Brave Galaxy is set in a world loosely based on Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail and Eden’s Zero. It is a PG-13 or so rated space fantasy RP, and uses a combination of character statistics, which can be acquired via roleplaying and events, and creative freedom to help direct players’ characters. While there is a main storyline, which can be found in the events section, characters are free to interact with others and their environment however they see fit.
Explore the galaxy. Overcome the obstacles in your path. Shape the future of humanity.
Laelynn took a deep breath as she entered the halls of the convention center, currently hosting an expo of magi-tech, courtesty of the Magic Collective for hosting such the event. A brief smile crossed her face as she took in the scent of various metals and soldering fumes, various stalls quite busy with their work still setting up. It was the scent of science! Though she hadn't been to Elyakim in a good while, this was certainly a change of pace she welcomed. No crazy heists, no violence, just pure progress and diligent effort in it's purest form.~ Though, she certainly considered registering for a booth, Laelynn also valued her anonymity, and thus, decided to take part as a mere spectator and hopefully learn a few tricks of the trade from others. Gods knew her chemistry and magical knowledge paled in comparison to her hacking and engineering skills.
And of course, for that pursuit of knowledge, her first destination was the most important booth of them all..The concession booth! With a ravenous appetite not only for knowledge, it didn't take her long to find it either.~ Quickly purchasing up a few slices of pizza and a melon soda, something not only to fuel her brain, but calm the nerves. Large crowds were never Laelynn's thing, yet, she made an exception to come here, casually making her stroll from one booth to the next, some fascinating, some quite bland. "Man, it's kind of a pity P.A.L. couldn't tag along, they'd be having a field day. I'd say I'd feel bad for them, buuuut..." Laelynn gave a cheeky chuckle to herself, taking a bite of pizza in amusement. Sure, she had to leave her A.I. on the ship, as she hadn't finished work on their new portable shell, but it worked out for the best in her mind. If they had tagged along, all their constant questions would have certainly ruined her fun. That said, she continued her search for a booth worth her time, preferably something that could provide insight or knowledge to her lesser technical skills.
last edited Aug 30, 2020 5:32:33 GMT by SilverRush
Post by Reya Starlyght on Sept 1, 2020 2:11:24 GMT
It wasn't often that Haydn visited Elyakim. Of course, being the capital of Chorus the place was a bit hard to avoid in many ways, but something about its sprawling metropolis, the glimmer of the wealthy and prosperous shaded by the underworld that thrived beneath it, reminded him far too much of his home city. Granted, there weren't quite as many historical districts containing sprawling estates, one of which Haydn knew all too well, but nonetheless the atmosphere was at the very least mildly unsettling. Being the effective port city of Chorus didn't really help its case in his mind either, after all he possessed no starship, nor reason, to travel off-world. At least, such had been the case until recently. At the behest of one Kellam Quifir however, an older elf who may or may not have been the one to invite Haydn to the Collective, he had been enlisted to help with the annual magitech exhibition in Elyakim. Why Kellam chose to attend such an event, beneath his constant complaining about how enchantment was the superior art, he wasn't entirely sure, but Haydn was thankful for the opportunity regardless.
The credits Kellam had offered for helping work The Phoenix's Key booth didn't hurt either. It was certainly enough to warrant him taking an extra day off for set-up, which had passed by uneventful except for the fact that Haydn had been forced to explain multiple times that his cat was indeed hypoallergenic. Uneventful would certainly not describe the following morning, however, as already the convention hall had become quite crowded, and subsequently Kellam's stall was already receiving a fair bit of attention. That likely had to do with the fact that it was most certainly an oddity amongst its neighbors, which were filled to the brim with technological wonders. In comparison, The Phoenix's Key seemed bland at a distance, silken red cloth covering the tables with an assortment of seemingly mundane weapons, armor, and objects set upon them. Closer up, though, the intricacies of even the decorum became apparent, under light they shimmered gold, each piece displayed finely engraved with filigree that hinted at their magical nature. And in the back sat a workshop of two parts, more raw materials displayed in front of it. Indeed, the portable Phoenix's Key, its sign subtly imbued with light, represented a craft far older than the technicalities around, presented in its most pure form.
"You seem to be doing fine, I'll be back in a few minutes." Kellam's words drew Haydn out of his thoughts, the elf standing up from his previously resting position. He managed a nod, although Quifir was already departing the booth. Almost immediately after, a black and white cat peeked his head out from under the tablecloth, before jumping onto the display and nearly knocking over a couple of stray tools.
