Magical Lotus - Episode 1 (Complete)

[DracoOmega]

>If the presence of our wings and the use of them feel essentially instinctive now, do we feel comfortable we could fly on them without risking falling?
>"Is this place somehow... between spaces? Between my home and... somewhere else?"

[Oldmansour]

>If the presence of our wings and the use of them feel essentially instinctive now, do we feel comfortable we could fly on them without risking falling?

>Thinking on it, you're relatively certain you can fly to the mainland, if you've a mind to go there. Only one way to find out....

>"Is this place somehow... between spaces? Between my home and... somewhere else?"

>"I believe I said I'd prefer to be in the air before I explained. I don't particularly enjoy repeating myself, especially since we don't have much time left. I may only be a piece of myself, barely worth noticing, especially here, but it's only a matter of time before one or both of my enemies find me. You wouldn't want to be around me when they find me. Now, please. I can't move from this room without you."

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just so much to take in at once."
>Spread our wings and take flight

[Oldmansour]

>"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just so much to take in at once."

>She nods sympathetically. "I know. For what it's worth, I am sorry."

>Spread our wings and take flight

>You climb out of bed and spread your 'new' wings wide. Even though you know it's the first time you've ever done this, the sensation feels like slipping on your most comfortable pair of shoes. It's a curious experience, but hardly an unpleasant one. 'Marisa' spreads her own midnight-black wings, and says "Just believe in yourself." and launches herself out the gap where a wall once was, hovering just outside. You take a couple of breaths. Even if this place isn't quite real, it certainly looks and feels real. You're a spiritual person, but no so much as to throw yourself out of windows, even ones in a pseudo-reality, without a bit of pause. 'Just believe', she said. Nothing for it, then. You flap your wings twice, and leap out of the 'wall'
>A firm but gentle updraft fills your wings as they beat against the air, and you pause for a moment to take in the sensation. There is at least 8 feet of open air between your toes and the ground. It's not like looking down over the side of a building, or even being in an airplane. It's exhilarating and terrifying, and more than both. You glance to your right, at 'Marisa', and she is smiling at you, a mother's smile, you think.
>"It won't all be bad, my child. This at least, I can promise you. There are dark days coming, for all of us, but there will also be moments like this, as well." She turns 'round and flies up and northward.

[DracoOmega]

>Turn and follow after her
>"You said you couldn't leave the room unless I did. Why was that?"

[Oldmansour]

>"You said you couldn't leave the room unless I did. Why was that?"

>"Because you're the only one who's real. I can only move as you desire. That's why I could leave after you stood, because you intended and desired to do so as well."

>Turn and follow after her

>'Marisa' elevates to over the room of the school, with you following along behind her. The sensation is unlike anything you'd ever experienced before in your life. The wind in your face is neither harsh nor biting, it wraps around you like the light of the sun. It's so hard to describe, it's almost like moving through pure joy. You wonder, in passing, why the tengu ever come down to the ground, why they would ever want to leave this. And image of Marissa's face comes unbidden to your mind. As physical a person as you know her to be, you wonder if she ever would come down, were she in your position. So consuming is this sensation that you almost miss the sounds coming from below you.
>Your companion guides you over the various sporting venues around the school. The pool, the tennis courts, the basketball court, the soccer field. Each of them fully engaged, the teams from your school engaged with visiting sporting teams from other schools. Each game is surrounded by onlookers, cheering it seems for both sides, engrossed in the spectacle of it all. 'Marisa' pauses over the pool, bringing you to a halt as well.
>"These people, these 'teams'. For what do they compete?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, for titles or championships at times, I guess. Otherwise... I suppose for the joy of victory itself; to prove their skill against their opponents or perhaps even against themselves and their own limits."
>"Why do you ask?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, for titles or championships at times, I guess. Otherwise... I suppose for the joy of victory itself; to prove their skill against their opponents or perhaps even against themselves and their own limits."
>"Why do you ask?"

