RE: Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen
07-23-2017, 10:07 AM
Alice sat alone. Not that her house was empty. Viss was nearby- After such a short time, she was quite aware of how it felt when Viss and Qhen were in her proximity. She also had learned this unusual prickling that meant that Viss was watching. For now, Viss was not.
Viss was outside, on the other side of the wall, talking with some of the crew. When they learned that Alice had agreed to the exchange- Well, the 'temporary captain' at the time had come by to find out what it was Alice wanted. They were. . . Relieved? To learn that Alice intended for them to finish their work before they were allowed to properly settle in, and that she was also going to look at everything they salvaged, and made a decision on what they could have afterwards.
Jules, their name was? Jules thought the entire thing amusing. Agreed that Qhen had found a 'proper captain' for the ship. They had even brought a peace offering. . . Apparently Jules was originally the engineer, and had been given the captain role because they knew the ship best. So she gave Alice the best thing they could think of as an offering.
They gave Alice the designs for the airship.
Jules used to work for Her Imperial Majesties, in the royal research society. Jules didn't offer up a reason as to why she was no longer with them, and why she had taken a ship and all of it's design documents with her. . .and Alice didn't ask.
She had spent a couple hours pouring over the designs. The ship was fascinating. It was steam-powered, which is. . . rare. Mostly because charge stones were fairly plentiful and powerful enough to drive the propellers to move even a larger ship for at least a week or so- it and were small enough that it was easy (but not cheap, maybe. . .) to keep spares on board.
At least, that's how she understood it. But this design- It was fascinating! The ship's exterior shell was made entirely out of high strength steel! It was a costly material, but it's strength meant you could have thinner walls, and it was reinforced with wood and metal struts that helped absorb impacts. . .
And this steam engine. . . If it did what it looked like, to Alice's novice eye- this thing could practically last forever! It only needed elemental stones to keep the heat going, and it even had a coal box for emergency heating. . . And it only needed water if the 'Main Cannon' was fired? She hadn't really figured out what that was all about yet, and she wasn't sure if she cared right now. She closed the folder of scrawling and scribbles and diagrams and blueprints, and flopped back in her chair in the downstairs study.
Before she chased everybody outside, Viss and Qhen had stopped to let Alice know what they thought. They respected her, and cared for her, and making her the captain was just as much for her as it was for Viss and Qhen and the rest of the ex-crew. It wasn't anything exceptional, but it had made Alice think for a while, which she was doing again.
Alice has no idea what the outside world is like. She's been living on this- picturesque island for so long. . . There have been no problems. . . No worries. . . No-
. . .No, wait. Something feels off. Something. . .hurts. . .
No! Can't think about it. She needs to get out of this room. Out of this house. Outside! She can go out the back door and have a breath of air.
She nearly tripped as she threw open the back door and stumbled out, catching herself on a support for the back porch. She held onto it and breathed. Her head stopped hurting, little by little.
Qhen was sitting on the grass. It took a moment for Alice's eyes to readjust, but she was quickly aware of the small red cape hanging around Qhen's shoulders.
Alice smiled. Free wasn't there, but Alice could see them bow politely when she walked over and plopped down- Right next to Qhen. Her head fell on their shoulder. Qhen blinked, then coughed politely, to themselves.
. . .Alice slowly sat up. She looked at Qhen. Qhen smiled back at her. She turned and looked out off into space. Everything got- incredibly quiet. She was hyperaware of not only Qhen, but Free's gaze. It made her uncomfortable, but not as much as the question did. What was Freedom? A dictionary would say 'the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.'
That was probably the Freedom that Qhen and Free pursued. What would Freedom to Viss be? Probably 'the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.' She could tell that Viss' past was an incredible weight that she had to deal with every day.
So, what was Freedom to her? Alice van Vaugen. Young woman. Bookworm.
( ) "I don't know."
( ) "I don't care."
( ) "Anywhere but here."
( ) "I want to see another island."
( ) "I want to see what the world is like."
( ) "A bar? Adventures start there, right?"
( ) [SECRET ANSWER: Can Alice trust Qhen with this one?]
( ) "How about the CloudSea?"
( ) [Quick, Change to another character!]
Viss was outside, on the other side of the wall, talking with some of the crew. When they learned that Alice had agreed to the exchange- Well, the 'temporary captain' at the time had come by to find out what it was Alice wanted. They were. . . Relieved? To learn that Alice intended for them to finish their work before they were allowed to properly settle in, and that she was also going to look at everything they salvaged, and made a decision on what they could have afterwards.
Jules, their name was? Jules thought the entire thing amusing. Agreed that Qhen had found a 'proper captain' for the ship. They had even brought a peace offering. . . Apparently Jules was originally the engineer, and had been given the captain role because they knew the ship best. So she gave Alice the best thing they could think of as an offering.
They gave Alice the designs for the airship.
Jules used to work for Her Imperial Majesties, in the royal research society. Jules didn't offer up a reason as to why she was no longer with them, and why she had taken a ship and all of it's design documents with her. . .and Alice didn't ask.
She had spent a couple hours pouring over the designs. The ship was fascinating. It was steam-powered, which is. . . rare. Mostly because charge stones were fairly plentiful and powerful enough to drive the propellers to move even a larger ship for at least a week or so- it and were small enough that it was easy (but not cheap, maybe. . .) to keep spares on board.
At least, that's how she understood it. But this design- It was fascinating! The ship's exterior shell was made entirely out of high strength steel! It was a costly material, but it's strength meant you could have thinner walls, and it was reinforced with wood and metal struts that helped absorb impacts. . .
And this steam engine. . . If it did what it looked like, to Alice's novice eye- this thing could practically last forever! It only needed elemental stones to keep the heat going, and it even had a coal box for emergency heating. . . And it only needed water if the 'Main Cannon' was fired? She hadn't really figured out what that was all about yet, and she wasn't sure if she cared right now. She closed the folder of scrawling and scribbles and diagrams and blueprints, and flopped back in her chair in the downstairs study.
Before she chased everybody outside, Viss and Qhen had stopped to let Alice know what they thought. They respected her, and cared for her, and making her the captain was just as much for her as it was for Viss and Qhen and the rest of the ex-crew. It wasn't anything exceptional, but it had made Alice think for a while, which she was doing again.
Alice has no idea what the outside world is like. She's been living on this- picturesque island for so long. . . There have been no problems. . . No worries. . . No-
. . .No, wait. Something feels off. Something. . .hurts. . .
No! Can't think about it. She needs to get out of this room. Out of this house. Outside! She can go out the back door and have a breath of air.
She nearly tripped as she threw open the back door and stumbled out, catching herself on a support for the back porch. She held onto it and breathed. Her head stopped hurting, little by little.
That was probably the Freedom that Qhen and Free pursued. What would Freedom to Viss be? Probably 'the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.' She could tell that Viss' past was an incredible weight that she had to deal with every day.
So, what was Freedom to her? Alice van Vaugen. Young woman. Bookworm.
( ) "I don't know."
( ) "I don't care."
( ) "Anywhere but here."
( ) "I want to see another island."
( ) "I want to see what the world is like."
( ) "A bar? Adventures start there, right?"
( ) [SECRET ANSWER: Can Alice trust Qhen with this one?]
( ) "How about the CloudSea?"
( ) [Quick, Change to another character!]