Haydn groaned. "Amadeus, no. If Kellam sees you on his table I'll never hear the end of it," he said sternly, staring at him in much the way a parent did at a misbehaving child. In response, Deuce started to lick his paw, then rubbing it behind his ear. "Fine, don't listen to me then." Within a moment Haydn had his cat within his arms, before setting him down on the ground and spending the next two minutes trying to pick black hairs from his white dress shirt. Indeed, he just so happened to have his second most formal outfit on, that being a pair of gray slacks paired with a similarly hued vest. It made his cat's fur less noticeable in that regard, but it also brought out the silver in his own hair, which was half pulled up in a bun, the other half reaching his shoulders in length. It wasn't a trait he particularly liked drawing attention to, for more than the mundane reason of age, but sometimes such things couldn't be helped.
Stepping casually from one booth to the next, especially ensuring to enjoy her pizza, Laelynn carefully eyed each booth, some up close, some from up far, using her thieving experience this time not to find a mark to steal, but instead, try and narrow down the booths worth her time. While these conventions certainly brought along the best, sometimes the lesser folk tended to crawl through the cracks, rather they be some individual pushing an unproven fringe science with no evidence, or at worst, pushing a cult following. Something Laelynn reaaalllly wanted to avoid knowing her notoriously bad luck and habit of finding trouble. Hopefully, The Magic Collective had sifted out such unsavory folks, or at least, that was what she wished to be true.
The first booth of many that caught her attention was an expedition of a new A.I. processing method, and while initially interested, Laelynn's interest immediately dropped as in their first showing, the miniature robot they presented tore itself apart under it's own mechanical forces, immediately causing Laelynn to snicker in a withheld fashion. "What an amatuer...~" She moved on, noting in the background of her mind that maybe she was just too ahead of her time and age to take any useful information from this convention. At least, that was her initial though until one caught her eye, or at least, something "upon" one of the booths. //Kitty!~// Despite all her growth, Laelynn could never really ignore her penchant for cats, hell, her first friends when she became were the alleycats of Elseima, who kept her company in the long nights working on her first prototypes.
Making her way to the booth, sight obscured by the various crowds, she finally made her way over to the booth, but sadly, all too late as Haydn picked them up, placing them away from the booth, only to leave a slightly disappointed Laelynn looking to the salt and pepper haired man in rather decent dress clothes, currently picking the cat hair off of their attire. "Aw, I wanted to see that cat..." Yet, this thought only lingered for a moment as she took note of the silken red, table covering, the booth seeming more refined and professional than a good deal of the others. Soon after that, her eyes were brought to the items of the shop, glistening gold with fancy ornamental styles. "Huh, odd stuff ya' got here.~" Laelynn's interest immediately peeked again, carefully leaning down to inspect the various items, especially as they gleamed in the light.
"Doesn't appear to be laminated, and doesn't have the right texture for them to be gold impregnated..." Racking her brain, Laelynn attempted to find a logical conclusion to the method of production, rubbing her chin and looking up at the sign before it all made sense. "The Pheonix's Key, eeey? My dad used to own one...I think." Muttering the last part, as her mother was never too clear on that, she continued. "So, this booth's bout' magic, I'm guessing? What'll people sometimes call it, "The Old Craft?" or somethin' like that?" Despite her slightly irreverent tone, Laelynn was clearly not being sarcastic, at least not intentionally, very meticulously eying the various weapons and wares, attempting to take in as much information as she could.
Post by Reya Starlyght on Sept 2, 2020 18:25:19 GMT
Kellam had picked a quiet moment to step out, as evidenced by the lack of people Haydn had immediately had to attend to at the booth. Either that, or the old elf had some sort of magnetic, unseen charm to him that Haydn lacked in all respects. What with his luck and skill in life, it was likely the latter, but it quickly became apparent that at least one customer would be stumbling upon The Phoenix's Key in the meantime, although customer was a questionable term to describe her. A short, teenage girl, dressed in a cat hoodie nonetheless, well truth to be told Haydn wouldn't have been surprised if she had walked in on his normal job, but offering anything more than a curious eye to evidently expensive wares was a bit odd for her age.
