Real Spriggans Eat Quiche

Spriggans.

A race despised, hated, forever branded with the mark of their dark past. Murderers, traitors. Driven out by the Landers.

'The Loathed Race.'

Something that is hard to forget, and even if some Spriggans were to, the other Landers would make sure to remind them.

But this, this is Tolbana. A city which offers hope. Tolbana, a city consisting mainly of Spriggan refugees, its population recently beefed up by more Spriggans, refugees from Ezzo driven out of Eas. Double refugees.

The patients are mainly Spriggans, as, at the moment, is the majority of the medical staff. One Spriggan nurse in particular, has reached the end of her shift, and with bags under her eyes, heads to the break room. It's Uta, today dressed in the standard uniform of the Clinic of Tolbana instead of her usual custom uniform/gi combo. Groggy, swaying, she attempts to take hold of the pot of coffee and pour herself a cup. Depth perception is failing her.

"Uta, by the Goddesses, how long have you been up?!", asks the other identiacally uniformed Spriggan nurse in the room.

"Mffppfhgh hours and plflflgh minutes... I think..."

"Your shift was supposed to end after fgfflg hours! What happened?"

"Nurse Murderdeath got called for emergency giant meat cleaver powered monster slaying duty. Something about floor 3 or something."

The other Spriggan nurse sighs. "Typical Darkmist Murderdeath. Finding an excuse to go slay monsters when there's actual work to do. Well..." the other nurse says, "I guess it's time for me to relieve you. You sit down at the table and relax, okay?"

As her colleague heads to the door to leave, Uta staggers over to the table, cup in one hand and a small dish with a slice of - is that quiche? - in the other, to plop down and collapse into some sort of semi-organized pile.

     In the chaos of battle and the danger of monsters in the tower, and the attacking palace landers, there always seemed to be moments of peace. Oddly enough, Demonrose Honami had been having a lot of those. She wasn't training or fighting or anything of the sort at the moment. No, she was... just... relaxing, idly working on some trinkets here and there, writing a little bit in a diary, things along those lines. That is, until she got a message about a certain Utamate being. You see, in spite of being a fighter and a dark being of the ultimate darkness, Honami is also known for her morale boosting properties.
     Which is why she arrives posthaste to the medical wing in Tolbana, as there is someone who has been overworking themselves and requires the tender touch of darkness to assist them in their recovery!
     A swirl of dark petals and black mist enters the staff lounge. And soon Honami is there nearby Uta, holding a black rose out towards her with a flourish. "Hello there, oh darling being of the light, I, Demonrose Honami of the Forgotten Legion have been summoned forth to your side to assist you in your overwork-related recovery!" Wow. That was oddly quick. Was she just. Like. On call for things like this? "Would you like me to get you anything? Something to drink? I think we got in a shipment of coffea recently from the trading company, I could go make you some. Do you desire me to read you a book? Or perhaps sing a song of sweet shadow to soothe your tired mind and calm your fractured nerves?"
     Or would you like her to go away so that your headache stops. That might be an option too.

"...I think I have coffea already...", Uta mumbles, face firmly planted downwards again the table. Must be some sort of medical procedure. Or maybe she's just that tired. "I'll gladly take the song of sweet shadow later. But not now."

There is some silence then--

With superiman effort, Uta's neck slowly, slowly but surely, pulls the head up. Like one of those creepy dolls in horror movies, except that Uta is a terrible fit for the part.

"But I could really use someone to read a bunch of books for me. In the library. While I sleep."

There is a blink, and despite her tiredness, Uta's attention is suddenly piqued. It shows in the stiffening of her wings, and -- did her pointy ears just perk? "...Ooooh. You're doing the petal thing. I -love- the petal thing. It's amazing."

     Hm. It seems that the overworking status effect is worse than they expected. Honami frowns slightly at the faceplant. And she reaches to rest a hand on Uta's shoulder. "Hey. You need to not let them work you this hard. I know it's hard right now, but it's not /that/ hard. Not even the legions of darkness marched their soldiers to the point of collapse, you shouldn't do such to yourself." Honami might be lying on that fact. It's completely possible they were marched to the point of collapse. But that's something for Honami to know and history books to disprove.
     Well. Uta is capable of lifting her head! That's an upside. "...Read a bunch of books for you? Yeah? ...I mean I guess I could do that. I tend to be more of a writer than a reader, but I could do some reading." Honami taps her lip thoughtfully. The petal thing gets a small smile. And the rose (thankfully pre-dethorned) attempted to plant simply in Uta's hair. Where she gets them is kind of a mystery still. Maybe she has someone grow them for her in a secret garden somewhere? ...Or more likely, she just buys regular roses and dyes them black somehow. Yep. That's probably it. Or illusions. Could just be illusions.
     "So. About those books. What were you wanting someone to look into? I'm guessing it's something important, considering you're bringing it up in such a state." Honami says, moving to sit next to Uta. She looks at the quiche. And then Uta. Hmm. Uta is weak. Quiche is delicious. Honami decides, possibly unwelcomely. To attempt to assist Uta.
     Possibly stopped before she gets far, but she does start to cut the quiche, making a small bite-sized piece. Which she offers to Uta on a fork. "Aaaaaah~." She says towards her. This could possibly be embarassing if someone Uta knew walked in on her. But it's probably fine.