>"For the same reason I will ask you more questions to come. And why I observe these things now."
>Each competition is spirited and fierce. You see your own tennis club competing fiercly against a rival school, each participant yelping with each volley, the crowd oohing and ahhing in turn. You see your soccer club racing down the field towards the visitor's goal, the charge being led by Cirno the star striker, each face strained and sweating. The Mayoiga basketball team, led by the oni Yuugi Hoshiguma, is winning handily, the bitter thought of defeat evident on the faces of their foes. The competition is tight in the swimming pool, with neither your own Murasa nor her opponent has a clear edge, to the delight of the crowd.
>"I recall a time when things not so benign. When defeat was absolute, and losers were sacrifices to the winners. This is no longer the case?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Sacrificed? I- I'm not even sure I know how to interpret that in this context. Some people take the competition more seriously than others, true, but I would hope that we all play for the joy of the sport. In the end, it is really only our pride that stands to be damaged by a loss, and I do not see even that as a necessary fate. If one tries one's hardest, need they be shamed if someone else exceeded them in that one matter, at that one time and place? I have never seen a reason why both teams could not walk away from a match feeling that it had been worthwhile, and that they had gained something from it."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Sadly, there are many who do not share my perspective. There are those who play only for victory, and there are many people who do not play but get emotionally involved anyways. In some parts of the world, there can even sometimes be riots over the results."

[Oldmansour]

>"Sacrificed? I- I'm not even sure I know how to interpret that in this context. Some people take the competition more seriously than others, true, but I would hope that we all play for the joy of the sport. In the end, it is really only our pride that stands to be damaged by a loss, and I do not see even that as a necessary fate. If one tries one's hardest, need they be shamed if someone else exceeded them in that one matter, at that one time and place? I have never seen a reason why both teams could not walk away from a match feeling that it had been worthwhile, and that they had gained something from it."

>"Sadly, there are many who do not share my perspective. There are those who play only for victory, and there are many people who do not play but get emotionally involved anyways. In some parts of the world, there can even sometimes be riots over the results."

>'Marisa' merely nods, as though pondering something else. "Yet I also see humans competing alongside other races. Human, Youkai, Oni, Fairy, Tengu, Kappa, all gathered together for a common purpose. Yet are they all of them equal? Does humanity stand astride its sister races, or have they fallen beneath the boot of their greaters?"

[DracoOmega]

>What is the general dynamic of race relations here? Both locally and in the wider world.

[Oldmansour]

>What is the general dynamic of race relations here? Both locally and in the wider world.

>In the past, relationships between the various races were.... strained. Each race believed themselves superior to the other, even the relatively mild Kappa, who were unwilling to share the waters of the world with those not truly of them. Oni and Human battles were common, as those two were the most belligerant races, especially with each other. Tengu, even more arrogant a race than either of those, made great profit preying on both. It is a great historical irony that it was not until the first Lunarian invasion that the races as a whole began to even consider working together, but the war forced them to.
>Nowadays, although each race still has a clearly defined culture of their own, populations around the planet are fairly well mixed. Even in the Eire empire, which is predominantly Oni, you will find Humans, Youkai, you name it. Of course, each culture still has aspects that grate on the nerves of their neighbous, for example, the Oni practice of slavery, and the Tengu's standoffish arrogance, but racial wars are a thing of the past, and in society at large, race is a not a factor in discrimination.

[DracoOmega]

>"'Greater' is a very encompassing term. Some of the other races may be faster or stronger or possess abilities that we do not, but that alone doesn't make someone 'greater'. Every soul has something of its own to contribute, I believe. So yes, we stand together with our fellows. We are all fellow souls, regardless of the skin we wear in this lifetime. In the next, it might well be different."

[Oldmansour]

>"'Greater' is a very encompassing term. Some of the other races may be faster or stronger or possess abilities that we do not, but that alone doesn't make someone 'greater'. Every soul has something of its own to contribute, I believe. So yes, we stand together with our fellows. We are all fellow souls, regardless of the skin we wear in this lifetime. In the next, it might well be different."

>"That you can say that is nothing less than I'd expect from you, but for the proof to be before my own eyes. Perhaps your world truly has changed... But that change came at a price, did it not." It is more a statement than a question. "If this world knows peace now between its' peoples, then surely that peace was bought with blood."

[DracoOmega]

>"That... may be true, though I wish I could say otherwise. There was a common enemy, a long time ago. People saw past their differences, perhaps because they felt they had to. But however the road that led to this place, we are still here now. The peace between us lasted far longer than the war ever did, even when it was no longer strictly 'necessary' for each group's survival. I think that, at least, must count for something."