A few words under the girl's breath and he realized why she had actually come over to the booth, much to Haydn's embarrassment. Sure, at the library there were certain people he knew who only came by to see Amadeus on occasion, but it was a bit different when he had the task of peddling wares and services. Thus, as she spoke he only caught about half her words at first, keeping a singular eye on Deuce who was almost grinning, halfway beneath a nearby tablecloth. His attention turned fully to the girl as she mentioned... her father owning a phoenix? Within a moment he had reassessed her entirely, curiosity piqued by what had been such a plainly delivered statement. Phoenixes were rare enough to discover, after all, owning one even more so considering their legendary powers. Either she was misremembering or her family was more important than she let on, and now he had to figure out which it was.
Apparently that would have to be shelved for the moment, as soon after the girl asked a question actually relevant to the task Haydn momentarily forgot he was supposed to be doing. "Sure, my boss does," he answered reflexively, before adjusting his tone with regard to the fact that she was indeed a potential customer. "Enchantment would be the less biased term. Are you interested in seeing what we have to offer, or are you curious about the process itself?"
It was at about that time that he forgot about the shenanigans that Deuce had previously been up to, somewhat assuming he had gone back to sleeping under the display. Which was really his own fault, considering the wave of excitement that pulsed through Haydn's brain shortly before a streak of black and white ran out from under the booth, toward the direction of their new visitor before abruptly teleporting up to her shoulders, or at least Amadeus would if the girl didn't stop him. Nice! Friend! he heard in his head, or at least the approximate of, which Haydn promptly ignored, his face turning flush.
"Oh my goodness, so sorry, he usually isn't like this... I, well, you got to see him at least?" A loud purr could be heard from the subject in question, much to his own annoyance. Yes, Haydn adored his cat, but sometimes... well, he had been a lot easier to keep watch over before being gifted with sight and magic, that much was for certain.
As Laelynn eyed the wares, there was of course, that thieves instinct that kicked in, compelling her to make an attempt, yet, that would require misdirection and manipulation, tactics she strayed away from, not to mention there were too many people and wandering eyes in the convention. Though, most importantly, this was a convention of science and she had no intent of causing chaos in such a noble pursuit, none the less she didn't like the idea of wronging a fellow ally of cats! As she took the last bite of her pizza, Haydn mentioned their boss called the process a similar term, before correcting on the term enchantment, Laelynn tilted her head in both curiosity and excitement. "Enchantment, ey? Guess that'd be a more technical term, yeah.~"
Immediately taking a sip of her soda, Laelynn almost immediately choked at Haydn's follow up question, using the sleeve of her hoodie to wipe her face. A rather abrupt but straightforward question, to say the least. "Wellll, a bit of both, maybe?~ Really came here ta' learn stuff, but if I end up finding a good deaaaalll...~" Laelynn mused, giving a cheeky grin at her not so subtle attempt at bargaining, her avaricious nature appearing once more. Though not socially adept, she was certainly no fool when it came to the art of arranging a deal. Part of living in the street was the hussle after all.~ At worst, maybe the possibility of her purchase could lead to them divulging more details, and at best? She could find a good deal, take a weapon to her ship and study it for possible applications in reverse engineering.~
Though, Laelynn didn't have much time to contemplate the art of the deal and how to proceed, immediately advanced upon by a blur of movement, only to...disappear entirely? Though, as Laelynn felt a weight on her shoulder, she immediately prepared to wind up a punch, yet, years of theft and stealth experience kicked in, where observation and choosing when and how to move meant everything. In the end, those instincts worked, taking account of the weight on her shoulder and the fuzziness in the corner of her eye.
"Awwww, what a sweetheart.~ It's fiiine, I love cats so I don't mind.~" Instead of the initial knee-jerk reaction Laelynn held herself back from, she instead gently reached out to her shoulder, carefully rubbing Amadeus' ears and giving them pets.~ "They say pets look like their owners, but ain't this a tad much?~" Laelynn could only make a playful 'catty' smirk as she said this, messing around with how Haydn's hair and Amadues' fur were so very similar. "What's their name if ya' don't mind me askin'?~" Would it have been more polite to ask the human booth keeper their name first? Perhaps, but as always, Laelynn had a habit of being candid, as evidenced with her pheonix comment a moment earlier.
last edited Sept 2, 2020 19:45:35 GMT by SilverRush
Post by Reya Starlyght on Sept 3, 2020 2:16:52 GMT
Oh, the bargainer. Haydn immediately understood the sentiment the girl embodied, it struck a deep resonance within his own soul, a sort of kindred bond instantly forged whether or not she was even aware of it. Unfortunately, Kellam did not think the same when it came to discounts, at least not with strangers who just so happened to wander upon his booth, asking for knowledge as well as haggling. "I might be able to help you in the learning department, but until my boss comes back all prices are as they stand. He's uh... you don't want to see him when he's mad," Haydn offered. When the elf would wander back to his temporary shop was another question entirely, one that he had not bothered to ask before but was perhaps a bit more pertinent now.