Uta listens to Demonrose in stunned silence. "Y...you might have a point there. I should... probably..." A rose. Where did that rose come from? It's one of life's mysteries. Don't question it.

There is no reaction at all to the rose. Uta is either too tired, or simply welcoming a friend's gift. Hard to tell.

"Something dear to your heart. The Scrapped Princess War," She begins. "When I tried to Loremaster the Lander-Adventurer war in Rosenheim, all I got was 'Just like the Scrapped Princesses War... a Lie started everything.' That's the first similarity we've learned about. Now, a question. Didn't you notice -another- similarity between the two wars?"

Perfect timing! Quiche slice, incoming! Look, it's an airplane! No, wait, we do not have airplanes in this world. It's a spriggan. It's a -flying- Spriggan! Take -that-, useless wings! With the power of imagination -- wait, is eating another Spriggan cannibalism? Ok, seems like it is a plane, after all.

Long story short, the plane enters the hangar and is properly dismantled. That's how the metaphor works, right?

     "An enemy that turned out to actually not be an enemy in its entirety. The existence of the uncrowned meaning not all palace land adventurers are dangerous... and likely not even all palace landers." Honami responds thoughtfully. "So looking into history to see if we can find clues about our present." Honami crosses one arm across her chest while the other hand continues to cut small slices of quiche to slowly feed Uta.
     It might look thoughtful if she wasn't sitting there spoon feeding her friend basically. Also it's clearly not a plane either, it's a boat. A boat of quichetonable origins. Yep. "Well, I am always willing and open to looking into my own history more! Perhaps see if I can't delve deep into it..." A smile spreads on the shadow knight's lips. "And, of course, if it helps a friend, all the better!" Perhaps she can also find out information on key notes in the war hidden by time and rewritten histories as well.

    After all, history is written by the victors. And there had already been rumors that there had been injustices done in the name of a history that was kinder to the victors. "Any ideas where to start? Or should I just. You know. Go where the darkness pulls me?"

Uta takes her time to deconstruct the HRM Quiche into its constituent materials, then stares for some time.

She finally remembers to swallow.

"Exactly," she begins, before washing down the ship parts with coffee. "A whole population placed under some sort of magical control, their free will twisted, until such leash was somehow severed." Uta crawls her way to propping herself up and leaning towards Demonrose. "I want to know if the Spriggans of Old were Crowned. By the very same Crowns of Control that are being placed on the Palace Land adventurers. It is entierely possible that Hestia, the creator of the crowns, might have been around back then."

Her arms tremble, and finally give. The noodle arms, they are contagious. Next Strange Mood: vaccine against noodle arm syndrome.

Uta takes some time to breathe. "Go speak with Schnedier. He researched a subject closely related to this. I don't know how much he wants to share, but tell him that I sent you, and that I've told you nothing of his research, leaving him free to decide how much to share."

She manages to raise her head again. "I think the Library of Tolbana might be a good starting point. It's the only fully functional public library we Adventurers have left."

     "Hmm. You know, that /does/ sound like it could be a similar situation for certain. And any clues to solve our current predicament would be a good thing to have indeed." Honami gives a small nod, before reaching, almost reflexively, to put an arm around Uta when she starts leaning over. This was to support, but also hugs are good. If Uta accepts it that is. "Crowns of control created by Hestia. Hm... what if Hestia was a scrapped princess, or helped them?" She muses out loud. Noodle arms, oh no!
     Luckily, Honami was already attempting to support Uta, so it may assist in the noodle-arming. "Right. Talking to Schneider. I think I heard him talking about something like this before, so it seems like a good idea." She pauses. "Now, in spite of /that/... is there anything I can do more specifically for you, hm? For instance, assist you to a bed to rest in? Or get you a pillow?" Honami asks more directly. "Because sleep seems like it is something you need right now. After you finish your quiche. Before you become a patient in the ward that you're working in, hm?" She smiles slightly.

