[ oh hell yes. the futuristic architecture of the ship isn't that unfamiliar to mordalion, even if he'd never actually been in space before - areas of the sanctuary resembled the techy aesthetic enough that it didn't feel out of the ordinary, starry view aside.
but he feels far, far more at home amidst the greenery. it's still not his office, the toxic jungle cultivated so carefully, but enclosed like this it gave a similar sense. he'll reach out to idly brush a petal with his fingertips, clearly fascinated. ]
What a beautiful place. This was yours to care for?
One of my fellow senior crew spent most of her time in here - Giselle. She
went by the name Amalthea for a time, similar to the rest of us with our
callsigns.
[ there are a few recognizable earthly-based species in here, but
also some species that seem to come from many other-worldly places, unusual
shapes, colors, stamens. there's plenty to explore. artemy just smiles a
little bit. one of the most peaceful places on the ship. ]
I holed up in the medbay much of the day, but I like coming in here to take
a quick nap. Being surrounded by plant life is a nice reprieve.
[ he's definitely taking his time to look around. while his specialty has always been poisonous plants, some of the crossbreeds he'd cultivated had their origins in harmless or helpful flora, too. there's particular interest in the stranger specimens - his homeworld had some unusual ones, but primarily remained earth-adjacent.
the cool air is already calming, familiar. it's nice. i'd like to take some home, even though it's impossible. ]
It's very relaxing even when the rest of the area isn't a metal and neon labyrinth. [ dabs some pollen on a fingertip. ] Tell me about your healing work.
[ he drags himself over towards a nearby pod and sinks into it with
a sigh, the kind that comes from familiarity. he tilts his head a
moment. ]
Back home, my father held the title of menkhu, one who knows the
Lines. These are the interconnectedness of all things - the layers of our
bodies in connection to everyone and everything around us. When he died,
that was passed to me... I was trained in surgery, but my work consists of
diagnosing what is wrong or tainted or sick between the different layers of
the body. [ tilting his head ] It's a sensation, I feel it
in my head, in my hands. Were my abilities my own again, I could see the
Lines between us, I could see the Lines in everything in this place.
In this way, I craft tinctures and medicines - things to help repair these
connections... or at least stave off infection from the Plague back home.
[ he waves a hand ]
Aboard the Eudora here, I had to learn quickly how to utilize more modern
medicine. Modern surgery. I had to tend to our implants foisted upon us
after great injury. I lost my leg here on a mission - my friend Yelan lost
her eyes, another lost his jaw... and so on.
[ rubbing the pollen between his fingertips, he'll take a seat in another pod, folding his legs up and shifting into the blankets while he listens with his ears piqued. lines...? some mages spoke of leylines on cray, but this sounded quite different. lifelines, maybe, more like those of the world trees that spread roots in the east. an amazing ability, to sense and feel those changes in things. and a loss, to be without here. ]
That would make you an incredibly effective healer, and someone strongly missing his abilities, then. A Plague, you were combating? [ hm. a tilt of his head. ] Invaluable, for something as dangerous as this. Constant grievous injury enough to require implants for that many sounds like the danger was always high.
[ he watches him do this with a little smile. he wraps an arm around his bad leg with a small wince, hugging it a little tighter. ]
I do my best with what I know - my ability as a menkhu or not. People still need a doctor. The plague that I was trying to find a cure for, we call it the Sand Pest. Ravaged my entire town to the bone...
[ hope dankovsky's not dead yet. he hums. ]
We had missions we were tasked with completing, prior to the arrival of the people in our "round." We were kidnapped, eight of us, just before the larger "game." These missions were... unkind to many. I count myself lucky I just lost a leg.
Have you made any progress on finding that cure since, or were you thrown from your time here into the fantastic time we're all having at the airport? I've heard from some that they had been home in the interim, but that doesn't seem to be the case for everyone.
[ though perhaps that thought implies an answer. he frowns, slightly. ]
So you were injured and placed under influence. I think "unkind" might be a little generous.
I've found the cure, but what's left to do is to cut the Plague off at its
source... I was in the middle of that before I was taken to the Eudora. All
that's left is to put the Sand Pest to rest and then distribute what I've
made to the Town.