Given the girl's reaction to Deuce now perched on her shoulders, having to almost scramble to support himself given her much smaller frame compared to the one he was used to balancing upon, she at least wouldn't be in a hurry to leave any time soon. Amadeus was indeed enjoying himself, as she began to pet his ears he leaned his neck into her palm, demanding scratches in his favorite spot. And as the girl spoke again Deuce's yellow eyes opened slightly, staring in the direction of Haydn as if he understood every word she had said and was judging him. Which, well, Haydn wasn't entirely what his cat comprehended of other people's speech, but he definitely saw the embarrassment in his face, now coming from two different sources.
"Uh, it's Amadeus. Like the composer," Haydn said. Why had he included that extra bit of information? Because it was funny, in reference to his given name. Which he hadn't given her yet. Shit, being a salesman was harder than he remembered it was. Then again, crime lords didn't usually ask about cats and comment about names and weren't generally teenage girls. It was all business, and that had been all he had experienced that morning thus far. A different approach was needed for the curious individual in front of him, though, someone who was clearly more interested in learning than the purchase of goods. A motivation that was, frankly, more of what Haydn was used to, working as a librarian.
But yes, introductions. He really didn't want to be known as 'Deuce's owner' for the remainder of their conversation and whatever might follow, but given the girl's priority on his cat - which was fair, Amadeus was adorable when he wasn't misbehaving - he didn't really see a more opportune time to given away his name. "And... I suppose I'm Haydn. So, what is it that interests you in the world of enchantment, if I might ask?"
"Fair nuff, wouldn't want'ta get you in trouble with'em.~ I'd appreciate ya' sharing some things though, even if just a bit." Laelynn felt like a kid at the candy store at the various, unknown trinkets and items in front of her, and knowing her unending appetite for knowledge over sweets, calling this an analogy would be an understatement. After all, magic was scarce in Elseima already, giving her very little chances to study it, no matter her work ethic.
Noticing the cat's minor difficulty in balance due to her size, Laelynn gently raised her shoulder to be level, hoping to give the feline a more comfortable resting position. Though, as both Haydn and Amadeus took a glance at each other from her playful comment, a certain thought struck Laelynn. So entranced from the booth and the excitement of the expo, an elephant in the room per say, or rather, cat, caught her attention. Cats...didn't normally teleport, did they? At least, that was her logical assumption, having neither felt the black and white cat climb her, nor the impact of a full jump. //...Huh...~// Laelynn took a brief sip from her soda, analyzing the Amadeus intently, now quite amused and intrigued.
As Haydn moved along to introductions, first of Amadeus, then himself after a brief pause, giving a brief nod and a friendly smile. "Nice ta' meet'cha Haydn, and you too Amadeus.~ I ain't familiar with much classical music though.~" Affectionately rubbing Amadeus ears once more, she chuckled lightly, before going back to regular pets. "Name's Laelynn.~" Laelynn did the smallest of head bows as she stated her own name, two things she could at least offer in gratitude for their time.
"Well, my first and original question was about how it really works, like, imbuing items with magic. I only experimented with one thing before, and it only worked after I jury rigged it with some tech to control the ether. A pocket dimension of sorts, not sure what the experts call it though..." Of course, after one thousand long years, someone of Laelynn's upbringing didn't really understand the terms of "Ex-quip," seeing things in the more technical fashion of her time. "But now my bigger question...I-Is Amadeus enchanted? I've never seen a cat do...well, that." She noted with audible confusion, gesturing with her head towards Amadeus on her shoulder. Though, considering her mother mentioned her father's phoenix, falcon...thingy was semi telepathic and could explode into flames, this didn't seem too detached from reality either.
last edited Sept 5, 2020 3:39:45 GMT by SilverRush
Post by Reya Starlyght on Sept 14, 2020 4:11:36 GMT
Why would a teenager dressed in a vibrant cat hoodie be into classical music? Haydn had no idea. So far, almost everything he had said had ended up in a metaphorical wreck, but what else was new. Etiquette classes taught the mannerisms of dinner parties and formal speeches, not bizarrely casual conversation between two strangers, and being already outside of his comfort zone to begin with Haydn was not really having a great time. Act natural, yes, that would be the thing to do, that was what the voice in his head - his own, since that was something that needed to be specified - told him. Which, in a way that was slightly less than natural, was what he did.