[Oldmansour]

>"That... may be true, though I wish I could say otherwise. There was a common enemy, a long time ago. People saw past their differences, perhaps because they felt they had to. But however the road that led to this place, we are still here now. The peace between us lasted far longer than the war ever did, even when it was no longer strictly 'necessary' for each group's survival. I think that, at least, must count for something."

>She ponders your words for a time. You almost don't notice the sounds of the sports beneath you fading away. Glancing down, you see all four fields abandoned now, devoid of any signs of life.
>"Such is the way of both of our worlds. Blood is the only true language. But for your world to have kept this peace... for how long now?"

[DracoOmega]

>How long has this peace lasted?

[Oldmansour]

>How long has this peace lasted?

>The first Lunarian war ended approximately 400 years ago. There were some tensions after the fighting was done, but nobody on earth wanted more fighting to break out, and those tensions faded shortly. Obviously things haven't been completely peaceful on the planet for the whole of four centuries, but the inter-world peace gained from that war has yet to be shattered.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Arguably for about four centuries."
>Look ahead, past the sports teams.

[Oldmansour]

>"Arguably for about four centuries."

>"A blink of an eye for some. Yet long enough for humans for forget. They live short lives, after all. But for the memory to endure for so long? ... Perhaps your people have changed."

>Look ahead, past the sports teams.

>Beyound the school yard lies Mayoiga city proper. You can see the Sunnyside apartments, the cherry trees leading to the school, all the usual sights. Much like the sports venues beneath were, and are now, they are devoid of people, of traffic. For now.
>"But I had forgotten." 'Marisa' says suddenly. "I owe you an explanation about this place, don't I. Come, I'll explain on the way, I dare not tarry here." She alights and flies off again, towards the west side of town.

[Hello Purvis]

>Follow her toward the west side. Beware of sharks.

[Oldmansour]

>Beware of sharks.

>You ensure you are not wearing your jets colors, but prepare a snappy dance number, just in case.

>Follow her toward the west side.

>'Marisa's' course leads you over the Moonside apartments. As you pass overhead, you can see Minoriko and Reisen tending their little garden in the backyard. You can hear Nitori puttering away at something in the little shed she commendeered the day she moved in. You remain surpised she hasn't burned it down by now. You see Patchy and Letty sitting on Letty's balcony, reading their books in the shade, and Rin bringing some drinks to the gerdeners below. It's a very nice little scene, but a typical one in Moonside. 'Marisa' glances back at you with a light smile on her face.
>"This place means a great deal to you, doesn't it."

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod.
>"My friends and I live here."

[Oldmansour]

>Nod.
>"My friends and I live here."

>'Marisa's' eyes seem to linger on Rin's face. "That one is different, somehow. Something about her sets her apart from the others, in your mind. You love them all, this I see, but that one is somehow... different."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I've had to go through a lot of trouble on her behalf. She's kind of become my lackey as a result."

[Oldmansour]

>"I've had to go through a lot of trouble on her behalf. She's kind of become my lackey as a result."

>The counterfeit Marissa comes to a halt, and turns in midair to face you.
>"'Lackey', is it? Is that how those around you see your bond, as well?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"It's a difficult thing to be accurate with. We have a tangled relationship, I saved her from slavery, and...well, she is rather tied to me now."

[Oldmansour]

>"It's a difficult thing to be accurate with. We have a tangled relationship, I saved her from slavery, and...well, she is rather tied to me now."

>She seems more pleased by this answer. "You needn't try to make your answers simpler, or more 'palatable', for my benefit, or yours, child. SImply the truth, whatever it may be, is what will serve us both best, in this place. I am only sorry that I cannot be as forthcoming with you as I'd like, but rest assured, I am trying."
>"But what I would like to know is, is she happy, with you? And are you happy, with her?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"She seems to be, but it's difficult to tell. We must keep up the appearance of master and thrall in public, and it becomes a barrier between us, I think. I would be much happier to toss it aside. But, I suppose that is dancing around the question. I am happy to have her as a friend, but not pleased because of this situation."