[ he makes a face. ]
A more polite shorthand for "bullshit" then. But I've grown tired of
complaining about it. I've already made peace with the side effects that
come with amputation, unpleasant as they are. At least I can run again. [
then, cheeky: ] Gives me a leg up on things.
A living source? A creature or plant of some kind? Some of the Ubiquitous Ogres we were tasked with slaying back home would bring sicknesses with them from magical sub-realms, but this sounds far more serious.
[ his ears twitch in amusement at the more candid phrasing and the morbid joke. that's better. ]
That sounds like quite the mess... [ jesus mord your world. he
searches a little bit for his explanation before offering it straight
up ] A great structure that had been built by human hands has
pierced the earth in my town... a taboo where I am from. When we bury our
dead, it's shallow so as not to disturb the 'flesh' of the earth so to
speak. A large structure, the Polyhedron. Its base, a great needle, is
buried deep and nearly touches...
[ he pauses. he's going to think i'm mad. ]
... it's a heart within the earth. The Udurgh is its name... A literal
heart. Massive, beating... I have to destroy that structure to save it - it
was my father's last wish that I care for not just the children he watched
over, but also this heart... But it's a race against the clock. The moment
I'm home, I have no time to lose.
It can be if not found quickly, but we have cures and healing magic to help.
[ ah. a created structure, then, and... a punishment? or a natural response? or... ]
So this Sand Pest is the result of tampering with the taboos of your people, by some who didn't care for your beliefs? And now your people are suffering for it? [ why would i think you mad? he did just speak of magical beasts that spread disease. a planet-heart sounds fairly reasonable. ] In any context, a needle piercing a heart is bound to end poorly. Removing it would require precision, though, am I right to assume?
Mm... [ an unhappy tilt of the head. ] First it was my father. He dug a hole in the earth, he decided the Town had needed to be "reset" like a broken bone. Then it was the structure. Then a well... the structure however, is the only thing left standing that has punctured the soil, so.
[ with a tired laugh. ]
I don't know how precise things will be, but... my gut tells me we'll be alright.
[ the smile seems to surprise him a little. it's not often his poor consideration actually works out. but, there's a shallow kind of nod at that explanation. ]
A sentimental view... I'd have likely claimed a year ago. [ hums and leans back, looking over the array of plants. ] Before becoming a knight, I was a doctor - academic, not medical. Then I joined a squadron that specialises in gathering intel. "Knowledge" was always the sharpest tool one could have, I'd thought.
[ me like i can't believe we are really just turbo-ing our cr the
last 3 days of game. ]
An academic doctor, huh? My colleague's not unlike you in that regard -
Dankovsky, though Boddho forbid that man couldn't lift a sword to save his
life. A pistol, perhaps.
[ sometimes that's just how timing works out... tagging is hard........... it's fine ]
What was his area of study? It'll surprise you none that mine was toxicology, I'm sure.
[ an answering hum of thought. it was always odd trying to answer this one. ]
I got bored writing papers and assisting arrogant law enforcement with autopsies. Figured there would be a more direct way to utilise my skills to help people, which at the time amounted to my talents with poisons and the ability to be silent. My sister was the more physically gifted between us, and she worked for a hero agency in the south as their informant. Maybe she inspired the change a bit, too.
Thanatology - he seeks to overcome death, beat it at its own game. The
Capital's not a fan of his work, apparently destroyed his lab while he was
in my Town trying to fight the Plague with me.
[ he sounds forlorn about that... it's not a fate he'd ever wish
upon anyone, even the man who annoys him to no end but he does perk up a
little bit at the mention of a sister. oh? ]
I'd say that's pretty sound reasoning to me. I've never been a fan of the
paperwork side of medicine myself. [ though even surgeons must
document and write. ] Your sister, though... are you close...?
[ seems... a little surprised by that answer, actually. ]
Seeking to find immortality, or revive the dead? Mages seeking to extend life are common and celebrated on Cray, but reviving the dead is considered taboo due to its almost universal misuse in history. Destruction of any research should be mourned, however.
