Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen

Thirding

"I..." They look at you with a line of confusion on their face. You do not move further. You do not speak. You just watch. This is the test. Any fool can make LIFE. Mortals do it all the time. Sometimes by accident, and in turn, sometimes forsake that life to suffer on it's own. They lift an arm, and grab the pen. It touches the paper, and you watch them take their first steps into this world. The lines of ink are precise, each letter perfectly written, with no hesitation. It is how they have imagined themselves.

Pride. An interesting feeling, but one you feel all the same. Each stroke of the pen is being slowly carved into your mind, and you can feel them absorbing energy from the void around them.

Alice... Van... Vaugen.

"Huh- I mean, yes?" An interesting name. Alice, of Vaugen. Is that your Begetter's name, or your Progenitor's name? "... What?" Sorry. Is that your father or your mother's name? "... I hadn't thought of that." Well then. Sit. Think. Remember. Recollect. Recall.

You reaches out and gently slide the scroll of paper to your side of the table. You admire the letters. It feels like something that should be framed on a wall. Instead, you begin to extend the length of the scroll as you scrawl onto it with a fingernail, searing your own letters into the page. When you are done, you place it back on the table, and turn it so Alice can read it. They glance at it, then back at you. "Is this...?" You. Yes. It is the current sum of your existence... should you wish to change anything- You gesture back to the inkwell and pen. Alice looks down at the scroll again and begins to read.

Code:

Alice Van Vaugen
Born Third Charmsday under Epelle, Aspect of the Fossil Bone Quickblade

'Would not throw a book in anger.'
'Easily engrossed in books.'
'Socially inept.'
'Somewhat unflappable.'
'Wild imagination.'
'Curious.'
'Calculating.'
'Trained in the use of both Siege Weapons and Firearms.'

"This is it?" Is it not enough? "Well- Yes? No? I don't know." Well. Tell me if any of this seems off, or if it's fine.

> Calculating is off. You suck at math.

>Everything looks to be in order, it just needs a stamp to be official. Bureaucracy is everywhere, even in the nowhere, it seems.

"Well, I mean, I'm not good at math?" That much was already obvious to me. "Thanks?" I was referring to your ability to think ahead when necessary, as you did just a moment ago. Also, I refer to your ability to aim a weapon with such a magnitude of destructive power without killing yourself. "I thought that's what happened before I, uh, Woke up? Still, this is all very... Orderly. I thought the afterlife or whatever this place is would be a little less formal."

Mm. Hmhm. "Was that- Was that a laugh? Did you just laugh at me?" I may have. "..." Is that a problem? "No! I just- Didn't expect you to admit it, I guess." Mmm. You pull your limbs back into yourself, then extend a hand, holding a small lump of carved petrified bone. Alice glances at the lump, then back to you. "For a near invisible, amorphous mass of light and shadow, you certainly are very..." The word you used was orderly. Yes. My kind are inconsiderate, lowly creatures that create life on a whim, then squander it on petty in-fighting, trivial squabbles, games of luck or skill with your kind as disposable pieces. I will not make the same mistake. With this seal, you will become manifest, and we will become of one purpose.

Alice stopped. They were just about to take the small seal, but now looks up at you. "What purpose is that?" You turn the seal over in your hand. It glistens with black ichor. Ink. Blood. Your own.

Your purpose, is now my purpose, Alice of Vaugen. I have waited long to find a being like you, and now that I have, I seek only to see what life has in store for you. Whatever you wish to do, I will be there to help you accomplish it.

The seal presses down against the paper.

---

Alice Van Vaugen was born some twenty plus years ago to Gabriel Van Vaugen, a Navigator, and Alexis Van Vaugen, his Captain. Alice's birth had been kept secret from all but the Vaugen's closest friends, and soon after had vanished from public eye. The popular belief is that as a pair of 'Gust Walkers', CloudSea explorers, they had found a wonderful treasure. Or a terrible curse. One way or another, they are rarely, if ever seen in public. Occasionally stories surface about sightings of them at the furthest reaches of the Imperial Sphere, or maybe a boat passes them on their way back out of the CloudSea. Always, they are seen going deeper than most ships would ever dare.

Alice had a simple but well-cared for childhood, seen after by either caretakers hired by, or the actual friends of her parents themselves. During this time she picked up many skills. She learned to read and write much sooner than other children, and rather than going out to play, would sit inside and read anything she could get her hands on. Somewhere along the line, she picked up a form of magical design that nobody else can properly understand, other than it seems to be powered by her overactive imagination. When she was a teenager, a number of tutors came through her house, some faster than others, sent by her parents or their friends. All she really learned was that she wasn't great with numbers and she really liked the smell of gunpowder and high-munitions.

