03-28-2015, 05:50 PM
The wide open green plains and deep forests of Camelot hit deep into Lokarri's mind, calling forth the images and memories of Albion and the Guild. It was still too soon though, and the mental wound ached like a physical pain at the remembrance of it. A winding path led away from the Gate and the stone arrangements meant to highlight it.
The last Hero looked out over the scenery before turning back towards the Gate just as the group of scouts he’d met came through. The still seemed wary of him, though for what reason he could not tell. Skittish, as if he’d leap at them and attack any moment. He gave them a gentle smile to hopefully put them at ease, and then seated himself on the grass of the hilltop overlooking the forest. This would be a good place to have that talk.
The group turned to their leader as if in question of this strange Prime, but all he gave them was a shrug. As far as he knew, this was strange behavior for a new Prime. Then again, all Primes were strange in one way or another, so he really should have expected the unexpected. The leader signaled the scouts to fan out and secure the area while he spoke with the Prime.
Lokarri took a deep breath of the fresh air of this verse as the leader of the scouts took a seat beside him on the grass. He turned to the armored man and gave another small bow.
“I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I was still trying to get my bearings and I may have come across as rude. My name is Lokarri Nexustrasza. You are?”
“I am Captain Jonathon Smith of Minas Tirith.” he responded, unable to keep himself from being at least a little friendly with the smiling Prime. No matter how much he tried to keep his guard up, the simply dressed Prime was too lighthearted and polite to be serious around for long.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Captain. Now, I understand that Omni brought me to this world and that the place I arrived in was the Nexus, right? And this place we’re in now is Camelot?” the questions were asked with a disarming smile, even though Lokarri already knew the answer to both. They were only put out there to get the conversation started more than anything else. That, and to further convince the terribly confused Captain that the Hero was absentminded. It was a subtle manipulation that he’d learned in the Guild during the social etiquette classes and Lokarri had taken a shine to this particular false quirk over others.
It was actually one of the few things that he’d been surprised to learn about the Guild. As it turns out, people trained to kill and develop superpowers at a young age aren’t terribly well adjusted people socially. This was especially evident when said super powered trained killers had to regularly interact with paying clients. To counter the mildly sociopathic tendencies, all apprentices were required to pass social etiquette classes that taught how to react in social situations with everyone from common villagers all the way up to meeting with nobility. Part of this class also gave instructions for using false personality quirks to manipulate the flow of conversations to get more information subtly, even for infiltration purposes.
While most of the quirks were off putting, the absentminded Hero act was the one that Lokarri enjoyed most. Not only because it worked more often than not, but also because the reactions it caused amused the Hero a great deal.
The Captain coughed into his hand to give himself a moment to regain his bearings and put aside this new Prime’s attitude. Frankly, the thought of an absentminded Prime was almost more terrifying than an actively malicious one.
“Yes on both counts. Those who have been brought to the Omniverse directly by Omni are what we call Primes. They have the ability to utilize Omnilium to summon things and grow in power. Most of us here are what are called Secondaries. Secondaries are people or sentient creatures summoned by Primes rather than Omni and cannot use Omnilium themselves. There are other verses like Camelot that all have an entrance Gate in the Nexus, though each verse is different from the others.”
Lokarri nodded along in mock seriousness before going into a thinking pose with his hand under his chin.
“I remember him saying something about Omnilium. Oh! Do you mean this stuff?” he held out his hand and called up a small amount of the energy. The rainbow of colors emanated almost peacefully from the small orb in his hand and the Hero made a small show of examining it.
“Yes, that is Omnilium.” Jon Smith deadpanned, trying to keep his patience in check while dealing with this man. Every time he thought he’d gotten a handle on it, Lokarri seemed to throw his perceptions off again with naught but a few sentences.
Lokarri pulled the orb back inside of himself before speaking again.
“And what of these other ‘verses’? What do you know of them?”
“I don’t have much information myself. I was only assigned to the scout position a short time ago. However, there is a wealth of information in the larger settlements, such as the capital Minas Tirith or the mage city Dalaran.”
The Hero nodded to himself as if what Jon said had confirmed something he had already determined for himself. Then he started climbing to his feet and brushing off the dirt and grass that clung to his pants.
“Well then, I must be off. Thank you for taking the time to help me.”
The Captain was surprised that the Prime was leaving already and shot to his feet.
“Are you sure? I and my men can give you an escort back to Minas Tirith if you like.”
“No thank you Captain. I don’t believe I’ll be visiting the capital just yet. There is so much to explore first.” With that, Lokarri gave another short bow and began walking down the path leading away from the Gate. Captain Jonathon Smith watched the Prime leave with a small measure of exasperation, before turning back towards the gate and ordering his men through. They still had work to do.
Lokarri considered all of the new information he’d been given. This was a strange world he’d been brought to and it would take a bit of time to get used to it. Until such time, it may benefit him to stop the absentminded act that he enjoyed so much. With so many new things around, the act would take too much thought to keep up. He’d still do it every now and then when he felt he could get away with it. But for now it was time to put it away.
He came out of his contemplations just as the light started to die. Night was falling and it would be a good idea to make camp. Lokarri looked around for a good spot off the trail and noticed a curious set of tracks leading off the path and into the forest. It looked like the footsteps of a person, though obviously one not used to wilderness survival.
Shrugging, Lokarri started to follow the tracks. They led into the forest for a small distance before coming across a clearing that looked as if it had been forcefully cleared away. There seemed to be a mound of branches and leaves in the center that stuck out as being manmade and the tracks led up to the edge of the pile. Lokarri walked over to the pile of branches and leaves and started nudging it with his foot. There was no telling what could be in there. Although there were human footprints leading into it, it could be some sort of shapeshifting creature like the Balverines back in Albion. He readied himself for combat just in case.