[ loss of information really is one of his most hated things. governments always love suppression, don't they? that seems to be multiversally true. ]
Her name is Speare. We're still close, I'd say, though I haven't seen her in person for a long time. She lives in Brandt Gate to the south, and I deeply dislike the cold. She calls me "useless big brother" and complains, but I'm always the first person she calls to chat anyway.
The whole thing's a bit esoteric and I'm not all that clever. I think he
seeks to provide people the means to live longer... which I suppose is not
a bad thing. To have the magic to revive the dead has certainly served all
of us well enough, but I can see why it might be considered almost too
powerful in the wrong hands with worse intentions than to simply bring old
friends home. Regardless... it is Dankovsky's life... I would be shattered
if my own work to cure the Plague were burned along with me.
[ he looks down at his hands, a fondness driven down towards his
palms. a single word: ersher... ]
Goes to show that distance doesn't matter much, blood can call to blood
across the kilometers. "Useless" though she says, clearly her actions speak
of her fondness.
I wish you would stop trying to convince yourself that you're not smart, Artemy. It's a bit unbecoming. [ sighs, dramatically. ] It's certainly not a bad thing, to find the ways to extend life. Necromancy differs from simple revival, maybe, since it implies the binding of the spirits to the summoner. Bringing friends back that were lost before their time sounds like as good a use as any of that magic. I'm sorry to hear of his loss.
[ a noting, of that look, that stray thought that could only be a name. an assumption, maybe, but... ]
She's my dear little sister no matter her attitude, it's true. Maybe I'll have to buy a new coat and go visit, after all this. [ and, well. ] Any siblings, yourself?
Knowing Dankovsky... he will survive. He is not so easily defeated... and
he isn't alone. [ you are so dramatic though, mord, he just smiles a
little sheepishly at that, giving a bit of a shrug about it!! he can't help
being what he is... he is truly all instinct, he'll die on that
hill. ]
Surprised that there's no magic to help you with the cold even a bit?
[ his expression doesn't shift from the easy-going smile, and his
mood isn't dour. just touching on a memory. ]
An older brother, Ersher, but he passed away when we were kids. It's just
been my father and me 'til he passed less than two weeks ago. Back home
anyways.
[ it's been months really since he's been stuck in this
shitshow! ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-07-15 03:26 pm (UTC)but he feels far, far more at home amidst the greenery. it's still not his office, the toxic jungle cultivated so carefully, but enclosed like this it gave a similar sense. he'll reach out to idly brush a petal with his fingertips, clearly fascinated. ]
What a beautiful place. This was yours to care for?
no subject
Date: 2025-07-15 03:44 pm (UTC)One of my fellow senior crew spent most of her time in here - Giselle. She went by the name Amalthea for a time, similar to the rest of us with our callsigns.
[ there are a few recognizable earthly-based species in here, but also some species that seem to come from many other-worldly places, unusual shapes, colors, stamens. there's plenty to explore. artemy just smiles a little bit. one of the most peaceful places on the ship. ]
I holed up in the medbay much of the day, but I like coming in here to take a quick nap. Being surrounded by plant life is a nice reprieve.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-15 04:29 pm (UTC)the cool air is already calming, familiar. it's nice. i'd like to take some home, even though it's impossible. ]
It's very relaxing even when the rest of the area isn't a metal and neon labyrinth. [ dabs some pollen on a fingertip. ] Tell me about your healing work.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-15 05:26 pm (UTC)[ he drags himself over towards a nearby pod and sinks into it with a sigh, the kind that comes from familiarity. he tilts his head a moment. ]
Back home, my father held the title of menkhu, one who knows the Lines. These are the interconnectedness of all things - the layers of our bodies in connection to everyone and everything around us. When he died, that was passed to me... I was trained in surgery, but my work consists of diagnosing what is wrong or tainted or sick between the different layers of the body. [ tilting his head ] It's a sensation, I feel it in my head, in my hands. Were my abilities my own again, I could see the Lines between us, I could see the Lines in everything in this place.