And then two days ago, Alice Van Vaugen died. Almost. Her town, a small, mostly unimportant island of 2000 or so lives was reduced to near rubble, along with it's dedicated defensive contingent of Their Majesty's Gentlemen. Strange beasts flew in on and inside large monstrosities of flesh and metal, supported by a 'flagship' of sorts in the guise of an enormous whale. On her way to her favorite bakery, Alice was attacked, and although the beast perished in the end, her assailant struck her through the heart, killing her instantly.

Which is why it's really weird that she's lying in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She had a really weird dream, one she cannot properly remember yet. She was speaking with someone, and they offered to... Her head tilted. What did they offer to do? Whatever it was, she woke up promptly after, with a slight feeling of embarrassment. The tone they had used felt... impersonal? And yet reverential.

Alice examines her room. It looks like a storm has been through here. Books have been knocked all over the place, there are a few cups sitting around. She spies a bundle near the wall that appears to be the remains of the clothes she had gone out in, along with her shattered rifle. There is a conspicuous amount of blood on those clothes. None on her sheets though. Maybe it wasn't her bloo-

Someone is moving downstairs.

What do you do, Alice?

>An intruder! Try to be as intimidating as possible, despite how frail and un-frightening your current bedridden state renders you.

Listen closely prepare what to say

> hide, before trying to listen.

Alice thinks, then smirks. It occurs to her that frail and non-threatening is a pretty good way to describe her, 90% of the time. 'Until she has a weapon at the ready.' -- But no, she's only ever had to use it once or twice, and it was almost more dangerous for her than her opponent, so she practiced. A lot. She still has some softer patches of skin from some burns. She also learned how to repair her weapon... but the PAR is done for. She might as well buy a new one, if she can get her hands on a larger sum of money.

Buuuuuut- She has a backup. Quietly, she slips open her bedside drawer, pulls out a couple of her most FAVORITE books- (There are SO MANY of them. Although, admittedly, this drawer contains the books that she doesn't want people to know she has. You know. The real bad stuff. 'Easy Peasy Series: How to speak in public', 'How to cultivate crash blossoms for the novice pyrotechnic' and 'After Dark')- ,slides a small piece of the false bottom aside, hooks a finger in and gently pulls up. It's a good thing she keeps these hinges in good condition.

Inside is her bug-out pouch. Inside THAT is her trusty Pop-Gun. You see, it's a joke, because it's a single shot, single action weapon not unlike a flare gun... Except instead of breaking it open to load a shell, you gave it this convenient little loading slide. Speaking of, she gently pushes it forward, past where it would normally need to go, so it locks into place. Then Alice listens carefully while slowly extracting one of the large shotgun-shell like cartridges from the pouch, placing it carefully inside the weapon, then disengaging and slowly letting the loading slide move back into place. Another shell she puts into her mouth, since it's hard to wear the pouch when there's nothing to hang the pouch on.

Instead, she opts to quickly bind her blankets up around herself like she was going to pretend to be some sort of spooky ghost, and crosses the room quickly enough to wedge herself between two of her bookcases. There is clinking downstairs, and the sound of cupboards and drawers opening and closing. A robber? Come to think of it, she would be surprised if anybody else managed to survive that attack and-

Oh crap. At first, she was just going to make some threatening gestures. This gun has a little over an inch wide barrel. It probably would be enough. But if it's another one of those... things... Holding the gun close, she pulls the hammer back. Then she levels it at the door. It's armor piercing this time, so she doesn't have to worry about blowing herself up- What? Maybe she would need to get out of someplace fast AND kill a moving vehicle! It's not... impossible? Her pouch is loaded with a bunch of singles of various types of shell she's managed to order out of catalogues. The one in her mouth is a shot shell.

By the way. Alice has two Combat Skills. One is Point-Blank Shell Roll. This allows her to make a dodge roll in any direction while firing. This will not negate, but lessen the damage she takes if she uses an explosive shell at close range. The other is Slight of Shell. If she has another shell readied- The one in her mouth counts- she can swap it out for her currently loaded round JUST before firing. Helpful if things change before her turn comes up.

NOW. Those footsteps are starting to come upstairs. They're not heavy, not booted, not particularly bestial or claw-like. Hm.

Unless you have a better idea, Alice is going to pull the trigger the moment the door opens enough that she can be sure she'll be hitting whatever is on the other side. How does that sound?

> Aim for the feet. It might be a friend!

> Aim for the feet. It might be a friend!

