Meeet the Landers: Chuunen Shounin

Dun Loireag is hardly the kind of place one would suspect of being the kind of architectural mecca, in the same way as Mac Anu or Fort Ouph. So much of it is made of bridges that run along various parts of the hills and peaks. Yet, it is perhaps those bridges exactly why Goldenblade has been invited here.

Chuunen Shounin is awaiting Goldenblade within one of the streets of Dun Loireag, near the Kitty Candy shop. The bridge goes from one cliffside to another, with a large chasm right between it. There's various fans and other pinwheel like constructs tied to the bridge and along the sides of the valley that keep spinning as the wind rushes through.

It seems the old master is enjoying the sights at the moment, and snacking on something.

Goldenblade has, despite the complications of the War and her duties, both official and unofficial, sought out her patron Chuunen Shounin on what seems to her seventy-five year old mind to be a strange topic, given the circumstances. She'd been waiting for the Palace Landers in Eas, and as a matter of curiosity had been reading up on books about the great master builders. She hasn't been able to significantly improve her own technique since building the road to Eas, which took a bit of the wind out of her sails for a while, but she'd have liked to continue to improve. That's what life in a trade is about: continuous improvement.

But that improvement wasn't really happening like it had in real life, how she slowly got better at bricklaying and the related tasks. So, she found all these books in the Library at Eas about the great builders of old, and was a bit surprised to see Shounin's name on them as author or coauthor. But it seems entirely fitting that she go and talk to him about what she's read, and maybe put things together better in her mind.

Having arranged the meeting, she approaches the bear Cait Sith and bows her head. "Good day, sir," she greets him, a trifle formally. It's not a thing she does typically, not at her age, but she's seeking advice, so it seems appropriate here.

The old man shifts and turns around as he hears Goldenblade approaches, putting down what looks like a small pipe, and puts it out over the edge of the beautiful white marble bridge. "Ah, yes. Miss Goldenblade." He considers her youthful by the looks of her, but he's come to learn that miss Goldenblade isn't perhaps as young as she seems.

"I believe you wished to meet on the matter of architecture, is it not? If I am not mistake, you are the one who built the path leading up to Castle Eas. Correct?" He inquires. "What is it you seek to do within this field? Architecture is a rather sizable field after all." He then shifts away from the edge of the bridge and motions for Goldenblade to follow, as he starts down one of the many stairs that lead 'down' from the sides of its various hills. Many of which are rather known for leading to nowhere. As if this city were never truly finished.

Goldenblade will take 'Miss Goldenblade', it's better than 'Paula', which luckily only Uta calls her. She nods about wishing to meet about architecture, and again about her role in the Eas Road, though when questioned about what, specifically, within that field motivates her, she has to consider. It /is/ a vast field, just as he says. As to her age, explaining playerness to Landers doesn't seem to get anywhere so he will just have to chalk it up to some folks' strange ways.

She will follow where he leads, making her way down the stairs, and wondering what final plan might have placed this structure here as she works out her reply. "I've always been partial to homes," she explains. "When someone can move into a new place, and find it beautiful and safe and sound," that last being particularly meaningful in Japan, given the earthquakes, "that pleases me. But that can be a small place, or a place as large as Neuschwanstein," he realizes Shounin won't have heard of that, and adds, "a grand and beautiful castle where I am from."

The old man continues down the stone steps. Some of them worn away by weather, some of them held together as if they could withstand the test of time until eternity. There's certainly a strange corroded sense below a certain 'line' within this city.

"A home. A home is a great place to build. A home is safety, and hearth. But if you wish to continue to create things, you must look beyond 'merely' making a home." He halts as they approach what looks like a metalic door of sorts.

"When you look at this city, what do you see? What does this city make you feel?" He asks her.

Goldenblade follows down the steps, noting the weathering with a practiced eye. The sense of corrosion is disturbing, but she's not entirely sure what to make of it. She nods to Shounin about going beyond simply making a home, she's worked out that the simple goal is probably not quite enough. It hasn't been enough when building at Eas, though that's a mix of new construction and refurbishment of previous construction.

But as to what she sees here, she looks around, but will echo her original thought: "It wasn't completed, I think. There's places that look like maybe there could have been a thing there, but it's empty, or something else was placed in an open area much later just because there was space available. And down this far, it feels a little ... worn. Decayed."

"Hmmm, you are right." The old man remarks. "It was an unfinished Alven project. Yet, against all as it may be unfinished, it is a beautiful city that hosts hundreds of thousands. For all you can attribute to the Alv, they thought big. Which is a rather unusual thought. After all, the Alv were the antonym to our people. There were /few/ of them. So why make a city with so much room?"

He remains there however, looking at the big valleys. The bridges.

"But what do you think they were building here, if not just a city? Fort Ouph is a fortress of the skies. The Holy Empire Westelande is an Earth fortress. Mac Anu is a fortress of the ocean. Yet Dun Loireag, is not one of earth, wind, fire or sky. At least, not to the naked eye." He knocks his knuckles to the door next to him. A hollow metalic sound echoing in the valley.

"This City is not just Housing."

Goldenblade nods slowly at the word that it was unfinished. It seems apparent, to her eye. But as to what it may have been, or been meant for, she doesn't know enough about the Alves to speculate. "Why make a city with so much more room than they needed, indeed? Unless it was, from the start, intended to house others?" What other reason can there be?

