouse full of rows of shelving and crates marked with stencil .*
Roxy: *ok gots 2 find somethin good n maybe useful? oh... bet theres shitloads of weapons in here to grab. and maybe some magical lewt? hed better get a good weapon, considering theres mad staxe you*
Roxy: *he tries real hard to become invisible 4 real, n slip out of sight*
Roxy slips out of visibility, and into a shadowy half-light. As he becomes invisible to prying eyes, so too does the world become muted and blurred, colors fading to grayscale and the ambient sounds of the spire coming in as though he is underwater.
Roxy: *eenteresting*
Roxy: *he keeps lookin*
Disappointingly, Roxy does not immediately find anything he deems to be particularly valuable by Sanctum's standards. Much of what is kept here is stolen goods and what appear to be evidence held for cases.
However, after some time of searching, he finds a selection of sleek black rifles in a box labeled as such.
Roxy: *jackpot*
Roxy: *he picks one up, and holds it overhead one-handed.*
A short way off, there is a racket, over in another rank and file.
Roxy: :O
Roxy: *roxy sneaks invisibly over there, floating above the ground.*
Something has knocked over a large crate, now open on the ground. Suddenly, there is movement as another form scampters down one of the aisles, skedaddling away at high speed on all fours.
Roxy: (omgs!) :DDDDDD
Roxy: *roxy hurries to find dis four legged cutie at all goshdarn speed!*
Roxy: (what if its a contraband animal that got loose!)
His quarry bobs and weaves through the aisles rapidly, but with his ghostly speed and agility, he is able to keep up. His heart pumps excitedly. The chase is on.
He feels exceptionally feline. As he pursues, bounding around corners and along aisles, he realizes it is not an animal at all, but a woman, and senses a kind of playful energy in her. She is not frightened at all, but seems to think she is leading him on a merry chase. At last, he finds his chance, and corners her. The feline urge rises in him unbidden. He knows what he must do.
Roxy: *pounce!*
Roxy: *roxy rolls end over end, catching her and rolling along with her for a few tumbles, before pinning her.*
Nepeta: :3 < *she stares up at him in surprise, and then breaks into a delighted smile.*
Nepeta: :3 < oh wew! youre not a deva or a guard at all are you! youre a thief like me!
Nepeta: :3 < wait! i know you!
Nepeta: :3 < youre that mysterious boy who was in my house!