In this way, I craft tinctures and medicines - things to help repair these connections... or at least stave off infection from the Plague back home.
[ he waves a hand ]
Aboard the Eudora here, I had to learn quickly how to utilize more modern medicine. Modern surgery. I had to tend to our implants foisted upon us after great injury. I lost my leg here on a mission - my friend Yelan lost her eyes, another lost his jaw... and so on.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-15 05:54 pm (UTC)That would make you an incredibly effective healer, and someone strongly missing his abilities, then. A Plague, you were combating? [ hm. a tilt of his head. ] Invaluable, for something as dangerous as this. Constant grievous injury enough to require implants for that many sounds like the danger was always high.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-15 10:00 pm (UTC)I do my best with what I know - my ability as a menkhu or not. People still need a doctor. The plague that I was trying to find a cure for, we call it the Sand Pest. Ravaged my entire town to the bone...
[ hope dankovsky's not dead yet. he hums. ]
We had missions we were tasked with completing, prior to the arrival of the people in our "round." We were kidnapped, eight of us, just before the larger "game." These missions were... unkind to many. I count myself lucky I just lost a leg.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-16 01:21 pm (UTC)[ though perhaps that thought implies an answer. he frowns, slightly. ]
So you were injured and placed under influence. I think "unkind" might be a little generous.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-16 01:55 pm (UTC)I've found the cure, but what's left to do is to cut the Plague off at its source... I was in the middle of that before I was taken to the Eudora. All that's left is to put the Sand Pest to rest and then distribute what I've made to the Town.
[ he makes a face. ]
A more polite shorthand for "bullshit" then. But I've grown tired of complaining about it. I've already made peace with the side effects that come with amputation, unpleasant as they are. At least I can run again. [ then, cheeky: ] Gives me a leg up on things.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-17 03:11 pm (UTC)[ his ears twitch in amusement at the more candid phrasing and the morbid joke. that's better. ]
And you tried to tell me you weren't smart.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-17 04:44 pm (UTC)That sounds like quite the mess... [ jesus mord your world. he searches a little bit for his explanation before offering it straight up ] A great structure that had been built by human hands has pierced the earth in my town... a taboo where I am from. When we bury our dead, it's shallow so as not to disturb the 'flesh' of the earth so to speak. A large structure, the Polyhedron. Its base, a great needle, is buried deep and nearly touches...
[ he pauses. he's going to think i'm mad. ]
... it's a heart within the earth. The Udurgh is its name... A literal heart. Massive, beating... I have to destroy that structure to save it - it was my father's last wish that I care for not just the children he watched over, but also this heart... But it's a race against the clock. The moment I'm home, I have no time to lose.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-17 06:03 pm (UTC)[ ah. a created structure, then, and... a punishment? or a natural response? or... ]
So this Sand Pest is the result of tampering with the taboos of your people, by some who didn't care for your beliefs? And now your people are suffering for it? [ why would i think you mad? he did just speak of magical beasts that spread disease. a planet-heart sounds fairly reasonable. ] In any context, a needle piercing a heart is bound to end poorly. Removing it would require precision, though, am I right to assume?
no subject
Date: 2025-07-18 01:24 am (UTC)[ with a tired laugh. ]
I don't know how precise things will be, but... my gut tells me we'll be alright.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-21 01:23 pm (UTC)[ no decorum given that this is artemy's father being mentioned, apparently. ]
A strong gut feeling can sometimes be all you need to make it. It's the most base form of hope.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-24 06:16 pm (UTC)It is the basis of my work. Hope.
[ but he doesn't seem to mind the lack of decorum. in fact, he offers him a smile at that. silent thanks. ]
Surgeons open up bodies with the hope that they can indeed mend what ails their patients. Hope is our sharpest tool.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-25 12:11 pm (UTC)A sentimental view... I'd have likely claimed a year ago. [ hums and leans back, looking over the array of plants. ] Before becoming a knight, I was a doctor - academic, not medical. Then I joined a squadron that specialises in gathering intel. "Knowledge" was always the sharpest tool one could have, I'd thought.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-25 03:07 pm (UTC)[ me like i can't believe we are really just turbo-ing our cr the last 3 days of game. ]
An academic doctor, huh? My colleague's not unlike you in that regard - Dankovsky, though Boddho forbid that man couldn't lift a sword to save his life. A pistol, perhaps.