The last Hero looked out over the scenery before turning back towards the Gate just as the group of scouts he’d met came through. The still seemed wary of him, though for what reason he could not tell. Skittish, as if he’d leap at them and attack any moment. He gave them a gentle smile to hopefully put them at ease, and then seated himself on the grass of the hilltop overlooking the forest. This would be a good place to have that talk.
The group turned to their leader as if in question of this strange Prime, but all he gave them was a shrug. As far as he knew, this was strange behavior for a new Prime. Then again, all Primes were strange in one way or another, so he really should have expected the unexpected. The leader signaled the scouts to fan out and secure the area while he spoke with the Prime.
Lokarri took a deep breath of the fresh air of this verse as the leader of the scouts took a seat beside him on the grass. He turned to the armored man and gave another small bow.
“I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I was still trying to get my bearings and I may have come across as rude. My name is Lokarri Nexustrasza. You are?”
“I am Captain Jonathon Smith of Minas Tirith.” he responded, unable to keep himself from being at least a little friendly with the smiling Prime. No matter how much he tried to keep his guard up, the simply dressed Prime was too lighthearted and polite to be serious around for long.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Captain. Now, I understand that Omni brought me to this world and that the place I arrived in was the Nexus, right? And this place we’re in now is Camelot?” the questions were asked with a disarming smile, even though Lokarri already knew the answer to both. They were only put out there to get the conversation started more than anything else. That, and to further convince the terribly confused Captain that the Hero was absentminded. It was a subtle manipulation that he’d learned in the Guild during the social etiquette classes and Lokarri had taken a shine to this particular false quirk over others.
It was actually one of the few things that he’d been surprised to learn about the Guild. As it turns out, people trained to kill and develop superpowers at a young age aren’t terribly well adjusted people socially. This was especially evident when said super powered trained killers had to regularly interact with paying clients. To counter the mildly sociopathic tendencies, all apprentices were required to pass social etiquette classes that taught how to react in social situations with everyone from common villagers all the way up to meeting with nobility. Part of this class also gave instructions for using false personality quirks to manipulate the flow of conversations to get more information subtly, even for infiltration purposes.
While most of the quirks were off putting, the absentminded Hero act was the one that Lokarri enjoyed most. Not only because it worked more often than not, but also because the reactions it caused amused the Hero a great deal.
The Captain coughed into his hand to give himself a moment to regain his bearings and put aside this new Prime’s attitude. Frankly, the thought of an absentminded Prime was almost more terrifying than an actively malicious one.
“Yes on both counts. Those who have been brought to the Omniverse directly by Omni are what we call Primes. They have the ability to utilize Omnilium to summon things and grow in power. Most of us here are what are called Secondaries. Secondaries are people or sentient creatures summoned by Primes rather than Omni and cannot use Omnilium themselves. There are other verses like Camelot that all have an entrance Gate in the Nexus, though each verse is different from the others.”
Lokarri nodded along in mock seriousness before going into a thinking pose with his hand under his chin.
“I remember him saying something about Omnilium. Oh! Do you mean this stuff?” he held out his hand and called up a small amount of the energy. The rainbow of colors emanated almost peacefully from the small orb in his hand and the Hero made a small show of examining it.
“Yes, that is Omnilium.” Jon Smith deadpanned, trying to keep his patience in check while dealing with this man. Every time he thought he’d gotten a handle on it, Lokarri seemed to throw his perceptions off again with naught but a few sentences.
Lokarri pulled the orb back inside of himself before speaking again.
“And what of these other ‘verses’? What do you know of them?”
“I don’t have much information myself. I was only assigned to the scout position a short time ago. However, there is a wealth of information in the larger settlements, such as the capital Minas Tirith or the mage city Dalaran.”
The Hero nodded to himself as if what Jon said had confirmed something he had already determined for himself. Then he started climbing to his feet and brushing off the dirt and grass that clung to his pants.
“Well then, I must be off. Thank you for taking the time to help me.”
The Captain was surprised that the Prime was leaving already and shot to his feet.
“Are you sure? I and my men can give you an escort back to Minas Tirith if you like.”
“No thank you Captain. I don’t believe I’ll be visiting the capital just yet. There is so much to explore first.” With that, Lokarri gave another short bow and began walking down the path leading away from the Gate. Captain Jonathon Smith watched the Prime leave with a small measure of exasperation, before turning back towards the gate and ordering his men through. They still had work to do.
Lokarri considered all of the new information he’d been given. This was a strange world he’d been brought to and it would take a bit of time to get used to it. Until such time, it may benefit him to stop the absentminded act that he enjoyed so much. With so many new things around, the act would take too much thought to keep up. He’d still do it every now and then when he felt he could get away with it. But for now it was time to put it away.
He came out of his contemplations just as the light started to die. Night was falling and it would be a good idea to make camp. Lokarri looked around for a good spot off the trail and noticed a curious set of tracks leading off the path and into the forest. It looked like the footsteps of a person, though obviously one not used to wilderness survival.
Shrugging, Lokarri started to follow the tracks. They led into the forest for a small distance before coming across a clearing that looked as if it had been forcefully cleared away. There seemed to be a mound of branches and leaves in the center that stuck out as being manmade and the tracks led up to the edge of the pile. Lokarri walked over to the pile of branches and leaves and started nudging it with his foot. There was no telling what could be in there. Although there were human footprints leading into it, it could be some sort of shapeshifting creature like the Balverines back in Albion. He readied himself for combat just in case.