     "Hmm. You know, that /does/ sound like it could be a similar situation for certain. And any clues to solve our current predicament would be a good thing to have indeed." Honami gives a small nod, before reaching, almost reflexively, to put an arm around Uta when she starts leaning over. This was to support, but also hugs are good. If Uta accepts it that is. "Crowns of control created by Hestia. Hm... what if Hestia was a scrapped princess, or helped them?" She muses out loud. Noodle arms, oh no!
     Luckily, Honami was already attempting to support Uta, so it may assist in the noodle-arming. "Right. Talking to Schneider. I think I heard him talking about something like this before, so it seems like a good idea." She pauses. "Now, in spite of /that/... is there anything I can do more specifically for you, hm? For instance, assist you to a bed to rest in? Or get you a pillow?" Honami asks more directly. "Because sleep seems like it is something you need right now. After you finish your quiche. Before you become a patient in the ward that you're working in, hm?" She smiles slightly.

After the quiche and the coffee are finished, Uta attempts to prop herself up. Accepting support is the best course of action at the moment. "Thanks...", Uta says. "I don't know who this Hestia is- wait, did I say Hestia? I meant Helba. Helba's the creator of the Crowns. Hestia is a Traveller we once met in Crescent Burger. Very interesting story, but unrelated to this one. Anyway, I don't know who Helba is, but dang would I love to. For many reasons. People in your Alliance might know more about Helba. She apparently appeared at the 10th floor Boss Fight. I never make it to boss fights, so my leads kind of end there. According to Yuuki, Heathcliff and Helba seem to know each other, but these days he seems to be too busy with the war to talk with people, especially from outside his Alliance."

There is a massive yawns, followed by a mumbled, "...sleep sounds like a good idea... I think... I think we should have a spare bed... somewhere..."

     "Helba? Helba was a hacker in Fragment. I didn't know her since I didn't play it or anything, but I heard about her on the forums. Which really brings the question of how much Fragment and this game are connected, honestly I have some theories but I don't know for sure and don't really want to say things without delving for more knowledge first." Honami gives a small nod as she muses on that. "...Anyway. Hestia sounds interesting too! I'll have to ask about her sometime, maybe even see about meeting her! But anyway. Hmmm. Another thing about Helba is that... she... uh. Definitely made the crowns. I examined one and it said it was once created by Helba, the Queen of Darkness, to fight the Cursed Wave. Which is... interesting." Honami shifts, starting to slowly help Uta up.
     And then slide another arm under her knees. And start to lift Uta up. Yep. Time for a princess carry. "Alright, little princess of light. I'll look into these things. But you? You need to start putting your mind to rest. And take at least a nap, okay?" She gives a small nod, and then starts to simply carry Uta off. To one of the comfier beds in the clinic. How does she know about this? Well, you see, when you say unreasonable things, sometimes you end up in the clinic a lot more often than you should. And some people don't take kindly to someone claiming to be from the lost legion of the scrapped princesses.

"Yes, the Cursed Wave," Uta confirms. "Curiously, that's exactly why the city of Naval Monte, formerly known as Clustania, was originally created: as a private project of a scientifically minded Alv to escape the grasp of the Cursed Wave. It- w...wait. Hacker? You mean an NPC, right? Because... uh..." A blink of surprise. She's confused by her attempt to think and being picked up at the same time. "It can't be. I've found an item created by Helba, tried to Loremaster its last use, and it turned out to be -so far back- that my power couldn't reach." She frowns. "Quick, where does the timeline of Fragment fall on the 50:1 time ratio that was used before the Apocalypse? Was it.." she performs some quick calculations. "...exactly eight years before the Apocalypse?"

There is some thought, and what she finally says (or, rather, mumbles) is, "...to be honest, my Dark stat is twice my Light stat..."

     "No. Hacker. She was a player." Honami responds. "Uh. I think the beta ended in ... like... 2005 or 2007 maybe? So ... maybe? I didn't play it, but I heard the developer who made it died so it never actually got a full release?" Honami responds with a helpless shrug. "I was like, not even 11 at the time, I didn't get really into the lore and dig deep into the forums until I was like, 16. And half of those were deleted by then, but it was just... fun to look through for ideas, you know?" She pauses. "That said, if it was 'before your power could see' and it's a /different game/... that... might make sense." Honami murmurs thoughtfully, humming softly. "Anyway." She continues with Uta, to lay her in a bed, and then smile. "Anyway, don't worry, I'm going to go look into this."