>Aim for the shoulder instead, you might cripple them shooting at the feet

>No, no. Shooting first could be bad. Wait 'til you can sneak up on them, then put the barrel to the back of their head. The best kind of diplomacy.

Alice considers her options. She could aim for roughly the area of the feet... but that seems like it would be easy to miss. Plus, she might accidentally cripple them. She could aim for the shoulder. ... But that's a little close to the head. It suddenly occurs to Alice that she should have loaded a non-lethal round. Does she have enough time to make it back to the bed? No.

Well, then the clear choice is to get the drop on them, and make them surrender. If they're hostile... Well at least she can't possibly miss at this range.

The footsteps get closer... the door begins to open. A moment too late, Alice realizes a few things.

1: Her bed is completely empty and within sight of the door.
2: It's very quiet. She may not be able to get close enough before they notice her, especially since she's wearing her blanket like a robe, it makes it a little harder for her to move about. There's a lot of stuff scattered around.
3: She apparently forgets important things like this when under actual pressure. She'll... She'll have to work on that.

Anyway, PLAN C. The door opens a little bit more. A hooded, cloaked figure wanders in, wearing what appear to be house shoes. They're holding a cup, and seeing that the bed is empty, they move over to the bedside stand. Cup down on the stand, they then lean down to look under the bed.

This will have to do! Alice may lack in the body-related statistics, compared to her mind-statistics, but she certainly has Acuity and Haste of body! They barely have a moment to stand up or turn before she leaps atop them, knocking them down to the ground!

"Alright, Don't move! I have a gun with a bore that would make the average Gentleman cry, and I'll use it if you even twitch wrong!" (...What? She read it in a book. It sounded good! Then again, Burgundy von Happenstance was a bit more intimidating, in her mind.) Grabbing a handful of the hood, she pulls back and reveals...!

A masculine Face? A feminine face? An androgynous face?
Do they seem around her age? Slightly younger? Slightly older? Much older?
Are they even human? Humanoid? Mechanical?

Much younger, feminine. Their skin is blue and faintly scaly.

> Androgynous face
> Slightly younger
> Humanoid. Has curly horns jutting out of their scalp. Their fingernails are also elongated like claws, and are as hard as steel. They have permanently dilated yellow eyes. Their skin is semi-translucent, and they have more than twice the bones of an ordinary human.

[EDITORIAL NOTE BEING MADE AS A SEPARATE POST BEFORE I GO TO BED SO IT SHOWS UP AS A NEW POST]

SpoilerShow

Hi. This is the bear behind the pencil... keyboard. Scrawling device. I realize that it was super vague, so I'm providing more information.

Human is, of course, Human

Humanoid is anything that is human shaped but clearly not human for some reason. If offered, I'll use any suggestions, like Blue, Scaled Skin. Otherwise, I suppose i'll make something up? T hat was important clarification 1 since I worry about this stuff all the time.

Clarification 2 is Mechanical. This is clearly used to represent Mechanical Humanoids, but also will be used to refer to anybody with a large amount of mechanical prosthesis. I guess this should probably be divided up with Prosthesis falling under humanoid. But it won't, because this is probably the only time I'll use this particular system for generating another character. ' <';

The third is that I'll pick at random if no one suggestion really Pops out at me, but there will be a place for all the suggestions given here.

[Editorial note end. Thank you for your time spent having to read this absolute rock of information. '> ']

They are TERRIFIED. They being the home invader. Alice is just confused, and pulls the gun away. "Do you speak the clang?" They nod in response. Alice sits back a little. "Okay then. First Question: Who are you? Second Question: What are you doing in my house?"

'I am Ken, spelled q h e n. I was told to keep an eye on you, you've been asleep for days, Librarian. ... Could you please get up? You're sort of hurting me.'
". . ." Alice got up slowly, and refocused her aim on Qhen, who rolls over and stands up, smoothing out their robe. "So you don't know my name, and you think I'm a librarian? And you were TOLD to keep an eye on me?"

'And make sure you didn't get hurt. Occasionally you would sit up-'
"Hold up. I thought you said I've been asleep for days."
'And you were. You would sit up, yet remain unresponsive. I would just tuck you back into your bed.'
"Uh-huh. Who told you to do this?" She was taking inventory. Curly horns, claws, yellow eyes, BIG pupils- and slightly translucent skin. Interesting.
Qhen opens their mouth- then closes it again. 'I'm not at liberty to say?'
Alice nudges the door shut. "Yeah- No. Try again."

'Is this request being backed up with the threat of being shot if you're unconvinced that I am not in fact robbing you and came upstairs to see if there was anything I could steal, despite the fact that I came up here with another cup of water and have left a least a couple lying around already?'