[ a curious hum ]
What had you joining that squadron instead?
no subject
Date: 2025-07-25 03:22 pm (UTC)What was his area of study? It'll surprise you none that mine was toxicology, I'm sure.
[ an answering hum of thought. it was always odd trying to answer this one. ]
I got bored writing papers and assisting arrogant law enforcement with autopsies. Figured there would be a more direct way to utilise my skills to help people, which at the time amounted to my talents with poisons and the ability to be silent. My sister was the more physically gifted between us, and she worked for a hero agency in the south as their informant. Maybe she inspired the change a bit, too.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-25 03:49 pm (UTC)Thanatology - he seeks to overcome death, beat it at its own game. The Capital's not a fan of his work, apparently destroyed his lab while he was in my Town trying to fight the Plague with me.
[ he sounds forlorn about that... it's not a fate he'd ever wish upon anyone, even the man who annoys him to no end but he does perk up a little bit at the mention of a sister. oh? ]
I'd say that's pretty sound reasoning to me. I've never been a fan of the paperwork side of medicine myself. [ though even surgeons must document and write. ] Your sister, though... are you close...?
no subject
Date: 2025-07-25 04:12 pm (UTC)Seeking to find immortality, or revive the dead? Mages seeking to extend life are common and celebrated on Cray, but reviving the dead is considered taboo due to its almost universal misuse in history. Destruction of any research should be mourned, however.
[ loss of information really is one of his most hated things. governments always love suppression, don't they? that seems to be multiversally true. ]
Her name is Speare. We're still close, I'd say, though I haven't seen her in person for a long time. She lives in Brandt Gate to the south, and I deeply dislike the cold. She calls me "useless big brother" and complains, but I'm always the first person she calls to chat anyway.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-25 05:28 pm (UTC)The whole thing's a bit esoteric and I'm not all that clever. I think he seeks to provide people the means to live longer... which I suppose is not a bad thing. To have the magic to revive the dead has certainly served all of us well enough, but I can see why it might be considered almost too powerful in the wrong hands with worse intentions than to simply bring old friends home. Regardless... it is Dankovsky's life... I would be shattered if my own work to cure the Plague were burned along with me.
[ he looks down at his hands, a fondness driven down towards his palms. a single word: ersher... ]
Goes to show that distance doesn't matter much, blood can call to blood across the kilometers. "Useless" though she says, clearly her actions speak of her fondness.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-25 05:45 pm (UTC)[ a noting, of that look, that stray thought that could only be a name. an assumption, maybe, but... ]
She's my dear little sister no matter her attitude, it's true. Maybe I'll have to buy a new coat and go visit, after all this. [ and, well. ] Any siblings, yourself?
no subject
Date: 2025-07-26 02:46 am (UTC)Knowing Dankovsky... he will survive. He is not so easily defeated... and he isn't alone. [ you are so dramatic though, mord, he just smiles a little sheepishly at that, giving a bit of a shrug about it!! he can't help being what he is... he is truly all instinct, he'll die on that hill. ]
Surprised that there's no magic to help you with the cold even a bit?
[ his expression doesn't shift from the easy-going smile, and his mood isn't dour. just touching on a memory. ]
An older brother, Ersher, but he passed away when we were kids. It's just been my father and me 'til he passed less than two weeks ago. Back home anyways.
[ it's been months really since he's been stuck in this shitshow! ]
no subject
Date: 2025-07-26 11:54 am (UTC)a hum at the question, and a vague hand motion. ]
I'm not a trained elemental spellcaster, and upkeep on enchantments like that can get annoying. A traditional warm coat really is the easiest.
[ ah. even though the mood isn't somber, it's still not an encouraging thing to hear. the death of a clearly loved sibling. and beyond even that... ]
... you've been dragged over coals, haven't you? Thrown from one tragedy and responsibility to the next. You really do need a vacation.