Haydn gave a respective nod back at Laelynn as she introduced herself, an oddly fancy name for someone he had certainly not expected such from. What a strange girl, the thought kept on running through his head, internally trying to piece together what exactly her motives were for stopping by the booth at that particular moment in time, an exercise he found himself walking through somewhat frequently, usually with the mundane library patron. For once, perhaps there was an interesting story behind it all though - not that he hadn't heard tall tales before, but it had been a fair while. That was far too forward to simply ask about, however, although to a degree he had already begun to pry, in which Haydn received a not terribly surprising answer. At least, that was until she continued with an innocently posed question that was, frankly, downright hilarious. Unfortunately, it was a bit too entertaining to hide the laugh and smile that lit up his face immediately after, far more telling than Haydn had ever anticipated.
"No no, he's not enchanted, not any more than me. Or any other mage, for that matter," he responded after taking a moment to collect himself. His second sentence did seem to be, in an odd way, almost an addendum, but Haydn's quick progression into an explanation did help - at least he hoped - smooth such over. "Generally, enchantments can only be applied to nonliving things. At least, the kinds we deal in. There are certain forms of enchantments that can be applied to... say skin as in a tattoo, but to the extent of giving someone or something magic of their own is almost unheard of. Amadeus is just a very special cat, aren't you."
His gaze had, at that point, shifted over to his cat, who purred what was clearly intended as a yes, even without the bond they shared. As if on cue, he also decided to switch the shoulders he was inhabiting, draping across Haydn's vest like a scarf, eyes closed and clearly intending on a nap. Haydn glanced down at him for about half a second before looking back toward Laelynn, recalling the more legitimate query she had posed before. "Anyway, what you seemed to describe before would fall more under magitech than enchantment, but they aren't terribly off in concept. There's a couple different styles, but the basics of all enchanting schools are that you need script of some sort and a source of power, whether that be the words themselves or a material like lacryma or even ether. Here, ah, let me grab something." He glanced across the tables displayed with various items, gaze eventually settling upon an object that did not have a primarily violent purpose, a teapot.
Though initially musing Amadeus' strange capabilities and browsing the wares, Laelynn froze up at Haydn's laughter at her question, Laelynn responded with a pout, turning her head away as her face shaded itself a very mild, embarrassed red, feeling as though her question was rather stupid now. As someone normally at the top when it came to technical skill, she wasn't used to being on the back pedal in knowledge after all.
However, at Haydn's explanation, she managed to gather her composure back, tilting her head in curiosity, finding the explanation to her first question very interesting. So, while living beings could not be enchanted, one could possibly use their body as a medium for enchantment, something Laelynn was quite unaware of before, and only fueling yet more mad ideas within her mind of what she could invent with this knowledge. Though, these thoughts were quickly interrupted as Amadeus switched shoulders, grasping Laelynn's attention even more. Not only magical, but seemingly intelligent, or enough so to understand Haydn based on their reaction at the comment about them. "So, he's more of a biological anomaly then? Huh, fascinating..."
At Haydn's follow up to her initial query, Laelynn tilted her head, quite curious. Though, while Lacryma was not a new word for Laelynn, it was also something she never quite worked with personally, seeing it originally as an outdated technology. "So, it's not much different than programming a computer then, huh? Just with different mediums?" Laelynn stated out plainly after Haydn offered to grab something, eventually settling on a...teapot? Confused, yet still ever curious, Laelynn would poke the teapot a few times, eying it over for any type of activation method to better understand the application of the device. "So, what's this thingy do then? Like, does it generate heat for tea, maybe?" Scratching her head, Laelynn attempted to keep an open mind, yet, just couldn't see a teapot of all things being fascinating.
last edited Sept 20, 2020 1:47:52 GMT by SilverRush