Alice looked around the room. To be fair, that was pretty weak reasoning. But they seemed genuine enough. "Well, actually I was planning on shooting you for leaving all these half-drank water cups around my books. Have you never been in a library before?"

Qhen held up their hands. 'Twice before, and neither one of them stocked nearly as impressive a collection of Histician Series. Also I appreciate your dedication to keeping them properly ordered even though you probably would be legally fined because some of these books are not for public-'

"Okay. Fine. Get out. We'll talk downstairs."

---

Qhen sits down in one of the smaller chairs, adjusting their robes. '. . .' Knocking their hood down, they reached into a pocket, and pulled out a small hand mirror. Their arm reached back, bones popping as their arm realigned itself, and now they could hold the mirror where they could get a glance at their back, after their neck let out a gentle internal pop so they could turn their head far enough to glance. Tsk. They always did bruise easily. Oh well. They ratchet their body back into normal and wait. They can hear the Librarian moving around up there. They hope they didn't harm any of the books. They might ACTUALLY get shot. She was...

Intimidating?

"AH! I- Why must you always sneak up on me when I am thinking? And yes! This Librarian you are having me watch seems to be half mad!"

Don't worry. You'll be fine, I'm sure. I believe she is approaching, so I will take my leave for now.

And they've left you here, alone again. Not for long though. Alice comes downstairs, having taken the time to clean up her room and change into some clothes. She also brought the other cups with her, which she dumps into her sink before stopping to grab a clean glass and get herself some water. Qhen notes the holster and pouch on her side, and guesses that the firearm is probably still loaded. They were not told she was armed.

"We got off on the wrong foot. Hello. I am Alice Van Vaugen. I am a book collector, not a Librarian. You are?

Alice sits down nearby, sipping her glass.

"Ah... I am Ken. Spelled q h e n. I am a bodyguard, I suppose. Not a thief."

"No... You're right. You look a little...I don't want to say young... What are you? I'm not familiar with your species, at least, I don't remember seeing any of your people pass through the town recently. . . . Not that I get out much."

"I am a Dhemon. I am an imperial citizen, although living out here, it is very hard to tell. I am not old for my people, and we tend to all look differently... The horns and claws are really the only constants, and those are generally different between individual Dhemons."

Alice let out a sound of understanding, and looked into their cup. Their grip shook.

"I- I looked outside while I was cleaning."

"The damage is extensive, yes. I did some exploring before I ended up here, and there are other survivors... but not many. The Imperial Gentlemen have a shelter set up, but I was instructed to stay here- and lead here, by a voice. They referred to you as Librarian, which I figured was some sort of title. They refer to me as Bootshiner, in reference to my combat skills."

Alice nodded. She's listening.

"I have a ship- I have access to a ship. Nearby. My friend is watching it. I was instructed to bring you this book when you wake up- I don't have any further instructions past that. If you like, you could come with us. It might be weeks before relief arrives..."

". . . Let me see the book, I guess and- I'll think about it."

Qhen retrieves the book from their inventory, and passes it to Alice. She reaches out to touch it and- The world stops. Not just time, but- everything stops. Qhen is there, and the book is there, but they're completely frozen, and drained of color. An empty white void stretches on in all directions, and nearby floats a door with a sign on it that reads 'Meeting Room'.

SpoilerShow

Augh. I spent a really long time fiddling with this, and thinking if I could divide it into smaller posts and I'm just trying to get some basic set up going with the story, whatever it's goal may be and I apologize for this novelette of text. Also, anything that needs to be clarified, just drop into a spoiler and I'll read and respond. Sorry again.

> Wait. A door... floating? You've seen some weird stuff sure, but also you're smart enough to not go through mysterious floating doors in stopped time.

(I didn't know if that was a normal thing in this adventure so...)

No No. Floating doors are pretty weird, unless they're on the side of an airship or something. Alice looks around, in hopes of there being something else. Anything else. Alas, that is not to be the case. She very CAREFULLY pulls her hand away from the book, as if to grab it if it tried to disappear on her when she let go. Qhen and the book stay firmly in place.

The door is quite large, about twice of Alice's height, and a little over twice her width- Her first instinct is to find central handles, but it is apparently a single door, with a simple handle that twists to unlatch. So she opens it up and heads inside. It's that room from earlier! - -- -- Wait- What room? Deja-vu starts to creep in as she examines the little table, the chair... The endless void. The... thing from last time isn't here. It's just Alice, Qhen, and a large mysterious book, in an even larger, mysterious void. She heads back out to the... main... void? The place where she started from, and begins to wrack her brain for ideas on what to do now.