She follows his gaze across the valleys and bridges, and considers the classical elements as the other capitals are named and associated with elements. "Fire is the classical element that remains, and fire is more than destruction. Fire forges metal and bends steel to shapes that can seem quite odd. Fire can create as well as destroy. Ancient mythology attributes creation to a forge, so ..." She can only shrug. A metal door, sign of metalworking, a thing she's also studying, that she thinks will help her with construction. But as to the city not just being housing, she admits, "My grandsons would wonder if it could turn into a giant robot." And that's an interesting thought, for why places don't seem to connect as they sit now, and also why a place might be larger than needed: if you needed a place for machinery. That'd also make it a city of fire, come to think of it. So now she's giving the idea serious thought ... /could/ it be? This world is magical and amazing in the strangest places, could this be something like that?

"A giant robot? Hah..." The old man laughs in amusement at that. "It certainly doesn't appear like it'd be beyond the means of the Alv. But I do not believe this was meant to be such a place." The man opens the metalic gate, and motions inside. "Equating it to such simple elements is of course a bit simple. As you are well aware, the Salamanders are helped by the flame of their Kingdom. And ours is helped by Earth. But I believe such elements are not bound to the functions of these cities."

He touches a hand to a small object on his chest - a coin - and shines a big light at what lies beneath one of the many hills of this city...

And reveals an enormous cavernous space. There are ancient machines lining the walls which have long since fallen to disrepair. Enormous movable metalic beams hanging from the ceiling, meant to lift enormous objects. There is nothing within that large cavern. But there are two large metalic doors pointed to the South of the city - built into the edge of the cliffs.

"With Architecture, it is often important to consider what you /don't/ see. The basement of a house, its foundations, are oft its most important feature. Yet, your average person will never see it, or care about it." He explains as he gives Goldenblade time to step in.

Goldenblade nods about the elements of the cities not being tied to the elements of the people. Shounin mentioned Breg Epona being an Earth Fortress, so that's pretty clear. She nods at this place not being a giant robot. That's a bit of relief to her, honestly. Particularly if it were captured by the Palace Landers.

She gapes as he reveals the cavernous basement space with the ancient machines ... are they building machines, she wonders? War machines? With two large doors to let them loose into the world. "Or is this some grand assemby area where things may be constructed whole and taken out into the world?" She peers around, trying to make sense of it all.

"They were building something big. Something very big here. And there are more of these within Dun Loireag." The man explains to Goldenblade. "Whatever they were building here. It was going to need a crew. I think that is why this city was built. A town, above a military facility. Whatever was once being built here is no longer in this place. But..." He begins to descend down. "There is this."

He leads her to a metalic table, which holds some kind of metalic 'rod' that is slightly sticking out of it. The old man waits for Goldenblade to catch up, before he touches his hand to it...

And a big blue hologram springs to life before her very eyes. Showing an initial architectural diagram of this city itself. The bridges are marked out, every single one of them, with lines running from them to large hollows like this one she stands in now. Various fans, solar, and other designs suggesting that everything in this city was built to support these things. The housing. The energy gathering. Everything. The waters beneath used to cool any heat produced by the work being performed here.

There is this intense synergy of everything. A grand vision that, in a moment of recognition... seems to touch Goldenblade's heart. This intense sadness at a vision that was never completed. Like she can feel the creator's heart resonating with her own.

Goldenblade follows Shounin down and to the heart of the ... city, it seems, of whatever structure it may have been intended as. The giant robot thing seems less farfetched now. She hrms as he touches his hand to the rod, and the holo springs to life, and despite herself, she'll examine whar seems to be a holographic blueprint of something wildly amazing.

It is indeed a grand vision, an amazing future, and a tragedy that it was never completed. She feels the /need/ to try and complete it now, just to make it into what it had originally been intended to be. "It's amazing," she whispers simply, and tries to take it all in.

The man rumbles out a forlorn sound; "Unfortunately, we do not have the techniques and the kind of abilities the Alv had. We cannot make something out of nothing, nor can we create something that eternally sheds energy." He points out to Goldenblade. "Still... this is what I wanted to show you. A grand vision, to perhaps inspire you when you create something small. Because even something small, is part of something greater. Things should be part of a greater whole."

Chounin then turns and looks up to the exit. "I will leave you here for a while. But do me a favor... do not tell others about this place. I do not wish for this place to end up being 'used' by those who do not understand its vision. Not to mention... who knows what kind of traps were left behind."

Goldenblade sighs wistfully at there being no way to complete this work. That /had/ to be the case, of course, or someone would have long since, she realizes when a bit of sense settles back behind her wonder. She nods about a grand vision, and says, "I think that must be the case: I've been thinking too small. Projects and tasks, but not about the whole of what I'm making will become in the end. Not on any sort of scale."

She nods about being left here, and promises, "I will tell no one. There seems to be no good that could be done by such an act." As to traps, that will keep her from wandering around and tapping on the metallic objects here. There may yet be some crazy alloys here that ... but that's another discussion for another time. Curious how they relate, though. "Thank you for showing me this," she says solemnly, and she looks at the holographc plans once again. She can't make this whole, but ... some of the ideas may have bearing on something that /is/ achievable...