[Basch is standing outside of Troia's walls, staring at some of the dragons that had gathered. He's not quite sure what manner of beast they are. He's heard that they're called dragons, but that's pretty much it. He's very lineface about this all.]

Is it common for such beasts to gather like this? I would not ask if such creatures were native to Ivalice.

[He pauses for a moment.] Many have come to this place... is it possible for the dead to come as well?

[Kain is still a little pale and sick-looking, but... he's alive.]

I've returned from true death twice now. I wonder whether this makes my luck better than average... or far worse.

[Worse for the dying in the first place, but better because... well, twice now he's faced what he thought was an eternal end for him, and come back both times. Kain pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Going through death again reminds him though, of an important thing about what he saw.]

That dragon in the dream... I've encountered it before. All of Cosmos' warriors would have at the end of every cycle, whether they recall it or not. Its significance cannot be underestimated.

[She's on an airship.]

...there are a lot of things I need to address, but I should start with the most important. An illness from another world is spreading through this world's monsters. Extended contact with monsters, especially with their blood, is likely to result in it spreading to humans. There's a few cases of it happening already.

I'll be searching for a treatment, with the aid of the scholars of other nations if they offer it, but for the moment there is no cure but keeping yourself in good health and allowing your body to combat it. Potions and Remedies can take the edge off the worst of the symptoms, but nothing more.

Greetingway should have explained how to contact the healers. If you feel unwell, let us know. Anyone who's arrived recently who is capable of using white magic and willing to help, this would be an opportune time to speak to me.

And if anyone wishes to know more of that dream from a few nights ago, I'll tell you all I know. I believe that's all.

[Filtered to the Healers and Talons]

I'm sorry to ask so much of you, but would any healers please move to the nearest town and stay there? I need to be able to know where everyone is, now more than ever.

Talons, I realize this isn't what you offered to provide aid with, but I have a request. Given the nature of this illness, it's very likely that healers are going to be called to aid people in areas where there are many monsters. I need volunteers to make sure they get to whoever needs them safely and to help the ill back to civilization.

This is...somewhat of an emergency. Thank you for your understading.

[Filtered to Terra]

I need to speak to you. Immediately.

OOC: Feel free to handwave that your characters joined the groups if they would have done so by now!

[The feed turns on, and Locke's face is staring closely at the shell. The look is a little distant, but Locke snaps too. He didn't turn this thing on to stare at it all day long. He actually had a legitimate question, and then some.]

So when you get to the bottom of it, Eidolons are kind of like Espers. You can consider magicite as some sort of dying fragment of a crystal. And here, magic isn't really a skill that's derived solely from magical beings, but it's still an inherent part of nature itself.

There's a lot of parallels between all of our worlds. Distinctions. Hope you guys can follow where I'm going with this, yeah?

[Locke pauses momentarily, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. His brows are furrowed, semi-lost in thought.]

Back where I'm from, we knew Ramuh, Shiva, and Ifrit— [Note, the past tense.] —chocobos and moogles weren't anything new, either. I'm pretty sure our world isn't the only one sharing a similar trait or two... or ten, with this place. If you think about it, it's more like we're all linked because our worlds are so similar to each other.

[Of course, finally... Locke gets to his point, looking straight at his audience. Kind of. He's maintaining eye contact, okay!! Except... even though Locke looks like he wants to say something more, he doesn't. He lets it go. Maybe he'll ask about that matter some other time.]

Well, now you have my two cents. Anyone care to share their thoughts on those dreams we all had?


((ooc; Relm and Cyan can feel free to either follow Locke to Mysidia or just handwave convincing him to leave them to their devices. I don't mind either way, really! Locke just needs to be at Mysidia to see Edgar and then he'll be going his merry way... somewhere... Christine, feel free to tag Edgar anywhere re: action or voice!))

[Hi everyone! Hopefully you weren't sleeping or concentrating too hard on something or whatever, because this dumb loud voice is about to interrupt you.]

Hello!? Hey! You out there, Sis!? C'mooon guys, you gotta be there somewhere!

Uh, I dunno who else can hear me on this thing! [A short laugh follows those words. Whoever this idiot is either doesn't seem to notice how loud he's being, or simply doesn't care.] Met the weirdest li'l guy though! Gave me this thing. Yep! I'm guessing it's some way to communicate, since I heard people talking!!!

Uh... well, I'm gonna come lookin' for you guys if you don't answer! Heroes don't sit still for long!

[Terra snaps awake, shuddering as she detaches from Kain enough to sit up. That strange, dream has shaken her and she almost feels as though she's still trapped within it, such is the vividness of those images. It's going to take her a bit to calm down enough to focus.

Sometime later, she'll turn on the linkshell, visibly troubled. There's barely a need for the the device to transmit anything emotion-wise since hers are so blatant, but nonetheless anyone who sees her message will also feel her unease and confusion.]

Did anyone else dream about the crystals?

This is... Troia. [The name seemed to be plucked from his mind like a memory. He'd been here before. This world before. He had thought it was all a dream when he returned to Ivalice. He had thought some sense of normalcy had returned.

The Fates decided against it, it seemed.]

I have been here before... What has changed since my departure?

The underworld is an inhospitable place to humans, unbearably hot with no visible sources of water, swarms of monsters and air that stinks of sulphur. Which makes it a little unfortunate that so many of them have suddenly shown up there, all things considered.

Some arrive before or after others but they all appear within the same two hours or so, stranded on a small island surrounded by the lava seas of the underworld. The monsters attack every so often if they walk around alone, especially on the outskirts of the area where they've been appearing, but they generally won't dare if they're in groups of two or more.

Luckily, they're not stuck there for too long. Just over two hours after the first people start showing up, there's the deafening sound of propellers. Help arrives quickly enough in the form of an airship piloted by a short woman with dark skin and red hair and a very small girl with red eyes and turquoise hair. The two of them will explain as best they can if anyone wants to ask they questions on the way to the dwarven city. There's also a small rabbit-like creature. At some point during the trip he'll be handing out what appear to be seashells, but the rest of the time he'll hang close to the girl.

Once at the dwarven city, the guests will be fed and offered shelter.