> Such thoughts are unproductive at present, refocus your attentions to the task at present. Why should you trust this intruder. Lies could be abundant as is the case with most intruders and their ilk.

Alice walks over to the statue that is Qhen and the book. She's had a little bit to sort through her own thoughts, and now begins to sort through these.

Qhen. Pronounced Ken. An odd accent. Dhemon? Alice has no real reason to doubt that... She's met at least one Dhemon, and her curiosity had gotten the best of her. That one had rusty red skin, a series of long, thin, tube-like horns that curved down the back of their head like hair, and small, well kept claws. They are supposedly a varied species. But that's not the thing she's really concerned about. Everything they've said is unconfirmed, and likely to stay that way, without some form of third party... and even then, if that third party isn't trustworthy...

Alice sat down. It looked funny, just sitting down in a yawning empty white void, and it felt even funnier, but it helped her calm down. She was prone to bouts of what could only be described as 'fanciful paranoia'. Which is to say, she is capable of giving herself stomach pains over nothing. But this wasn't exactly nothing. They claim to be a bodyguard, and not a thief. Those don't have to be mutually exclusive. They also didn't properly get a chance to explain WHO had told them to watch her. The same party also referred to her as a Librarian. Librarian. >L<ibrarian. That's important. Not 'a librarian' but 'Librarian'. Capital L. It was pronounced with meaning and gravitas that Alice isn't certain that Qhen themselves knew they were lending it. Which... leads her to believe they don't know why she's called Librarian. Ugh. This would be easier if they were BOTH trapped in this weird void. Instead, she's trapped by herself, and Qhen is a rock or something.

What else does she know? ... They CAN'T be a bodyguard. Or they're REALLY BAD at it, or REALLY NEW. If they were trained, even if she got the literal jump on them... There's no way- Heck. She wouldn't have walked into the room like that! She would have just... knocked on the open door and asked if they were there- ... Then again, SHE might have shot at someone doing that.

Alice regretfully admits that without the ability to read minds, hearts, or stone, she wasn't getting anywhere with this.

Standing back up, she takes another look at Qhen. ... Until now, she didn't really get a good look at them, but they're not stone. They're just... grey. That is to say, she can still see through their skin, sort of... It's like they have a layer of skin, tightly stretched over an exoskeleton of mostly bones and some muscle. It's kinda unsettling. Or exciting. She cannot decide which. She loves to learn things, and now she sort of wants to learn about Qhen- Oh. It looks like the book is loose in their grip.

Hmm. The book. You know, if this was a trap somehow, it's a fairly inconvenient one for Qhen, it seems! Oh well. Alice would like to take the book. How do you feel about this?

>Take it and keep it forever, it's yours now and yours alone. Anyone who thinks any different has got another thing coming to them! Possessive little thing, aren't you?

> Ask to see it.

Alice stares at the book. She wants it. She really does. It's a problem she has, you see. She likes books. She loves books. They're really important to her. Especially ones she can't recognize at a glance. It's big. Like a tome. It has a metal spine and reinforcing along the leathery covers. A spell book? Maybe. Unlikely. She glances even closer. There is a kind of light in here. It doesn't cast shadows on any floor or wall that might be here, but there is shadow cast on objects within this space, and also reflection... The edges of the pages are dull, while most spell books have some form of colored of metallic edge to the pages, usually a part of the ritual crafting process involved in making them... She learned that from a book too, you know!

She can't deny it. She NEEDS this book. Even if just to look at it once before returning it... Although it was for HER, wasn't it? It was being delivered. But touching the book brought her here. Her hand pulls away. She doesn't quite remember getting that close to touching the book. But sometimes she just does things without thinking about it. ...

"Can I- ... Do- Would you mind if I took this book?"

Immediately Alice felt a little silly. Qhen was still motionless, and talking to them had not changed that. She sighed. The figure next to her motioned at the book with a shadowy hand.

It can't be that hard. I will grab it for you, Alice, if you are still worried about what the book might do.

They grab the book, sliding it free of Qhen's hands- and Qhen promptly vanishes, and the book becomes leather and paper again. Shadow and mist and haze, the figure turns to Alice and offers her the book.

See? Even if you cannot hear me clearly most of the time, I will do my best to help you. I suggest you read as much as you are willing, and learn to take advantage of your time spent here.

Alice looked at the book, and at the hazy figure holding it. It didn't have a defined shape, and looking at it was giving her a headache for a couple of reasons...

( ) "Am I... dreaming?"
( ) "Who..?"
( ) *Take Book*
( ) >Input alternate command

>option 1